Can you support all your debt load (mortgage, auto, credit card) for a reasonable period of time ( say a few months ) if you suddenly lose your income this very second?
If not, you are by definition living paycheck to paycheck
E.g. I often use credit cards for purchases I have cash for (and them pay them off), because there are dramatically better protections for credit card purchases than debit card purchases. I also get benefits like cash back or miles which I do not get on my debit card.
Using a credit card != couldn't pay with cash.
> Job loss and income-related disruptions are the most common fi nancially stressful situa-tion, for instance, with 16% of respondents experiencing this in the last three years . Among paycheck-to-paycheck consumers with issues paying their bills, 30% experienced a job loss and income-related disruption in the last three years compared to 17% of paycheck-to-paycheck consumers without diff i culties and 10% of those not living paycheck to paycheck . Also 26% of paycheck-to-paycheck consumers with issues paying their bills and 15% of paycheck-to- paycheck consumers without diff i culties faced an illness or disability in the household in the past three years . One can conclude that these life-altering events have forced consumers to live paycheck to paycheck .
There is a population of paycheck to paycheck people who have lost income, but do not have issues paying their bills.