What does 'living paycheck to paycheck' mean to you?

No. To me, living paycheck to paycheck means you barely scrape by with little to no savings.

Paycheck to paycheck means your paychecks go for everyday expenses with little or none left over for extras or savings. I would not consider you to be living paycheck to paycheck.

To me, living paycheck to paycheck means having zero to little savings, barely having enough to pay the essentials like food, utilities, and mortgage or rent.

Living paycheck to paycheck to me means there is no money to save and none in savings. Your paycheck barely lasts for basic expenses until the next paycheck.

My mom on the other hand will tell you she is broke if her checking account balance is less than $1k. I would love to experience what it is like to have that much money in the bank after I've paid my bills.

My husband lost his job a year and a half ago.  This is definitely what I think it means, because this exactly how we're living at the moment and I hate it.  The stress is unreal.  I would also add that you're saying prayers nothing goes wrong with the car or anything else.  But, what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger.  Right?

No. Living paycheck to paycheck means you have no savings, no 401K and you have no extra to play with once all bills are paid.

Or, maybe not literal enough.

When you live paycheck to paycheck, you find yourself cleaning out the couch cushions and turning in bottles for their return deposit in order to pay for parking the last week of the financial month. You resent guests who use too much TP because you know you won't have enough cash to buy more before the next deposit clears. You come up with very creative menus that make use of what's in the cupboard, but without the addition of any new purchases, hence classics like clam chowder served over spaghetti noodles with maybe some tuna mixed in. You pay your bills, you don't starve, you don't need to ask for handouts, but you certainly do not have any funny money or surpluss to stash away for a rainy day or retirement. And if you have something unexpected come up, you feel the pinch elsewhere in a pretty immediate fashion. When I was in grad school and living in my own apartment, I knew that if I had to pay for car repairs one month, I'd be turning the heat down to 55 for a couple of months, for example.

You, OP, are not living paycheck to paycheck. I'd call your situation being financially cautious and not exactly living high on the hog, but comfortable.

Yep, paycheck to paycheck means just that. It means you use all of your paycheck (use, not save) just in time to get the next paycheck. It means if you miss a paycheck, you can't buy anything, not food, not gas, not pay a bill, because you literally do not have access to money until you get another paycheck.

My dad lived like that before he married my mom. They came back from their honeymoon, and she wanted to go to the store and get them some groceries for the week. He told her there wasn't any money left. He had to get an advance from his boss, and she handled the finances after that.

I think it means you have difficulty paying rent or buying food if you don't get your paycheck.

This is what I would say

Living paycheck to paycheck means to me that if the next paycheck doesn't come, you have no means to meet your basic necessities.

Having savings that would tide you over does not fit that definition.

We lived that way for a few years due to unemployment and health problems. Not a good thing.

For me it would mean no money over the basic necessities, like power, water, house or rent and just enough food to get by for the payday. If I have extra to eat out or go to movies that wouldn't be paycheck to paycheck.