20 financial hacks to help you build wealth

Saving money is hard enough without the right strategies and tools. Use these helpful hacks to put more money in your pocket.

1. Pay yourself first using automatic transfers

You cannot spend money if it has never been in your pocket. That's the beauty of automatic savings, where the consumer can set up a direct transfer of part of their salary to a savings account.

Set up automatic transfer of savings on payday and start your savings program this way.

2. Install an expense tracker and use it regularly

Mobile apps are a great way to save money, especially apps that help you keep track of your spending.

There are dozens of options for such programs, among which it is easy to choose the one that will help you successfully control your spending, and also help you build a competent family budget.

The application that I personally use is “Monefy"

3. cut the cord

Eliminating pay-per-view channels and streaming services (like Hulu and Netflix) from your expenses can often save you hundreds of dollars a month.

This doesn't mean you have to skip your favorite shows, as many of them are free or heavily discounted, but it can save you a lot of cable bills.

4. Organize your own garden

Grow your own backyard vegetables and your own fruits if you live in a warm area.

You will save money, and as a bonus, you will get a lot of healthy exercise and fresh air, and create a new healthy habit that you can enjoy for years.

5. Get extra income

Financial advice

Start writing about your hobbies for money as a freelance copywriter or find some other part-time job to combine. Or find a job online:

If you have a desire to go online, work from home or even from another part of the world, then I can offer one project that I am directly involved in.

You will earn some money, meet new people and look at life with fresh eyes.

6. Cut down on credit card spending

You can reduce the commission for a credit card very simply – you need to call the banks and ask for more favorable rates for using it.

Issue and annual maintenance costs are among the costs you can cut with a simple phone call. Also, make sure you pay your bills on time to avoid interest and penalties by setting up automatic payments from your payroll account to your credit card account before the due date.

This will help pay off debts in a timely manner and avoid rising costs for paying fines for late payments.

7. Use the 30 day rule

This personal financial rule can come in handy to avoid expensive purchases that you don't need.

The procedure in this case is pretty simple – if you're considering buying some big expensive item, like a new $600 big-screen TV or a $500 watch, let your desire live for 30 days.

After this time, the psychological “impulse” that prompted you to buy will most likely dissipate, and you will be able to save a serious amount on a useless desire.

8. Sell ​​unnecessary things

Selling things you don't need and cleaning your house at the same time is very helpful. Chances are you'll make good and easy money selling those golf clubs you don't use or a box of old mobile phones that are in your desk drawer.

You will be surprised at how much money such things can bring, and if you really like this feeling, start selling things that you don't need on Avito or eBay more often to earn extra money and at the same time clean your apartment from junk.

9. Focus your household budget on savings

Keep track of significant daily items such as dining out, grocery shopping, buying a latte every day, or paying for home care services can save you a lot of money.

Try to cut 25% of all your daily household expenses and that will save you hundreds of dollars a month. Extend the 25% rule to your utilities, mobile phone bills, and transportation costs, and try to save on other household expenses.

10. Set aside change

Don't take small things lightly. Instead of tossing your coins in a drawer or trouser pocket, be disciplined and start putting your extra change in a jar or piggy bank.

At the end of the year, take this accumulated change to the bank and exchange it for normal money (that is, paper bills). Thanks to this, you will not be throwing coins around, and at the end of the year you will have an increase in income for being responsible with change.

11. Drive smarter

You can save hundreds of dollars on auto insurance just by being a careful driver. Auto insurers usually raise insurance rates for drivers with accidents – the more frequent and more serious they are, the more significant the rate increase will be.

Drive a little slower, be careful on the road and save a lot of money on car insurance – often more than 20% of the total amount of insurance.

12. Spend a day without spending

It doesn't matter what day of the week or date it is, but try to give yourself a "no-expenditure day." The goal of this is to spend a whole day without spending a dime on any purchases or at least frills.

Yes, you may be forced to spend money on transport to get to work, but in general you really don't need to spend money unless it's absolutely necessary. Instead, eat something from your home refrigerator and make your own coffee in the morning without running to a coffee shop.

Or drink beer from your home supply instead of going to a bar.

This life hack works great on weekends, but it becomes more of a challenge for a person than on weekdays due to the large amount of free time.

But if you can handle a no-expense day on Saturday, you can have a no-expense day any day of the week.

13. Give up your credit cards

No, this does not mean that you need to cut your Visa with scissors. This means that you should keep your credit cards in a safe place until you really need to use them urgently.

At the same time, when there is no card in your wallet or pocket, it is almost impossible to use it.

14. Write a shopping list and stick to it

Yes, this money-saving hack seems too obvious, but the shopping list actually works. Why? Because if you stick to the list and buy only what is on it (in other words, what you need), you will save on various expensive items purchased for the sake of momentary desires.

You can make this task easier with a mobile app like AnyList or Yummly that makes it easy to create a shopping list for you.

15. Choose not the most famous and expensive brands

While at the grocery store, develop the habit of buying high-quality, but not the most expensive premium brands branded goods. Whether it's peanut butter or cough medicine, you won't be able to tell the difference, but it's easy to save 10% to 15% on groceries and other lesser-known brands.

16. Pay off a big bill? Keep paying

When you finish paying $350 monthly car loan installments or $250 monthly tuition fees, keep paying more—only this time for yourself.

Look at it this way: you've already gotten used to that hefty monthly charge, and you've managed to incorporate it into your expenses to suit your lifestyle. So why not keep paying the same $350 a month, but instead of paying off the loan, put it in your personal bank or brokerage account?

This is a great way to save money and build capital without affecting your standard of living. More importantly, you will get $350 richer every month.

17. Don't waste windfall profits

There is no law that says you must take unexpected money (such as an inheritance or a job bonus) and spend it all. Instead, why not put it into your savings or retirement account or even the stock market and put that money to good use.

Ask a millionaire about the path to wealth and he or she will tell you that passive investing is a way to make your money work for you and make a profit.

18. Make yourself a Daily Double deposit

Do you want to save $3339.75 the easy way? Here is a simple option.

Start saving by tossing 5 cents into a piggy bank or large empty jar. Every day, increase your daily savings by another 5 cents without fail, and after 365 days you will save $3,339.75.

Does it sound good? In this case, your largest daily contribution will be only $18.25.

19. At the beginning of the month, withdraw all your money in one go

Avoid costly ATM fees and at the same time give up your debit card within a month by withdrawing all your money from it through an ATM on the first day of the month.

This step provides strong protection against unnecessary spending and forces you to save money to pay for large expenses at the end of the month – you will save hundreds of dollars by doing this.

20. Don't waste your cashback

Everyone knows about the advantageous offer from banks. Paying with a card for any purchases, you get back from 1 to 10% as a cashback.

Instead of spending it, save the money you receive every time you get cashback. Do this for a month and watch how an additional amount is formed in your account.

If possible, you can treat yourself to something nice at the end of the month, because you deserve it.

Conclusion:

There are many tricks to help save money and save a certain amount for a particular purchase.

Would you like to learn more different life hacks and tricks for dealing with finances?