5 Money Habits That Help When You Don’t Make a Lot of Money
If you’re feeling the pinch financially (that sounds nicer than being broke, right?), then you’re probably hoping to earn more money above all else. However, higher income is only one piece of the puzzle to achieving and maintaining sound financial health.
If you get a raise or a better job, but bad money habits follow you into your newly enriched life, it’s very likely that you’ll still find yourself, well, broke. That makes this the perfect time to build the discipline and consistency needed for strong money management — obviously, to meet the immediate need of stretching your meager paycheck — but also to enhance your financial well-being by instilling lifelong principles for prosperity today.
The following good habits are a great way to build a positive money mindset while also freeing up some sorely-needed cash.
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1. Pay Yourself First
Even most people who live paycheck to paycheck find a way to pay the rent and keep the lights on every month because they treat housing and utilities as nonnegotiable, must-pay bills. According to Wells Fargo, they should hold their long-term prosperity in a similarly high regard by paying their future selves first on payday. When you treat savings as a nondiscretionary bill that you pay no matter what, just like rent, you’ll save consistently and over time, even the smallest contributions will add up.
2. Take a 30-Day Pause on All ‘Want’ Purchases
When money is tight, impulse buying is the enemy of getting ahead and the 30-day rule can help you curb spontaneous spending by giving you time to make sure you really want that cart full of stuff. According to SoFi, waiting 30 days before buying any nonessential items can prevent wasteful splurging and instill the habit of thoughtful, deliberate spending.
3. Track Every Penny
Budgeting is one of the cornerstones of financial wellness, particularly if money is tight. There are many strategies and formats, but they all serve the same basic purpose — track every penny coming in and going out so you can allocate your finite income wisely, avoid overspending and identify opportunities to save. When it comes to earning and spending, if you’re guessing, you’re wasting.
4. Audit and Trim Subscriptions
Data from ReSubs proves the value of budgeting. The subscription management and recurring payment tracking app found that the average consumer spends $219 per month on subscriptions, but thinks they spend just $86.
Get in the habit of auditing your subscriptions a few times per year to identify forgotten or unused services or automatic charges for free trials you forgot to end.
5. Eat (and Shop) According to a Meal Plan
Personal finance pros have long declared that planning the week’s meals and shopping only for the necessary ingredients can save ordinary people hundreds or thousands of dollars annually by dramatically reducing waste and splurge spending — and that was before the robots could do it for you.
SummitPlate, a platform that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to meal plan for frugal shoppers, reports that its service saves the average family $127 per month in 2026, without having to endure the tedium the task used to entail.
This article was provided by MoneyLion.com for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial, legal or tax advice.
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