It’s well known that there’s no quick or easy way to get rich, regardless of what influencers and people deep in pyramid schemes try to tell you. In reality, most wealthy people inherited their funds, became extremely lucky or worked exceptionally hard. Perhaps, all of the above! But there are still certain things the rest of us can do to accumulate more wealth than we currently have.
Redditors have been discussing the best financial advice they’ve ever received, tips they wish they had learned sooner and advice that can help you stash some cash, so we’ve gathered some of their wisdom down below. Enjoy scrolling through, and be sure to upvote the tips you’re eager to try!
#1
A lot of “luxury” brands are things the poor buy to look wealthy.
Image source: rampants, Karly Jones / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#2
Spending money on cars for status is stupid.
Image source: Unusual_Mine2454, Marc Kleen / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#3
Find a good partner, divorces are expensive. Brush your teeth really good two times per day, dentists are expensive. Take care of your health, clean food, exercise and sleep, doctors are expensive. Look after your mental health as best as you can…you guessed it, depression is really expensive, in all aspects of life, once it sets in.
*Also, time is NOT money, you can always get some more money, but you won’t get your time back.
To appreciate how priceless your health is, would you trade your eyesight for 1 billion dollars? Do think about this question profoundly because if you wouldn’t trade it, that means you have an “asset” that’s not measurable in financial terms, you’re infinitely rich from this perspective. Try to stay blindfolded for a few hours and do things around your house like that, to experience how it would be like to be blind. Have gratitude and remind yourself, if you have health, you have wealth!
Image source: AstroFire88, Emma Bauso / pexels (not the actual photo)
#4
A much older coworker when I was working as a receptionist at a tax resolution company was next to me when I got offered my 1st geologist job. When my excitement died down, she asked me what the benefits were. When I got to the 401k match, she told me that I needed to max out the match right away. She said “you’re offered more money than you’ve ever made before so just put in the full 6%. You’ll never miss it.” I did exactly that and she was right.
Image source: ppnuri, Kindel Media / pexels (not the actual photo)
#5
The biggest unavoidable expenses in your life will be housing, transportation, and food. Minimize these expenses. I live in NYC, which is a notoriously expensive city. But by taking care of ‘the big three,’ the lifestyle here becomes surprisingly affordable. I live in an unfashionable neighborhood, use my monthly Metrocard to get everywhere I need to go on public transport, and cook for myself 95% of the time (rather than eating out). This saves a huge amount of money! (which I then blow on expensive tickets to Broadway shows, but that’s beside the point).
Image source: lucyisnotcool, Luca Nardone / pexels (not the actual photo)
#6
The only one I can think of right now concerns eating healthy, which can be super hard to do on a budget when fresh veggies cost an arm and a leg. My tip: frozen veggies. Not only can they be stored long-term, but they’re frozen really soon after being harvested, which means that they’re oftentimes fresher than the veggies in the produce section.
Image source: Eastern_Mark_7479, Bozhin Karaivanov / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#7
Be born to rich parents.
Image source: Check_This_1, Brock Wegner / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#8
Never buy a depreciating asset with credit. If you buy a car buy a good used one that has taken the majority of its depreciation.
Image source: Facebook_Algorithm, Pixabay / pexels (not the actual photo)
#9
Spend on what you truly value, ruthlessly cut what you don’t.
Image source: _mdz, Ainur Iman / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#10
This might be a wacky response but I’ll throw out there anyway. I had to stop with the handouts. I was being “too nice” and got taken advantage of (several times) by ungrateful people. My intent was to help but I ended up feeling like an idiot when these people that I “helped” came back and started complaining because would not continue to help them.
I don’t use the word “flabbergasted” very often but yeah I was flabbergasted at their sheer gall! I digress.
Image source: InternationalPay8288, Tom Parsons / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#11
Wealth whispers and does not need external validation.
Image source: First_Night_1860, ArtHouse Studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
#12
Personal finance is personal. Meaning, stop comparing yourself to others. Consider whether their decisions would also be good for you, but realize that it’s ok and normal for your decisions to be one of a kind. It’s ok for you to be ahead or behind your peers, because you are not your peers. Etc.
Image source: plexluthor, Mohamed hamdi / pexels (not the actual photo)
#13
Buy really good items that last.
Somehow my parents never enforced that with me, but I started buying good things in 2006 and it made a difference.
Image source: Think_Leadership_91, Kenny Eliason / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#14
Privacy. Truly rich people are anonymous. You’ll never know who they are and if you saw them out in public they look like everyone else. They look at people who wear luxury fashions with logos all over them as sad pretenders. They don’t have social media, they don’t do anything public at all, and they keep their lives so private that outside of their immediate family few people know what they’re actually like.
Image source: anon
#15
You can be very generous without spending a lot of money. The additional cost of feeding another person at home is tiny. For less than the cost of one ice cream cone at the ice cream store, you can buy a whole tub of ice cream. This is even more true with soft drinks and alcohol.
Image source: SEA_tide, Dakota Corbin / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#16
As a woman — learn your worth in the job market and don’t settle for less.
Image source: sabarlah, Kier in Sight Archives / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#17
Think differently. It is not about saving. It is about not spending. Do you really need it? Do you have room for it? Can it wait? Ask tons of question before buying.
Image source: Zebras55, No Revisions / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#18
Don’t show off. It’s boring.
Image source: ReaceNovello
#19
The faster you realize that you were programmed at birth to buy buy buy. The faster you can break the cycle, and start saving with high interest rates that will compound you into wealth over 30 or 40 years.
Image source: Additional_Ad_5970, Clay Banks / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#20
Compound interest is an amazing thing.
Image source: jp112078, Austin Distel / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#21
One monthly bill we have control over is food. I throw NOTHING away. If bananas are going bad, I make banana bread, then wrap and freeze it in small batches. With eggs going bad, scramble and freeze. I once had a package of bread rolls that were going to go bad. Before they did, I broke them into chunks, let them sit out for a few days, and then made bread crumbs. Possibilities are ENDLESS. Buy food on sale that week and meal plan from that.
If you go out to dinner, see who is having specials. Look for coupons. Download apps where you might get a discount.
Image source: cathef, leonie wise / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#22
Stop spending money on stupid s**t like new cars, designer clothes/handbags, jewelry, alcohol, etc.
Buy things you need that are competitively priced.
If I had known that 30 years ago, I would’ve been able to stop working a lot earlier.
Image source: kochIndustriesRussia
#23
Some things people never think about relating to your vehicle: Clean the junk out of your vehicle. The more weight, the more fuel you burn, the more money you waste. And don’t drive so fast. For most trips, you don’t save that much time really. Fuel usage in your vehicle is a bell curve, and most cars are geared to have their best mileage at around 55 mph. Driving 90 everywhere is throwing away money.
Image source: Dakens2021, Mike Bird / pexels (not the actual photo)
#24
Cutting up old shirts into cleaning rags.
Image source: anon
#25
Don’t borrow money to buy cars.
Image source: mrmrmrj, Karolina Kaboompics / pexels (not the actual photo)
#26
YouTube is your friend, learn how to cut your own hair, fix appliances, change your oil, cook at home, look up workouts, look up audiobooks on there, do your own nails, pedicures, facials, etc, natural remedies, games with stuff around the house for game night, wash your dishes by hand, don’t use the dryer or dish washer, get lower wattage lightbulbs, use fans instead of AC, drink tap water and nothing else, start intermittent fasting and simply eat less, walk places or bike, don’t use fabric softener or dryer sheets, use reusable rags, make your own soap/detergent/all purpose cleaner, work overtime or find a side gig, contribute more to 401k to save in taxes, sugaring instead of buying wax or razors, maximize credit card cash back rewards, cancel streaming services and go to the library and get movies there, don’t leave water running while doing dishes or brushing your teeth, get a bidet and never buy toilet paper again, use reusable water bottles, make your own coffee, drive slower worn AC off and roll the windows down, quit smoking or drinking alcohol, I could go on and on
Image source: garcisu, Nik / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#27
Spend money to get time back.
You can always make more money, but time runs out, and you need to spend time on your business/career to make money, not be wasting time working on your car or mowing your lawn.
Image source: ExplodingKnowledge
#28
Not me personally, but regrets I often see pop up.
Not taking advantage of compounding interest during the best decades of compounding growth in one’s lifetime.
Being a sucker for conspicuous consumption.
Debt outside of a mortgage when unnecessary (wants vs needs).
Living above one’s means, keeping up with the Joneses.
Marrying the wrong person.
Trying to time the market vs time in the market (see missing 50 best days in the market).
Image source: BojangleChicken
#29
Use those little dryer ball things. They cut down on the time you have to use the dryer since your clothes dry faster, so less power is needed. You can also try hanging stuff on a clothesline to dry your clothes if you want to go to extremes and forgo the dryer altogether.
Image source: Dakens2021, Mathias Reding / unsplash (not the actual photo)
#30
Invest while you’re young. Don’t put it off. Keep investing in up and down markets. Increase your investments annually. Never touch it until you are ready to retire.
Image source: Same_Cut1196, Anna Nekrashevich / pexels (not the actual photo)
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