r/SavingMoney

I’m 20M, currently having $8,000 total savings, I know it’s nothing and that’s why I ask for suggestions. From a young age I’ve been interested in growing myself financially but doing it smart along the way and not doing reckless things, I was trying to figure out ways to earn side money along the years but it was never got to anything, but now that I’m 20 I realise I have to do something to start growing financially if I want to have some kind of financial freedom at 26-30 but I have no lead, can’t see myself growing anywhere continuing with 9-5 job, but I’m also aware of get rich quick schemes so I know there is no shortcuts. What is a reasonable path then if my goal is to grow?

I want to make $500, either today or within the next month. Be brutally honest. No fake gurus, no "start a dropshipping empire," and no recycled YouTube advice. What's the most realistic way to do it in 2026?

I'm always seeing posts here about people finding amazing deals on things. Like buying in bulk or waiting for sales. Sometimes it feels like a race to get the lowest price on everything.

But I've started wondering. How do you draw the line? Is buying a year's supply of toilet paper on sale really saving money if you have to tie up cash for months? Or buying that extra gadget just because it's 50% off when you don't truly need it?

I feel like I sometimes get caught in the trap of buying things because they're cheap not because I genuinely needed them. It ends up being a net negative. How do you guys manage that balance?

So, my gross income is around $81,600. My NET income is $48,000. Huge difference. I’m paying hundreds towards my private insurance every month, and yet I’m still projected to pay about $7600 for a normal vaginal delivery. This is insane. How am I supposed to afford that?? Should I drop my insurance and just get on my state’s Medicare program for assistance?

I would say our healthcare system is a joke but it’s not very funny. I’m anxiety ridden.

I went through a really weird time while I was 28. I lost my mom, got addicted to gambling on crypto and I ended up getting myself over $10,000 in credit card debt. I literally started 2026 with $0 and -$10k in cc debt.

Something switched in my brain about 6 months ago and I realized I kinda messed up badly when I was 28. I decided to get my shit together and stop crypto all together and finally start saving. I ended up working so much overtime at my job this past summer… I literally didn’t have a life. I did 85 hour work weeks all July, and 60-70 hour work weeks before July.

Now, August 18th, I’m super happy to say all of my debt is completely paid off and today I managed to reach $6,800 in my savings, $700 in checking. Haven’t touched crypto since January.

I don’t exactly know why I’m posting this. Maybe someone will see this that was in the same position I was in. I hope they realize saving definitely is possible.

My life is finally on an upwards trajectory.

I was thinking about this the other day. When I was younger my older brother told me to start putting even a small amount into a retirement fund as soon as I got my first proper job. He said it would really add up because of compound interest. I totally brushed him off at the time.

Now I'm in my late 20s and I'm really kicking myself. If I'd just started with 50 bucks a month back then I'd have a decent chunk built up by now. It feels like I lost out on years of growth just because I thought I was too cool for adulting.

Anyone else have a piece of solid financial advice they ignored and now really wish they hadn't?

no sure this is the correct place to post this

i get gift cards from doing easy online tasks and surveys

last things i bought was a new phone and pc gaming pc and msi claw 50inch tv

but im having a very hard time thinking of what to save for next

please help

I've been using CDs for the past few years. Is there anything wrong with using them?

AI told me it's better to put the money in a stock market and leave it in there for 20 years but if I ever need it for something it might be when it's a bad year when stocks are down and all that.

I wish money and the stock market was taught in high school.

I'm 40. Not really the best time to start risking my life long savings in the market, huh?

Hello I am 20 years old, a junior in college, and an overnight warehouse worker(30-40hours a week). I worked overnight all of my sophomore year and I missed a good amount of classes but still made it up and made deans list. I feel like now if I try that again I won’t be as successful when it comes to schooling. My freshman year I wasn’t able to go to school but didn’t take a gap ( I don’t know why). I feel like if I keep doing it my gpa is going to take the fall but my job mays $22 and hour compared to the $16.94 but it’s labor intensive and I’ve had to go to physical therapy after working in the warehouse for a couple of months. The job market isn’t good for anyone I don’t have much experience but I’m torn. What would you do?

I've never saved intentionally for a vacation but now I am. What did you hope to gain by saving for your vacation was it better accomodations, better seating or more opportunities.

Got this settlement from one of my accidents when a car hit me on my bike and because of that they stopped my disability which I needed and idk what I’m gonna do I’m freaking starving and noo money and my gf and and I fight so much to where it scares me knowing I have nowhere to go and no income now I wanna give up

Today I woke up to an email informing me about the first if many automatic transfers from one bank to my savings account into my new account It felt so good to see it happen.

I’m 22, make about $1,800 every two weeks, and I’m trying to buy my first house within the next year or two.
Financially, I’m not starting from zero. I have about $16,000 saved for a down payment, around $12,500 in my 401(k), and a 765 credit score. The problem is my day-to-day spending habits.
I recently realized I have around $5,000 on my credit card because I keep falling into the same cycle. I’ll think, “I get paid in two weeks, so it’s fine,” and end up spending money before I’ve actually earned it. Then the paycheck comes, I pay part of the balance, and repeat.
I started using Rocket Money, but I’ve found it’s more helpful for showing me where my money went than helping me decide whether I should spend it in the first place.
I think what I’m looking for is a budgeting system where I manually enter purchases as I make them and immediately see my remaining spending money decrease. I’m hoping that physically tracking every discretionary purchase will make it feel more real and help me build better habits through repetition.
Has anyone else dealt with this? If so:
What budgeting app or method finally clicked for you?
Did manually tracking purchases help?
What made you actually stick with your budget instead of abandoning it after a few weeks?
I’m not looking for a way to lock my money away or someone to tell me “just stop spending.” I’m looking for a budgeting system that changed your behavior and made you more intentional with your money

My sister just go her whole savings wiped out and her checking. She has 4 kids and a mortgage. No husband to help. What should be her first step to make sure the kids are okay? How can she solve this? She’s in TN.

My close friend had his 18th birthday a week ago but the problem is i dont have enough money to buy him a gift

He said that it isnt a problem but i do feel guilty

I want to buy him a lego set but it turned out really expensive and i still need 30$ because i want to give it to him this month

My parents are fully absent and i see them 3 months a year, i cant get hired anywhere since im not 18 yet, i dont live in a city so small jobs like taking a pet out are also not possible

Please give me a way i can make it happen!!!

I'm saving for a trip, and for a long time my method was just saying no to one thing at a time in the store. That works for about three weeks. Then it stops feeling like saving and starts feeling like going without.

What changed it was small. I keep a picture of the trip right next to the savings number, so when I put money in I'm looking at what it's for instead of a number moving from 340 to 380. Same money, completely different feeling.

The other thing was splitting my money into separate named amounts as soon as it lands instead of leaving it all in one balance. When it sits in one balance it just quietly disappears.

I ended up building this into an app because nothing I tried did it. I mostly use cash and one or two accounts, and every budgeting app I opened, YNAB included, was built for a more complicated life than mine. I wanted envelopes, a picture inside the savings goal, and nothing to connect.

What keeps you going on a savings goal after the novelty wears off? And has anyone else found that where you keep the money changes how likely you are to spend it?

Disclosure: the app is mine. https://envelopebudget.net

We all do the usual stuff like making coffee at home or packing lunches. But I'm curious about the more unusual ways people have gotten creative to save a buck. Maybe it's something you fixed yourself with household items or found a completely new use for something old. What's your most unconventional money-saving hack?

I everyday spend so much money for idk what, just food and useless stuff.
I only have cash payment and no online.
I bought a piggy bank/ money bank. You can search it online. It has marking of ₹50,₹100,₹200,₹500 to shade when you put that much money.
I bought this money bank and till 10 k I saved money then spend it on something or another.
I keep a goal to buy something expensive with the huge amount of money I save but never filled the box.