What Are 5 Tips for Saving Money?

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Written By Jeffrey Braun

What Are 5 Tips for Saving Money?

One More Dollar Saved, One Less Dollar Spent: Building Financial Freedom Through Discipline

Most people don’t fall behind financially because of one dramatic decision. It’s quieter than that.

It’s the “small” choices that barely register in the moment—an auto-renewed subscription you forgot, a few extra delivery fees, a late-night impulse cart, a convenience purchase that becomes a habit. None of these wrecks a budget on their own. But together, they create what I think of as financial fog: you work, you try, and you still wonder where the money went.

Here’s the pattern I trust most: sustainable change rarely arrives as a grand overhaul. It shows up as a repeatable decision—small enough to start today, strong enough to matter.

That’s the Start With One philosophy in financial form:
One more dollar saved. One less dollar spent.
Not because a dollar changes your life overnight—but because a habit does.

Below are five practical tips—plus a “People also ask” section that answers the rules and questions readers keep googling.

Tip 1: Set one savings goal you can measure and date

“Save more” is a wish. A target is a plan.

Choose one clear goal with a deadline—“Save $500 for an emergency buffer by June 1”—then break it into bite-size steps (weekly or payday). The math isn’t glamorous; it’s freeing. A $500 goal over 10 weeks is $50/week. Clear enough to follow.

Start With One move: Pick one 90-day goal. Write the amount and the date where you’ll see it daily.

Tip 2: Automate savings so discipline doesn’t do all the work

If you save “whatever’s left,” there’s often nothing left.

Automation flips the script: savings happens first, spending adapts after. Set a recurring transfer every payday—even $10. Use a separate savings account if you can, so it’s not sitting in your everyday spending lane.

Start With One move: Automate one transfer on payday. Small is fine. Consistency is the win.

Tip 3: Cut one category at a time and move the difference immediately

Most budgets fail because they try to fix everything at once. Willpower burns out. Life happens. Then the budget becomes a guilt factory.

Instead, pick one category to trim for 30 days—takeout, rideshares, online shopping, convenience spending—and transfer what you would have spent straight into savings. That transfer is important: it turns “spending less” into visible progress.

Start With One move: Choose one category and one simple rule: “Two takeout meals a week,” or “No purchases after 9 p.m.”

Tip 4: Audit subscriptions and recurring bills like a journalist follows receipts

Subscriptions are silent spenders: small monthly charges that feel harmless—until they stack.

Do a recurring-charge audit (streaming, apps, memberships, delivery perks, software trials). Cancel what you don’t use. Then take the monthly amount you just “found” and automate it into savings. If you’re up for it, call providers (phone, internet, insurance) and ask for a better rate—one conversation can beat a month of micro-cutbacks.

Start With One move: Cancel one subscription today and redirect that money automatically.

Tip 5: Treat “extra money” like a windfall, not permission to spend

Refunds, bonuses, cash gifts, and a small raise—these moments can either boost your savings or vanish into lifestyle creep.

Pick a windfall rule and make it automatic: save 50% (or 70%, or 30%—choose something you’ll actually do). The power is in deciding before the money lands.

Start With One move: Write your rule: “I save __% of any windfall.” Put it in your notes app right now.

The 7-day “Start With One” money reset

  • Day 1: Review the last 30 days. Identify your top 3 spending categories.

  • Day 2: Set one 90-day savings goal.

  • Day 3: Automate one payday transfer.

  • Day 4: Cancel one subscription (or downgrade a plan).

  • Day 5: Pick one category cut for 30 days.

  • Day 6: Cook one more meal at home and allocate the savings to a separate account.

  • Day 7: Decide your windfall rule.

Small steps. Visible traction. Repeatable discipline.

People Also Ask: The Saving Rules Everyone Googles (Explained Simply)

What is the 50/30/20 rule for savings?

It’s a simple budgeting guideline:

  • 50% needs (housing, groceries, utilities, minimum debt payments)

  • 30% wants (eating out, entertainment, non-essentials)

  • 20% savings + extra debt payments

Use it as a starting point, not a moral standard. If your “needs” are higher (common in expensive cities), shift the percentages—what matters is that some percentage is consistently going to savings or debt reduction.

Start With One version: Track one month and see your real split. Adjust by 1–2% in the right direction next month.

How much will $100 a month be worth in 30 years?

It depends on the return you earn. But this is exactly why small, consistent saving matters: time does heavy lifting.

If you invest $100/month for 30 years (360 deposits), here are rough outcomes:

  • At 5% average annual return, about $83,000

  • At 7%: about $122,000

  • At 10%: about $226,000

Those are estimates (markets vary, inflation matters, fees matter). But the takeaway is steady: the habit is bigger than the amount.

Start With One version: If $100 feels impossible, start with $25. Your future self will recognize the decision, not just the number.

What is the $27.39 rule?

People use “$27.39” as a micro-savings benchmark: small daily spending leaks compound into meaningful annual money.

Why $27.39? Because it’s roughly $10,000 per year ÷ 365 days. It’s a way of asking:
“If I reduced my daily spending by about $27, what could that become over a year?”

You don’t need to hit that number. It’s a lens. It reveals how “small” daily habits can equal big annual outcomes.

Start With One version: Find your own number. Even $5/day is ~$1,825/year.

Is it better to pay off debt or save?

Usually, it’s not either/or—it’s both, in the right order.

A practical framework:

  1. Build a small emergency buffer (so a flat tire doesn’t become new debt)

  2. Pay down high-interest debt aggressively (especially credit cards)

  3. Increase savings and investing once the high-interest drain is gone

If your debt interest is very high, paying it down can be a “guaranteed return” compared to many investments. But having some emergency cash protects you from sliding backward.

Start With One version: Save $500–$1,000 as a starter buffer, then attack the highest-interest debt.

What is the 7-3-2 rule?

A few versions are floating around online, but the most common budgeting interpretation is:

  • 70% for living expenses (needs + some wants)

  • 20% for savings/investing

  • 10% for giving or debt payoff (or a flexible “future goals” bucket)

Treat it like a simple guardrail, not a rigid law. Your life may need a different split.

Start With One version: Don’t overhaul your percentages—move one percentage point this month (e.g., 19% → 20% toward savings/debt).

What is the 3-jar method?

It’s a straightforward way to manage money with clear buckets:

  • Jar 1: Needs (bills, rent, groceries, essentials)

  • Jar 2: Wants (fun, lifestyle, extras)

  • Jar 3: Future (savings, emergency fund, investing, debt payoff)

You can do this with three bank accounts, three spreadsheet lines, or three envelopes. The point is separation: money with a job is harder to “accidentally” spend.

Start With One version: Create one “Future” jar today—even if it starts at $10.

How do I aggressively save money without hating my life?

Aggressive saving works best when it’s targeted, not miserable.

Practical, high-impact moves:

  • Automate savings first, so you don’t rely on willpower

  • Cut one “big leak” (car payment, recurring subscriptions, delivery habit, high-interest debt)

  • Do a “low-spend month” focused on one category, not everything

  • Increase income if possible (overtime, a focused side gig, selling unused items)

  • Protect your “pressure valve” spending: keep one small joy so the plan lasts

Start With One version: Pick one aggressive move you can maintain for 30 days: “No delivery,” or “Cancel 2 subscriptions,” or “Save every windfall.”

Conclusion: Discipline isn’t punishment—it’s freedom in plain clothes

People hear “discipline” and imagine deprivation. But real financial discipline is quieter than that. It’s choosing future stability over present drift—one decision at a time.

You don’t need to save perfectly. You need to save consistently.
You don’t need to cut everything. You need to cut something you can sustain.

So if this feels heavy, return to the simplest truth:

Start With One transfer. One cancellation. One category. One rule.
One more dollar saved. One less dollar spent.
Then repeat—until your finances stop feeling like a crisis and start feeling like a plan.

📘 Get the book: Start With One: Small Steps to a Big Change → a.co/d/5uoSTEJ

🔗 The “Money Moves” Source Shelf — Credible Reads Behind the Blog

Jeffrey Braun
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