31 Ways To Stress Less About Money In 2018 (2024)

"Your three biggest expenses are (usually in this order): housing, transport, and food. Keep those as low as you happily can, and that will make the most significant difference to your spending. I do this by sharing housing, cooking at home, and not having a car. You can lower other expenses and that definitely helps, too (i.e. get store brand, a cheaper mobile phone contract, clothes, etc.) but housing, transport, and food are where lowering costs will make the biggest difference."

—maxw46042041e

"Basically, you commit to paying an extra amount ($100 in this example) every month until all your debt is paid off. Also, once an account is closed, you add that minimum payment to the power payment.

You start by making a power payment (to the principle only) to the account with lowest balance debt, each month, until it's paid off. Once it is, you take the $100 and the monthly payment for the balance that's now closed and apply that to the next lowest balance debt until it's paid off. Rinse and repeat.

Eventually your power payments are huge and those larger balance debts don't seem so scary. It also doesn't impact your monthly budget too much. I paid off all my debt (student loans, credit cards, and car loans) by the time I was 28 using this method. I heard about it when I was 25."

—ja14torres

"My dad always told me to round up your bills and pay a little extra, as it makes your next month's bill lower, leaves a good impression, and you won't miss the extra $5-$10."

—elyse1509

"I calculate what my bills are going to be for the month (car payment, rent, utility bills) then put half of that from each paycheck (I get paid bi-weekly) into savings so I know how much extra I have to work with. I also usually try to round up my bills and then I won't touch that extra money I put into my savings. For example, if my rent is $375 a month, I'll take out $200 a paycheck and keep the extra $25 I didn't use on rent as extra savings."

—elyse1509

"Where I work you can have your paycheck split into however many different bank accounts and however you'd like. So you can have a bank account solely for bills that never change, like house or car payments. If you automatically have your bill money put into one account then you know that whatever is deposited into your other account is 'leftover' money."

—ashlyns4aa602521

"So, if you make $10, put a dollar into savings. My grandparents did this (starting in their 30s) and they now use it as retirement. And have been for the past 12 years. They have enough to live the rest of their lives, and then some."

—actuallyinsane

"My biggest weakness with money is impulse shopping. When I’m feeling sad or stressed, or even when I’m feeling a burst of motivation, emotion is a huge money-spending impulse for me. I try my best to create a list of things I’ve been wanting, or even while I’m browsing through Target, I’ll make a list, and I have to wait 24 hours before I can buy it. The likelihood of me wanting after 24 hours is super slim."

—megans49012f3c9

"Get a giant jar, and put 'em all in there. It might not seem like much but at the end of the year you'd be surprised just how much they add up."

—lianapirahna

"A budget isn't restrictive. When you see how quickly the extra money adds up, you'll get excited to save."

—emcduffie916

"That money is protected from bankruptcy and garnishment, so even if other bills pile up, your retirement is protected. If you do take a loan against your 401K, you end up paying it back with current, after-tax income. And then later, in retirement when you take withdrawals to live on, it is taxed as income. So in essence, you pay taxes twice on that money. And if you take a straight withdrawal from that account before you are 59 1/2, you pay a 10% penalty AND taxes. So never consider that money as an option when you need money."

—staceypatonk

"You'll hardly notice it."

—hannahwilliscanuk

"When you're first working and don't have a lot of bills, save as much as humanly possible. You won't miss the money you're saving because you never had it before. This applies to when you get a raise or move to a higher paying job."

—kriskrumb

"Save a certain amount each week for whatever "big" item it is that you want to buy. That way, you're saving up for it and you have time to think about if you really want it or not! (By the the time the money is saved, I realize I'd prefer to either keep saving or get something else.)"

—katiequeeni

"Simple way to not spend all your money."

—iamsupermiko2

—thatgirlcricket

"When trying to save money, we opened a bank account at a separate bank than our main one to put money into straight from our paychecks. That way we couldn’t easily transfer money into our main account if we were spending too much throughout the month. We had to work a lot harder to get it and therefore had time to think about how we got to this place (i.e. what did extra stuff had we bought that caused the issue)."

—allisonm432ea3557

"Take out cash whenever you plan on spending, at the time you are spending. For example, if you're going out for drinks, take out $60 (or what you plan on spending) at the ATM. Then you know you're only going to spend max $60, instead of drunkenly signing a receipt that has God only knows what kind of total on it."

—k4aa18d090

"Been on it for a couple of years, and I'll now be able to afford a house in another year or so. It's a wonderful feeling."

—gamezb

"Years ago I got married at a very young age. But before I did, my dad sat me down and explained how important it is for women to have their own money. Keep your own separate checking/savings account, have your own retirement savings, have credit in your own name, and make a will. Growing up, I didn't listen to a lot of his advice, but this particular bit I did, and I'm very thankful."

—kimmiecocopop

—leannaw495c96383

—jonasb469566466

"Growing up, my mom used to encourage me to convert the cost of things into the amount of work I would have to do to earn it (I had to take out the trash three times to buy that candy bar, etc.). I do the same thing now and it helps to put things into perspective. Do I really want to work an eight-hour day to afford those shoes? Probably not."

—samanthadramis

"My mom taught me how to shop sales, clearance sections, and second hand. This alone saves me so much."

—strangerthanitseems98

—thatgirljenica

It may not be an easy conversation, but it is always worth it in the end.

—alexb60

"See if your company has a 401K program and set a certain amount of your pre-tax income to go toward it. If you’re not taking an advantage of a matching program at your company, it’s like turning down free money from your boss for future you."

—lindsayb42bb479a4

"You’re more likely to spend more money that way. Also when you look at discounts, don’t look at the discount percentage. Look at the final price."

—musiclover286

—bethaniem

"Don't 'feel' money. It has a purpose, and there are many smart things you can do to manage it, but keep emotions separate from financial decisions. Best advice I ever got, and although it's tough sometimes, it's helped me make smart and informed decisions."

—christinak4c924587c

"You should be getting a basic cost-of-living increase every year, and (if you're good at your job) a bit of a bump every two years. Will the conversation be uncomfortable if you have to ask? Yes, probably. But bring your past performance appraisal(s), any emails you've gotten from colleagues that praise your work, and a list of your current responsibilities to make a case for yourself.

Studies show that if you value yourself enough to ask, your employer will consider your value higher, and say yes. And if they don't, time to move on. (Of course, don't do any of this if you're a terrible employee.)"

—eliseg41d833732

"I made an honest-to-god budget map. Printed up twelve months of a calendar, and figured out what bills needed to be paid when. Then I'd stagger them so that I'd still have money after every week, instead of paying all of my bills at once and being broke for the rest of the month. Saved up $3,000 in eight months this way. Changed my life!"

—michellelynnrowan