In 2022, food prices increased by 9.4% on average in the year to April. This marked the largest rise in 40 years.
Rising inflation is making life more difficult for many as people struggle to afford necessities such as groceries, gas, and rent. And earning to manage your finances and planning ahead is becoming crucial in order to survive.
Luckily, often it starts from simple steps and changes in spending habits. This thread has people sharing simple and useful financial life hacks they swear by, so you may want to get your notes ready!
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Inherit a large amount of money. It’s the secret they don’t want you to know about
Adjust what you think your zero is. Everyone has that "oh s**t I'm broke" number-- I just inflated mine so I think I'm broke when I'm not. If I have $1000 in my bank account, I treat it like $0. $1050 is treated like I have only $50. It's weird, but it's been working so far.
Spoken like someone who actually has any money they can afford to ignore
Nice that you have the income to be able to do this. For some people, saving that $1000 takes a lot of doing without for far too long—-and in the meantime some expensive issue, like car repair, comes up and their savings are wiped out, and they end up starting again from $0.
It does, but that is the purpose of having it. When disaster strikes and the heating or car is broken, you have a cushion to make sure that your life goes on uninterrupted. I may take months or years to get it back again, but it is still better than having to borrow money to pay for these things.
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I have 3 accounts Checking and 2 savings. One of the savings accounts, that has the most money, is viewed as a $0 balance. Over the years I've told myself that money is un-spendable.
Only works if you have some extra money to tell yourself is "un-spendable" to begin with. Not everyone has that.
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Say "I want to have 3, 6, etc months salary in my bank account, in case I get sacked tomorrow". Then, that is your starting-point and you know you can survive, 3, 6, etc months no problem at all if the worst should happen.
This is ridiculous. lol. How is playing make believe any different than just setting aside that $1,000 so you don't spend it? You know you have it. All you're doing is not spending it.
The easiest lies are the ones we tell ourselves... I agree with u though, it sounds ridículous.
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You can definitely change your mindset this way if you put the work into practicing it!
I threw all my change and $1.00s into a jar - put about $100 in bank every 4 months
Excellent advice for anyone! I do it with $100s. When I am thinking of buying something, I will round up its cost to the next $10s. For example, $110 will be $120. That way I will have more money for my purchases.
It'd be really nice for some to ONLY have a thousand bucks in their bank accounts. This is the kind of terrible financial advice that keeps getting thrown around -- the belief that people are poor because they foolishly spend all their money, not the reality that they are poor because they don't have the money to begin with.
Isn't everyone doing this? I've been doing it since I moved out without the internet having to tell me to do it
I do the exact same thing! Even though I have over $7K in my savings. I feel like it's a great buffer in case of an unexpected expense. When that unexpected expense happens then I'll transfer money from my saving to get that $1,000 amount back. Even though I have overdraft protection, I prefer to do this.
I do this in a slightly different way…my account has a minimum balance to gain interest (if I go below, there’s no fee or penalty, I just don’t get interest for the month). So, I dumped that amount in the account but didn’t write it in my ledger…it’s there but when I do the books it doesn’t appear to be, I know it’s there but I won’t go below my books 0-limit either. Same theory, different practice. Because I’m likely to spend it anyway if I have the real total listed!
$0 is my zero point, I can barely afford the s**t I have, there's no chance in getting savings
I have an account with a $1000 minimum balance. People are down on minimum balances but the motivation of the fee for going under was a motivation to keep it in there when I was super broke. I’m broke anymore so I think it works.
This is fine to do privately, but if you've got $1,000 in the bank you're not broke no matter how hard you want to believe you are. If you do this and then complain to legit broke people, while you're just pretend broke, about not having any money you're a major piece of s**t.
If you own a house 1k I broke. It'll be gone with the 1st repair
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I know a couple people who do this. They get their meals and favors for free when they could easily pay!
When you can't afford to ignore a dime of what you have because somebody will shut something off...yeah, those who've never actually had to worry about saving shouldn't give advice on how to do it.
Why the assumption they've never worried? My broke number is closer to $10,000 now and you damn well better believe I've been poor as s**t before. Current circumstances doesn't always reflect past experience.
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We do this. We used to have a £1k overdraft and were always paying charges. Once we'd kicked the overdraft we decided that our new baseline was £1k and anything over that was spendable, and we wouldnt dip below except in case of emergencies. I get that not everyone is lucky enough to have this luxury buffer, but we worked hard and now pay no fees and charges.
My brother would do that, years ago. 1K in checking was considered $0. It worked like a charm for him.
This has worked wonders for me—it first started with 1k emergency fund—saved up forever for that! but its gone up nicely over the years and I will still go without things sometimes because I’m “broke.” Lol
I did this when I was younger and it really does work. I do the same thing now that I'm retired, although the $1K has gone up quite a bit. :-)
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Don't spend money you don't have! It's a revolutionary concept, I know, but it really works wonders.
Eat before you go to the store and always make a list and stick with it.
Every time you get a raise, hide it. Increase your 401(k) contribution, or put it into an IRA, or invest in stock, or just put it aside in savings.
In other words, don't get used to a higher level of consumption. This is especially important when you're young.
Yeah, but you really need to get to a point of consumption where you’re living, instead of just barely existing. Problem is, so many people are barely scraping by, living hand to mouth, one paycheck away from living on the street, even though they’re exhausting themselves working multiple jobs. Once we get people being paid livable salaries for ONE job, then we can advise them to put any increase in their salaries into savings and retirement.
Ask for small bills only, no dye packs or silent alarms
When you spend money think "Is this worth x amount of time that I spent at work?"
Don't cosign anything for anyone
Understand the point here. Did it for my stepson to buy a house. He qualified but they didn't like the fact he was in construction and the hours varied. He sold that house after five years for more than 40k more than he bought it to leverage his family into a more suitable house. Hate to think how many people get stuck in rentals and can't start earning equity because of this sort of thing.
Small hack:
If you pay your car off, continue paying your car payment into a new account.
This payment is already in your budget, so you should be used to it.
This new account is handy if you have any car-related repairs you need to make, like having to replace your fuel pump.
When you need to buy a new car, you can either buy it out right or you have a substantial amount to use for a down payment.
And don't buy another car right when you pay off the other one. Lots of people just keep a car payment instead of continuing to drive the one that's paid off.
Pay your credit cards in full every month. Don’t overspend. No exceptions.
I started thinking of things in terms of hours worked instead of money. Let's say you make $15/hr. Eating McDonald's after work costs $10, doesn't seem like much. But thinking "I worked 40 minutes for this" has a different psychological effect on me. I'm less likely to buy things with my time than I am with my money, if that makes sense.
Every time I want to buy something big or expensive, I ask myself one question:
Do I NEED this, or do I WANT this?
Both answers are fine, I think it's just important to know WHY you spend money. Beeing mindfull of things is always a good choice in life.
Also sleep on it...9 times out of 10 it was an impulse purchase and I realise I don't need it.
Banks are not your financial advisors, don't take their advices. They are a business and think about their profit.
In Canada a financial adviser is regulated and acts in your best interest. Banks normally do not have financial advisers, they have financial advisors. A financial advisor acts in their employers best interest. Check for the "er" or "or" before you invest! Edited for source and additional details. It looks like in about 2017 Canada had about 121,000 registered financial professionals. 4,000 of those could use the title financial adviser. https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/bank-s-deceptive-titles-put-investments-at-risk-1.4044702
Our biggest money saver is cooking our meals at home. We bake bread 3-4 days a week ($0.50/ loaf) and grow lettuce, peas, cucumbers, and herbs by a window all winter.
Feel great, more money in my pocket!
Great idea, but 50 cents for a loaf? In Belgium, quality bread costs less at a normal bakery than making it by yourself.
Always bring your own water bottle!! Ive live off from refills for 6 months and saved a lot of money
I've found recently that I do better with my finances when I check my account on the app every day. It's almost addicting seeing my credit balances lower. I also notice that if I haven't checked it in a few days I've been making bad financial decisions. It's all mental at this point but it's helped since I started doing it last October
That's what happened in the old days when you had your money in cash in your wallet. Every time you opened your wallet to pay, you instantly saw how much you had left. Nowadays you just swipe a card and nobody tells you what remains in your account.
Young people should not be ashamed to live at home for longer. It's crazy how much debt some young people are in, and they could be in a lot less debt if they just stayed home longer.
I know Boomers normalized bragging about kicking your kids out of the house at age 18 and leaving them with no support even though their own parents often helped them buy their first house (yes, that's actually true, and Boomers would prefer that you didn't know this), but that's really not OK.
PS. I'm 53 years old. This post was not made out of self-interest.
This is more of a western thing. It's completely normal for people to live at home for much longer than the age of 18 in other countries. And with housing being as expensive as it is in the U.S. right now, there's nothing wrong with not going into debt and making a smart financial decision.
If you are good at sometime - don't do it for free.
I can plant gardens and mulch them. It's relaxing, fun, easy and rewarding. Some people want a nice garden with edges and mulch. Takes me a few minutes to pick out some perrenials, and order them, with a bulk load of mulch and soil. I can drive it to a house, unload, cut out a garden and install the new one within a few hours, then go to a spot and unload to scrap I dug out (grass usually).
I did this for free for a buddy. His neighbour wanted the same, and I said we could do it. They paid me $500 for a few hours labour and the materials. Now I charge $500 and walk away with $350 profit for a few hours, for the same work I was doing for fun on Sunday mornings.
get a credit card with good rewards and route every purchase through it. pay it off in full each month and enjoy your free money while simultaneously giving credit card companies the middle finger.
When you have a partner and share finances, but you have different styles of managing money, it’s a good idea to keep separate accounts.
When my wife and I got married, we agreed that any expense over a certain amount, we would have to discuss and agree to. That amount is fairly low.
Low-fee market index funds are the best investment.
When you are considering a purchase, give yourself at least 24 hours, if possible, before pulling the trigger.
One of my friends does this. Her and her husband have a joint account they each pay a certain amount into, then anything extra goes in their personal account, to spend however they want.
Buy better quality clothes but on sale. Shop at stores like TJMax and Marshall's, especially if you live in a bigger city next to large malls. They get all of the good stuff that they didn't sell in the mall that season. This way, your clothes will last longer.
Set up an auto transfer to your savings and forget about it. You'll have a savings account in no time, and it doesn't even have to be a big amount.
in our country we have a type of account that does this but ALSO puts a time limit on the savings so you can't dip into them, it's called a "call account"
Act like you always broke
Note: this post originally had 70 images. It’s been shortened to the top 35 images based on user votes.
In a nutshelll : "don't be poor in the first place but act like you are". Who would've thought ?
Yes, and "save money by spending less". Wow, what an amazing 'hack'.
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Up next: Don't spend money you don't have. Wait, that's not a life hack. That's just common sense.
Honestly I'm so surprised every time you people complain about not making enough money to buy their lunch everyday. How do they not realize buying food at a grocery store and making your own lunch it so much cheaper?
Because a lot of people see the initial purchase and panic. Also, a lot of these people don't freeze anything, apparently. Like that person that commented that buying a loaf of bread isn't cheaper because they live alone, so buying a sandwich a day is. You just freeze the bread. It's fine. And the bigger grocery bill typically goes for the whole week, not just a single meal, but again, people don't look at it that way.
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When I want to buy something new (especially online) I wait 2 days. If I still want it in 2 days, I can have it. Most times, I don't want it anymore.
I've learned that making a meal plan and grocery list for the week saves me lots of money.
One thing they missed was shop around for better interest rates! I have a few different accounts based on what they are paying on interest. You shop around for cheap interest rates on loans, why wouldn’t you look for higher interest rates on savings? I utilize this in conjunction with having a credit card I pay off every month so I keep my money longer, therefore more interest, and rewards back. And I also ask small shops if they give discounts if I pay with cash and many do because their credit card fees are high
The majority of those "hacks" assume you have enough money to start with.
None of these address a basic issue. Go into your boss's office and demand to be paid what you're worth. If you don't get it, find a job where you are.
Hell yea' save every coin you get... and have fun with cocaine and hookers every weekend. ^^
OK so I'm paid enough to eat at a fancy restaurant daily. I don't, but I can. I have two cars, two houses (still paying off three of these four assets). I have bitcoin and american shares. But African here. How did I do it? The following is NOT advice, it is just what I did. 1. Develop useful skills, especially management and IT and advanced research. 2. Make friends with rich people and powerful people. 3. Get a good credit rating so the bank will allow you to buy assets; the way you do this is buy on credit, let the bank get their interest pound of flesh, pay off, etc. Rinse repeat. 4. Flip houses. Buy cheap, fix up, sell high. Watch out for bear markets though. 5. Invest in tech, especially 4IR tech, and weapons stocks and precious metal EFTs. I despise warmongers but you can bet their stocks go up. 6. If x happens in the news, buy/dump whatever is relevant E.g. if they declare the war in Ukraine is over, dump the weapon stocks. 7. If you are facing bankruptcy, dump all asset debt and put sale money into savings as a temp salary. DO NOT pay off other debts, give them monthly debits and keep the profits safe.
Spoken as someone from flourishing roots. Many people have management/IT skills, they end up in entry level office jobs waiting for a chance to move up. To make friends with the rich and powerful you need to be in their lifestyle at least to a degree. Good credit allows you to invest or buy property but when you can't make enough to eat or warm your home what exactly are you going to invest? I can't afford a first home let alone flip homes for profit. It is also flipping starter properties that has fed the growth to make them unaffordable to the lower class that need them. I am happy for you that you were lucky and experienced this but it is unattainable for most.
Load More Replies... In a nutshelll : "don't be poor in the first place but act like you are". Who would've thought ?
Yes, and "save money by spending less". Wow, what an amazing 'hack'.
Load More Replies... Up next: Don't spend money you don't have. Wait, that's not a life hack. That's just common sense.
Honestly I'm so surprised every time you people complain about not making enough money to buy their lunch everyday. How do they not realize buying food at a grocery store and making your own lunch it so much cheaper?
Because a lot of people see the initial purchase and panic. Also, a lot of these people don't freeze anything, apparently. Like that person that commented that buying a loaf of bread isn't cheaper because they live alone, so buying a sandwich a day is. You just freeze the bread. It's fine. And the bigger grocery bill typically goes for the whole week, not just a single meal, but again, people don't look at it that way.
Load More Replies... When I want to buy something new (especially online) I wait 2 days. If I still want it in 2 days, I can have it. Most times, I don't want it anymore.
I've learned that making a meal plan and grocery list for the week saves me lots of money.
One thing they missed was shop around for better interest rates! I have a few different accounts based on what they are paying on interest. You shop around for cheap interest rates on loans, why wouldn’t you look for higher interest rates on savings? I utilize this in conjunction with having a credit card I pay off every month so I keep my money longer, therefore more interest, and rewards back. And I also ask small shops if they give discounts if I pay with cash and many do because their credit card fees are high
The majority of those "hacks" assume you have enough money to start with.
None of these address a basic issue. Go into your boss's office and demand to be paid what you're worth. If you don't get it, find a job where you are.
Hell yea' save every coin you get... and have fun with cocaine and hookers every weekend. ^^
OK so I'm paid enough to eat at a fancy restaurant daily. I don't, but I can. I have two cars, two houses (still paying off three of these four assets). I have bitcoin and american shares. But African here. How did I do it? The following is NOT advice, it is just what I did. 1. Develop useful skills, especially management and IT and advanced research. 2. Make friends with rich people and powerful people. 3. Get a good credit rating so the bank will allow you to buy assets; the way you do this is buy on credit, let the bank get their interest pound of flesh, pay off, etc. Rinse repeat. 4. Flip houses. Buy cheap, fix up, sell high. Watch out for bear markets though. 5. Invest in tech, especially 4IR tech, and weapons stocks and precious metal EFTs. I despise warmongers but you can bet their stocks go up. 6. If x happens in the news, buy/dump whatever is relevant E.g. if they declare the war in Ukraine is over, dump the weapon stocks. 7. If you are facing bankruptcy, dump all asset debt and put sale money into savings as a temp salary. DO NOT pay off other debts, give them monthly debits and keep the profits safe.
Spoken as someone from flourishing roots. Many people have management/IT skills, they end up in entry level office jobs waiting for a chance to move up. To make friends with the rich and powerful you need to be in their lifestyle at least to a degree. Good credit allows you to invest or buy property but when you can't make enough to eat or warm your home what exactly are you going to invest? I can't afford a first home let alone flip homes for profit. It is also flipping starter properties that has fed the growth to make them unaffordable to the lower class that need them. I am happy for you that you were lucky and experienced this but it is unattainable for most.
Load More Replies...