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Somehow we've made it to the end of the year, and it has certainly been a journey!
One of my favorite parts of the job is getting to hear from our readers what kinds of money tips and tricks ~actually~ work for you.
Sharing our money experiences with each other is so valuable! We all think differently and prioritize our cash in different ways, but seeing how other people handle saving and spending can be really eye-opening.
Of course, personal finance advice is very, very personal, so take what you like and leave the rest.
Here are 26 great money tips we got from our readers this year:
1. "Definitely ask your bank to look into service charges. They added balance protector premium insurance to my credit card without my knowledge. For the longest time, I thought this was mandatory because it’s always been on my card."
2. "I’ve been in the financial industry a long time. One tip I’ll give is to start getting an annual copy of your credit report. You have no idea what might be on there, and these days, it’s super easy to file an appeal of any adverse reporting."
"Say you had a late payment five years ago for a specific reason — out of work, medical issue, whatever. File an appeal and state the reason. Many times, if the reason is sufficient, the lender will just remove it. In any case, it doesn’t hurt to try!"
3. "Always have a separate, private bank account that you put a few dollars here and there into — even if you're single. Treat it like a savings account."
4. "If you have student loans, pay them twice a month instead of once. This way, you are tackling compounding interest faster. Usually by the end of the year, you’ve saved at least one whole payment."
5. "Honestly, I have saved so much money in the year since I became a vegetarian. People think it can be expensive. But if you do it right, you save a lot of money. Grains are way cheaper than meat."
6. "I enjoy using grocery delivery apps. Yes, the fees are outrageous, but we did a cost/benefit analysis our first year of using it (fun couple alert), and we saved a metric buttload of money. It's much easier to stick to a list, put impulse items back, and take advantage of every sale you can find."
7. "For clothes: Will you wear it at least the amount of times it costs (one wear for every dollar)? I heard that when I was young, and it’s stuck with me through adulthood!"
8. "Mint Mobile has been a life saver! I was paying $180/month for two lines. Now I pay $180 a year for two lines! It’s saved me just about $2,000 a year, and I haven’t had to worry about call quality or coverage."
9. "I only like to spend money once a day — like, whether it’s buying lunch or a coffee in the morning or a drink after work. And some days, I just go straight to work and come home and bring my lunch, so I don’t need to spend money at all, unless it’s like a regular bill. Kinda small, but it’s helped to limit myself."
11. "I have a savings account that has a card that can only be used at the bank's ATMs. I also can't [digitally] transfer money out of it, so everything has to be done by cash. I requested these things because it is purely for emergencies, so once I put the money in there, I just forget about it."
12. "The night before you get paid, transfer anything you haven’t spent from your last pay into your savings account."
13. "Use GasBuddy. You can sort by price or distance and even choose which type of gas your car uses."
14. "Look for businesses that specialize in pet dental work. I saved hundreds of dollars by having my dog's teeth cleaned at a place that only does dental work instead of our regular vet."
"This! My vet quoted almost $1,000 for TWO TEETH to be extracted. Next month I’m taking my dog to a place two states away that specializes in dental work, and the entire package will cost me $355 with all costs included, plus no cost for any additional teeth they think should go. The reviews are really good too."
15. "Acorns is fantastic. I read about in a BuzzFeed New Year's post in 2020 and started an account then with a conservative investment profile and only $5 going in every month. I made one big $600 withdrawal in July, and currently have over $900 in it. Love that it helps me save and grow money without me having to think about it."
16. "One thing I do that helps me save money is I wait before I buy something I want. I go to our state fair at least twice every year. If I see something I want the first time I go, I don't buy it but wait until I go back on the last day. If I'm still thinking about it, I'll buy it. If I've forgotten what it was, I obviously don't need it."
17. "I sometimes think of my hours worked as the price of things. So if you make $15 an hour, and something costs $45, ask yourself if it's worth three hours of your time. Or to buy a $5 coffee, it will require 20 minutes of work. It really helps put things into perspective."
18. "Lately I’ve been taking out a set amount of cash for the month and only taking $50 with me to the grocery store. This helps me only get what I absolutely need since I only want to spend the cash at hand."
19. "One thing that has really helped me with spending is to have all store promotional emails sent to a separate email account. If I actually need to buy something, I can look at that account to see if there are any sales or promo codes, but having my main account clear of that has helped curb my temptation to shop."
20. "Download one of those apps that shows you every transaction you're making (you link it to your bank account and your credit cards). Some of them will also ask you if you really want to keep spending money on a recurring service (like Netflix, Hulu, etc.). Looking at it will show you how much it's costing you and if it's worth it in the long run."
Note: Mint is a great free budgeting app to try for starters, and your bank might also have similar features in your online account.
21. "I stopped spending $5 bills 10 years ago. When I get them, they get tucked away and eventually deposited into a special savings account. My $5 account currently has $25,000 in it 😊."
22. "After the pandemic hit, I started grocery shopping once a week instead of my usual 'every other day' grocery shopping. I've never spent less money on groceries, and I've been on my own for over 15 years 😂."
23. "I use Yotta for my savings account. I’ve 'won' more in one month than I ever got in interest from a Capital One or Chase savings account."
24. "My boyfriend and I tend to not get each other birthday or Christmas gifts. In lieu of material items, we'll each put $10–$30 per week (or what we can afford) in a 'vacation fund.' $20 each per week adds up to over $2,000 per year, which can be a few nice road trips without having to break the bank."
25. "I deposit $35 every week, which is like $140 a month, in savings instead of a big chunk of $150 a month. Makes saving a little less shocking to me while still building my savings account."
26. And finally, "While I agree about putting money away and how it can grow, don’t forget to budget for a little joy if you can. If you get a gift check or bonus, split it so you can spend on something that makes you happy now, and save to feel secure in the future. In the end, I try to think of money as a tool for living, and my life is better sometimes with a $25 thing I love than with an extra $25 in savings."
Note: Submissions have been edited for length and clarity.
Have you discovered any helpful money tips this year? Share your faves in the comments!
And for more stories about life and money, check out the rest of our personal finance posts.