Money

The days of having to track down a printer or packing tape are over, just in time for the holidays.

...even after you spend them.

If you take on a few small changes today, you'll rack up a snowball of savings that will set you up for life.

The people you’re hosting aren’t coming over to be wowed by extra counter space or a second bathroom; they’re coming over to spend time with you.

Ahead of the bustling holiday season and the self-reflective start of another year, we wanted to give you some truths and tools to help you host at home and see your friends more.

First: You definitely don’t need tons of cash to have fun. Second: You’re not alone in feeling discouraged about your money situation.

Fool your friends into thinking you spent a billion dollars with these ritzy-looking buys from Dollar Tree, Target, Trader Joe's, and Flying Tiger.

It solves so many issues!

Pack these 11 tools and you'll be ready for anything—even if you’re living in a studio apartment that barely has enough room for a twin bed.

These eight products are the core of my Trader Joe's shopping list, and heaven help me if the company discontinues them.

It's our new favorite place to shop budget.

We reached out to our friends at Etsy to get an idea of which candle shops their customers can’t seem to get enough of.

For those who have been patiently waiting since 2017 for OFF-WHITE's Virgil Abloh and his millennial-focused collection to drop, the wait is almost over.

Starting fresh allows me to take stock of exactly where I am right now and to move forward with purpose.

Here are a few of the most common little things that add up over time.

Losing things isn’t just inconvenient—it can get expensive!

Prepaid gift cards are great, but once the balance is down to a small amount, your once-coveted cash alternative inevitably accumulates dust in your wallet. Don't let your precious pennies go to waste.

Caring about your credit score doesn't make you boring, it makes you responsible and dare I say it, interesting!

They don't make it exactly obvious or easy, but Amazon does let you review your spending totals. Just in case you're not into combing through credit card statements or digging through email receipts.

Even though our family of seven rarely eats out without a Kids Eat Free promo, eating meals out at restaurants is expensive.

I decided to majorly thin out my book collection—but to my surprise, it wasn't something that made me sad. Instead, I loved the library I was left with.

You might have financial goals at this point in your life. Or, you might not. But here’s the good news: it’s completely possible to save money and still have a happy, fulfilled existence. You just have to adopt a frugal mindset, and put practices in place to help you succeed. To help you out, here are 100+ ways to get thrifty and reduce your cost of living… 1. 6 Tips for Creating a ‘Buy Better, Buy Less’ Budget 2. How To Have an Adult Apartment on a Budget 3.

Traveling on a budget isn’t necessarily easy, but it’s definitely not impossible — especially if you get a little strategic.

It can be difficult to muster up the willpower to say “no” when you’re compelled to drop some cash.It doesn’t matter what speaks to you—boozy brunch, a new rug for the living room, a limited edition sneaker drop—the siren call to spend can be deafening. But if you’re serious about saving money for the long haul, you’re going to have to learn how and when to say “no” when shopping.

With entertaining season upon us, what’s a more fitting project than a versatile little bar cart? A sturdy — but rather ugly — thrift store find, this little microwave cart gets to live on with an (arguably more fun) second life.The writer at She’s No Martha had a hankering for a sleek little cocktail station, and she dressed up her $20 find with some white paint and some handles on the sides.

I was at Target the other day, and standing in front of me in line was a gentleman buying a plunger. That’s it. A plunger. While I really should have been feeling bad for him, because after all, the poor guy was out on a plunger run, I found myself staring at him in wonder, dazzled by his ability to get out of Target with only one darn thing.

The first time I saw a top-entry litter box, I wondered where it had been all my life. That top-oriented entrance hole looked like it would cut down dramatically on my cat tracking litter out of the box on her paws and eliminate accidental out-of-the-box spraying. Unfortunately, that kind of litter box can be expensive. But now someone has figured out a way to make one with a simple IKEA hack.

At Apartment Therapy, we have an entire category called Budget Living where we funnel ideas and strategies for living and decorating when you’re tight on funds. But “budget living” isn’t a one-size-fits-all term. One person’s poor is another’s filthy rich. When we published an article about living on minimum wage, our lovely readers came together with an outpouring of responses for making ends meet when it feels like there are miles between them.

If you like making resolutions, there’s no need to feel like you missed the boat just because we’re well into 2015. In fact, I’d say you’re probably better off making resolutions now than in a hungover haze on the 1st— once again, procrastination wins the day! Here are the 5 reasons I’m a big fan of delayed resolutions- of course, if you don’t like making resolutions, simply carry on. 1.

There are several reasons you could need to stretch $100 through an entire week. Maybe you’re saving hard for a vacation or maybe you had some unexpected emergency expenses and are low in your checking account until your next paycheck. Whatever your personal reasons for embarking on an extra-frugal week, here are some budgeting tips to help make $100 last all seven days. If you know you only have $100 and a week, you need to be extremely deliberate about where that money is going.

Confession: I have a lot of anxiety about shopping for new clothes. I love adding new pieces to my wardrobe, but historically, I haven’t always been good at judging when I actually should or shouldn’t buy something.

New crib, new crib mattress, new rug, new curtains, new rocker, new wall art, new bookshelves, new dresser, new change mat—no doubt about it, the nursery business is big business. But do we really all need to buy into it? I mean, is it possible to just do no nursery? Would that be okay? How would that work? Well, ultimately, the answer to that question is going to be personal. And by personal, I mean it’s going to depend on you.

Planning a wedding can bring about conflicting emotions. On the one hand, your romantic side finds warmth in the idea of being surrounded by the people you love, on a truly beautiful day that appeals to all your stylistic sensibilities. But your practical side remains firmly rooted in the grit, reminding you that it’s just one night of your life and not worth taking out a loan the size of a luxury vehicle. But you can have both. And these ten couples will prove it to you.

Sitting down to create a budget is rarely at the top of my weekend agenda. But that doesn’t make it any less important. No matter your financial situation, you are ultimately the expert in managing the day-to-day (and year-to-year) of your own money matters. And if creating a budget is part of your plan, there are some questions for a little budgeting introspection that just may help you sort through those spreadsheets with a little more ease.

The words “bullet journaling” usually elicit one of three reactions from people: One: “What’s that?,” Two: “How does anyone have time for that?,” or Three: whatever the dialogue version of the heart-eyes emoji is. A bullet journal, if you’re unfamiliar, is an organizational system that combines your diary, sketchbook, to-do list and more all into one.

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.

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

Debt-slaying and money-saving posts are rife with suggestions for how to shave a little here, trim a little there, not spend, not spend, not spend. But you can’t say you’re saving money just because you’re packing your own lunch and drinking the coffee you brewed at home.

You dream of having a smart home the way others dream of having a closet full of designer shoes. The only problem? You’re on a budget, and smart home solutions are way beyond your means… Or are they? It’s true that just like designer shoes, many smart home devices and systems come with a high price tag. Truth: High-end connected appliances and kits costing thousands of dollars are nice, but they aren’t essential to creating a smart home experience.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to work at IKEA? With stores that resemble mazes and tons of products everywhere you turn, it’s sure to be just as much of an experience working there as it is shopping there. And of course, those who do work there just may be able to give us IKEA civilians a little helpful shopping advice.

IKEA is a many-splendored place. Along with rows and rows of inexpensive but stylish furnishings, the mega-retailer also boasts a pretty impressive “as-is” section—filled with broken items, custom returns, and of course major markdowns. However, the only problem (like most hassles related to shopping at IKEA) is timing: figuring out the best day to show up to peruse these oft-ransacked shelves.

30—the magical percentage of take home income that people are supposed to spend on housing and housing related expenses like utilities for their living situation to be considered within their means—might be harder and harder to achieve, but at least us regular, real life people aren’t alone. TV characters often live in unrealistic places, and a new study shows just which ones could afford their homes, and which would be spending more than they should.

I like to think I’m a pretty savvy Amazon shopper. I regularly surf for Lightning Deals and take full advantage of Subscribe & Save and no-rush shipping discounts. So I’m a little shocked I didn’t know about this well-kept secret sooner. Have you heard about Amazon Trade-In? Amazon’s Trade-In program lets you turn in used items in exchange for Amazon gift cards and discounts.

Financial wizards will tell you that there’s no time like the present to reign in your spending and get a grip on your budget—but it’s their job to say that! Setting a food budget (that you can stick to) isn’t exactly a cake walk. In fact, it’s kinda the opposite. To help you get on the right track, we asked 10 (super-relatable) home cooks for their best realistic food budgeting advice that you can implement right now.

Let’s be real: With all of the shoppable links and decorating inspo posts filling up our feeds, browsing Instagram usually makes us want to spend money more than save it. If your swipe-up-to-buy finger is itchy, you should add a few of these follows to your feed instead. Not only are they full of money-saving inspiration, they’ll also help you learn how to better balance and manage your bank account in the long run.

If you’re like me, you subscribe to a bunch of streaming services. While they’re not particularly expensive, those monthly fees can add up. But there’s some good news for the multi-streamers among us: Spotify Premium members can get Hulu for free. Yep, totally free. If you’re already paying the $9.99 to listen to Spotify ad-free, there’s a new perk. The Verge reports that you can bundle the basic Hulu plan into your account for no extra monthly charge.

These days, it’s hard to come across a person who doesn’t already have a side hustle, whether it’s running an Etsy store, driving for Uber or Lyft or renting out a spot on Airbnb. But most of those take a lot of work. A far more flexible way to earn some pocket change would be something like Indeed’s Job Spotter app. Instead of uploading selfies to Instagram, Job Spotter gives you more than just likes and follows.

Earlier this year, I wrote a 3-part series about my recent experiment with capsule wardrobes: why I did it, how I did it, and what I learned. While many of you seemed to like the idea of capsules and the posts themselves, a common comment was that you’d prefer to see real-life examples of what a capsule wardrobe looks like— i.e., my own wardrobe. Gulp. There were a few reasons I didn’t do this the first time around.

For those times when you need a little more motivation (and cash flow).

If you’re anything like the average American, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates you spend just over $164 per day, with the bulk of that money going towards housing, transportation, and food. But in 2016, the median income per capita was estimated at just $33,205—that’s $26,855 less than the average American is spending each year. Yikes, that math just doesn’t add up.

You’re set to start saving for your future. You already put money aside for retirement every month, but you’re probably already wondering how you should invest it. Which type of retirement savings account is best for you? Should you start a 401(k), an IRA, a Roth 401(k), or a Roth IRA? What even are the differences? What about if your first home is your savings priority right now?

‘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.

When my husband came home from work and told me that the next day would be his last at his job, we went into immediate emergency cost-cutting mode. And we quickly learned that the easiest place to slash the budget, in principle, was one of the most painful in practice: our food expenses. We love food—eating it, cooking it, talking about it, sharing it. And an embarrassingly large percentage of our budget went to food—good ingredients, kitchen equipment, eating out.

Whether you’re trying to tighten the belt this year, or you’re one of those people who can’t stand the thought of paying any more for something than you have to, scouring the sale and clearance sections at your favorite stores is probably a habit.

As January turns into February, it would seem that the harsh cold weather is here to stay. One day we have temperatures in the 40s, and the next, it’s a frigid 5 degrees. With these fluctuating temperatures comes dry skin and brittle, damaged hair. The winter weather can even take a toll on those who don’t color or use heat tools, or those who already have silky hair. One way to combat dryness is using a hair mask to help keep your locks hydrated.

We did the math, and the benefits of being a Costco member actually work out in your favor on this one.

It’s official: 2019 is here and it’s time to get your money right. We called on Priya Malani, co-founder of Stash Wealth, a financial planning firm for millennials, for advice on how to better handle our money in the New Year. From setting up a different savings account to signing up for automatic withdrawals, here are five money-savvy tips to jumpstart your 2019 financial goals.

It’s a new year—and time to up your hustle. More and more people are turning their passions and creative outlets into profits, by making them their side gigs. In fact, according to Pinterest, searches for “side hustles at home” are up nearly 700 percent! So to make your moneymaking endeavors a little easier, we rounded up some of the best jobs you can take on in 2019 to supplement your income.

Gift-giving season means we all have to be a little stealthier about our online shopping—especially if you share accounts with the people you’re trying to surprise. Or maybe you found the perfect thing to finish your shopping list, but don’t want to give your credit card info over to the Amazon machine to get it. Whatever your reason for wanting to shop incognito, we have the answer: Amazon Cash. Amazon Cash, my friends, the answer is Amazon Cash.

They say idle hands are the devil’s playground. Or is it an idle mind? When our twitching fingers tap from “add to bag” to “checkout” before we know what happened, it certainly feels like our good intentions of not spending money uselessly have been thwarted by a devilish boredom that whispers, pitchfork held aside, to go on ahead and just check to see if there are any good sales.

As magical as the holidays are, this time of year can also be a bit stressful—between handling a barrage of party invites, planning your own get-togethers, wrapping up the year, visiting family and getting all your holiday shopping done… well, it’s a lot. And then there’s the whole spending money thing. Shopping and celebrating add up, but it doesn’t have to be quite so painful.

Budgeting is too often misunderstood. The problem: Many people look over their expenses after the money is gone. Then they get startled or—even less productively—embarrassed at how much money was spent on things like eating out or buying new clothing, and vow to cut back next month. It’s an endless cycle that does little to change your spending habits.

If you’re anything like me, a.k.a. prone to compulsive late-night Amazon Prime purchases (especially after a couple glasses of wine), then boy do we have the solution for you. Amazon Allowance is a feature on Amazon that allows you to fund your shopping (or someone else’s) with gift card credits you set aside ahead of time—so you can shop to your heart’s content without ever sharing your credit card info.

So you’re going to build a tiny house. It may be small, and it may be cute, but you’ll still need a plan to build from, just like with any other house. Even if your tiny budget doesn’t allow for an architect, there are plenty of free (or very inexpensive) tiny house plans available on the internet. Here are some of our favorites. This tiny home has a distinctly modern look, and the inside is filled with light.

What good home finds are waiting for you at Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and HomeGoods? Um, to sum it up briefly, a lot! I have a fairly intense relationship with Marshalls. I grew up shopping their Bedford, MA, store and now I am lucky enough to live near a “really good one” outside Los Angeles. This is not just my personal opinion — I am quoting a very impressed gentleman I heard remark as he walked through it.

When you look back on the holidays, you want to remember things like the raucous Christmas party or the morning you spent laughing with your family over latkes—not the times when you spent all day hunting for a parking spot or waited an hour in line at the department store checkout. To help you make more room for happy memories—and save you from holiday shopping stress—Apartment Therapy is launching a new program called Holiday Jumpstart.

Little money-saving habits don’t ever feel like they’re doing much in the moment, but in the long run they can add up to significant savings. And, no, we’re not talking about the same well-worn advice to brew your own coffee or bring your lunch to work. These are at-home habits, most of which involve a minor change in your routine and might only take a few seconds each.

Store-brand products aren’t usually something to get excited about. They’re cheap and … that’s about it. But Costco’s Kirkland Signature brand of products are a bargain-hunter’s dream because they are not only economical, but also often top-of-the-line.

If you’ve ever done a home renovation you know what comes along with it. Gut-shredding, teeth-grinding, hair-pulling, night-terrors stress. It is an absolute wonder why any of us would ever do it again. But, maybe as is the case with other painful things like tattoos, or (I hear) childbirth, we seem to forget in our headlong rush to start that next project just how bad it can be.

No matter the journey, in-flight service can vary wildly. In my experience alone, I’ve encountered flight attendants who are delighted to bend over backwards for their passengers and others who are more stern and tight-lipped. But apparently there is an insanely easy tip for getting on any cabin crew’s good side to receive first-class service at your economy seat — and you don’t even have to do any superficial schmoozing.

According to the Boston University sustainability department, an average shower uses about 5 gallons of water per minute. That means if you shorten your shower by just 2 minutes each day, you can cut your water use by 10 gallons at a time. It really adds up–with major impacts to your wallet and the environment. Whatever your goal–lowering your bill or just your water usage overall–it’s quite the challenge to try and shorten your time in the shower.

If you're willing to spend some time digging, you can find some pretty special deals.