15% of workers have experienced a pay cut in the past year. Here are four ways to deal with these problems:

Many people inevitably end up living paycheck to paycheck without any money in a savings account. If you’re one of them, any kind of pay cut can take a huge financial toll.

A March survey from Monster found that 15% of workers have experienced a pay cut in the past year. If you find yourself in an unfortunate situation, here’s what to do:

1. Cut back on some non-essential spending.

If you’re used to spending all your money, a 10% pay cut may seem like a disaster. However, if you look at your budget, you may discover some ways to reduce your spending to cover your expenses without resorting to debt.

For example, cutting back on takeout meals and canceling monthly subscriptions could help make up for half of the pay cut. You can earn the other half by spending more carefully at the supermarket and limiting your clothing purchases to items you only need for work.

2. Take a more DIY approach

You may be accustomed to hiring a lawn care service to mow your lawn and have a cleaning service come to your home once a week. After your pay is cut, you may need to do these things yourself for a period of time to avoid spending beyond your means.

That means, if you get into the habit of doing more household chores yourself, you may find that you can maintain that habit even after you get a raise. So there may be an opportunity to save there.

3. Fill the gap with a side job

Losing part of your salary doesn’t mean your employer expects you to work less. However, if you can find the time to work on a side job, you can increase your income and get it back to the previous level when your employer reduced it.

Now keep in mind that side hustlers tend to fall into traps. People who are paid as freelancers sometimes spend all their earnings and forget to set aside some for tax purposes. So, if you’re trying to make $300 a month from your second gig and don’t have any taxes withheld from your wages, it’s a good idea to set aside between $50 and $100 of that for when your job ends. You must pay the IRS. (Of course, your best bet is to work with a tax professional who can give you a more accurate estimate of how much you need to save.)

4. Try to negotiate better conditions with your employer.

Your employer may have a reason for cutting your pay. And even if you work 40 hours a week, you may have to work a lower rate. But one thing you ~can do Negotiating other perks to soften the financial blow after a pay cut.

Let’s say you typically commute to the office five days a week, but there’s a job you can do remotely as well. What you can do is ask your manager if you can start working remotely twice a week. Doing so will save you money on gas and tolls. And if you have children, you may need fewer paid child care hours at that time and may even end up paying less in the process.

Taking a pay cut is never easy. But when that happens, use these tips to deal with it until your salary gets back to where it was or you can get out and get a new job that pays you what you deserve.

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