Money Saving & Investing Tips

It's less about making drastic lifestyle changes and more about making small shifts.

A mindset shift won't make that balance smaller, but it can help you stay motivated in the long run.

Here's what an accountant wants you to know.

Without scaring the both of you.

This year was a major reminder that unexpected things can happen, and that it helps to be financially prepared when they do.

Yes, there is a point to having savings.

Aka through a $14,000 emergency.

According to experts.

Experts weigh in on how to make the conversations easier.

Don't wait until the end of the year to do your taxes.

She gave us her honest answers.

Each one is designed to change the way you act or think to give you a little leg up on deciding where your money goes day after day and year after year.

Pinterest’s latest report proves that many people are focusing on that side of wellness in 2020.

You’ve done it again. You go to pull something out of your purse and change goes flying—and you don’t want to crawl around on the ground to find it. Now that you think about it, you found some change in the bottom of the dryer this morning, too. And you might have seen some gleaming on the floorboard of your car earlier. Frankly, change is a nuisance and often goes to waste. So why not take that change, and a few extra bucks, and throw it in a piggy bank?

This month we’ll be sharing solutions that are so simple and easy—and at times, automated—that they feel like magic. Hocus Pocus celebrates all the small ways you can trick yourself into living a better life. Between bills and expenses, it can feel like your money is just disappearing each month, making saving anything feel totally impossible.

Budgeting for your life and home can feel like an impossible task, but if you break it down into simple actions, it’s actually not that bad. You have to be willing to self-reflect, keep receipts and bills, and do a little math—and some research on budget trackers—but you can make it work. Ready to build a better budget? (You know… one you’ll actually use?) Take it step by step: The first step to creating a budget? Knowing how much money you actually have.

Maintaining a budget is one of those things everyone knows they have to do, but not everyone actually understands how to do it (or rather, how to do it in a way that benefits their specific, individual needs). If you need help figuring out your own finances, these bloggers have simple-but-totally-smart budgeting systems that are sure to inspire you, no matter what your financial goals are: Ali at Anything You Want is all about using spreadsheets to track her budget.

Ah, your 20s! That golden decade of finding yourself personally, professionally, and, well… if you’re smart—financially. Sure, figuring out your money situation might not be the most enjoyable part of being in your 20s, but arguably, it might be the most important.

With all the added expenses that come with the holiday season and the time to set your 2017 goals just around the corner, now is the perfect time to get serious about your finances. Here are five money books that are chock-full of wisdom that will help you take your finances to the next level. Whether you want to mend your relationship with money, develop a wealth mindset, or start investing some of your hard-earned cash, there’s a book here for you.

I don’t have to tell you this, but money matters. Even if you consider yourself a card-carrying minimalist who thinks “materialism” is a dirty word, you need money to exchange for goods and services, like rent and food and the shirt on your back.

Are you familiar with the 50/20/30 rule?

I’m a firm believer that it’s important to be open and honest about money. In the past, talking about things like how much you make or the debt you’re dealing with may have been taboo, but being transparent and able to discuss these things is actually really important.

If you’re a parent of adult children, you’ve seen the headlines by now: Grown-up kids are moving back in with their parents at record rates. While there are many important considerations involved in the big picture of why this is happening—including the disparity in how wages and inflation have risen—the core of the decision is often to save money.

‘Tis the season for filing taxes and more importantly, receiving your tax refund. But before you go and blow it all on a trip to Tulum or a pricey pair of shoes—guilty!—you may want to consider some more productive ways to use your tax refund. We called on financial advisor Douglas A. Boneparth, CFP and President of Bone Fide Wealth for advice on how to smartly use our tax refunds, no matter how big or small the amount. But first: savings.

Lists help us get things out of our heads, and for that alone they’re useful. If you’re ever feeling overwhelmed and scattered, practicing a “brain dump” of all your swirling thoughts will help restore order and clarity to your addled mind. And while there’s potency in the act of making a list itself, putting purpose behind the list can make it even more powerful.

Sometimes, no matter how much you try to budget, saving money just seems impossible. But what if we told you we’d discovered a brilliant, but oh-so simple, money-saving method, that could add up to some serious moolah? The trick: Take every $5 bill you come across and pocket it.

Anyone who’s searched for a way to save more money has probably heard of the 52 Week Challenge. It’s a way to slowly build up your savings throughout the year—you start by putting aside $1 on week one, $2 on week 2, and so on until you reach week 52, putting aside $52 that week. In total, if you follow the 52 Week Challenge, you’ll save $1,378 by the end of the year. Easy enough, right? While it sounds like a great idea (and if it works for you, keep it up!

Saving money can be a challenge, which is why many people rely on apps to help them be more money-conscious. It makes sense—your phone is almost always on you, and you’re much more likely to think about the state of your financials when all the info and tools you need are just a click away in your pocket.

Sometimes, when I’m watching a recently retired early 40-something couple agonize over which Italian villa to choose on a certain international house-hunting show, I sit and ponder, “What did these people do right to get them to this place in life so early?” Or, more pointedly, “What am I doing wrong?” Everyone dreams of retiring one day, and most of us assume it will be in our twilight years.

If money grew on trees, we wouldn’t need to work so hard at saving it. (Not spending it so much might help keep more money in your bank account, as well.) Because I suck at saving money (and it’s possible someone else out there does, too), I asked the same folks graciously giving advice on making a home about how they’ve been able to save money over the years. Their tips are smart and may help you start saving a bit more.

When you’re on a tight budget, it can be difficult to decide what to spend your hard-earned cash on. Do you splurge on the fun stuff? Be responsible and renovate? There’s no one answer that’s right for everyone. But, reading what’s been worth the money to other people might help you figure out what’s most important to you. Below, eight people (who know a thing or two about making a home) share the purchases that had the biggest impact on their happiness at home.

A little insight into the writing process: I wanted to kick this post off with a clever quote about baby steps or making sure you stay moving towards your goals, but I couldn’t pick one quote because there are so many of them, in so many different languages. It just goes to prove how, universally, a series of small efforts really can add up to make major impacts on your well-being. There’s nowhere the sentiment is more true, though, than in finance.

I will never understand the folks who jump from financed car to financed car. As soon as they’ve paid off their humble wheels, they’ll use the extra cash to upgrade to a nicer ride—sometimes with an even bigger car payment than before. In my opinion, when you have a perfectly safe, serviceable, paid-off car, you should stick with it. Because here’s the thing: Car payments suck.

If you’re devoting 2017 to getting out of debt, saving for a new home, paying for school, amping up your retirement or any other money-oriented goal you could possibly make for your financial well-being, you won’t get there without a game plan. You’ll need to find creative ways to save every extra cent you can stand.

If you are considering purchasing a home, you have likely already read everything you can get your hands on espousing the pros and cons of owning your own home. Rent vs. Buy has become one of the big debates of our time, but what do you do if you are solidly on team Buy, but the numbers just don’t add up? Read on for signs that a small multifamily property (meaning a duplex, triplex or fourplex) may be an option for you.

Typically, saving money and lottery tickets don’t go hand in hand (unless you count the loss of savings due to lottery ticket purchases), but a new app called Long Game hopes to develop more of a positive association between the two.

Just having a 401K is a good start. But it’s what you do with it that has a major impact on your retirement. You’re the one in charge of it all, but saving for the future doesn’t have to be another dread on your financial checklist. With a little solid advice, you’ll be well on your way to conquering common 401K mistakes and closer to your retirement dream.

Your most powerful money-saving tool isn’t a coupon-searching browser extension or the willpower it takes to say no to a Pumpkin Spice Latte. It’s your phone. Seriously.

Collecting your coins and spare bills is a great way to save money, because over time, all that change adds up. But emptying your pockets into a jar or a piggy bank when you walk in the door? Not exactly the most fun or inspired way to do things. If you need a little extra motivation to save—whether it’s to pay for something special, or to curb your bad money habits—try one of these takes on the traditional coin jar or piggy bank.