12 Money Hacks for Financial Success in 2020

A new year.  Is there anything better than a fresh start?  The new year is always full of such promise and possibility.  This can be the year you can start bossing your money around like a pro.  If you are pumped at the prospect of finally getting your money working for you, then you need these money hacks for financial success.  

I don’t know about you, but I love a fresh start…probably more than I should.  You have a clean slate and no regrets. If you are like me, you are wanting to make this year your best year yet.  And, when it comes to your money, there are certain things you can do to start living your best life.

These money-saving tips will be a total game-changer for you if you are serious about taking control of your money and getting out of debt.  How do I know? Because I have done and continue to do all of these things! By focusing on our goal to be debt-free, my husband and I have been able to put more than $130,000 toward paying off debt and cash flowing three children (oh ya, and a home renovation).

You can totally start yourself on a path to the life you want.  Step one will be putting together a budget (if you haven’t already done this).  

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12 Money Hacks For Financial Success This Year

1.  Track your spending

This may seem like a “duh” thing, but I promise it’s not.  My husband and I used to live in this pattern of freedom and panic every single month.  We would hit payday, spend like we had all the money in the world, then it would run out and we would panic and go into spending freeze mode.  It was terrible to live like that.

So what prevents this from happening?  Tracking your spending. It is one of the most important parts of budgeting.  You have to know where your money is going so you can start to make smarter decisions with it. 

If you haven’t been tracking your expenses, I promise, it will be an eye-opening experience for you.  AND you will finally feel like you have control over your money.

GET STARTED NOW USING OUR FREE EXPENSE TRACKING WORKSHEET!  GET IT WHEN YOU SIGN UP BELOW!

2.  Cut cable

I’m sure you have heard this one before, but seriously, cut the cable!  Cable is soo expensive compared to other options out there. We were able to cut our bill down by almost $100 just with this one thing.  Honestly, nowadays, there are so many other streaming services available. 

Depending on your package, you can change to Hulu with the Live TV option and really not feel deprived at all.  Or, you could do Netflix for even cheaper! Whichever option lands you the most money savings is the one to go for.

Stop overspending on entertainment.  Cable is not what you need in your life.  If you find yourself feeling completely deprived, just remember, not all of these changes have to be permanent.  They just need to be in place long enough to get you to a better financial situation.  

3.  Cut up your credit cards.

I get some resistance to this.  Like it’s hard for people to break up with their old plastic friends because then they won’t get the rewards or have that security of money on hand at all times.

Guess what?  Your credit card is not “money on hand.”  It is actually debt on hand, and that is not what you need more of.  Instead of a credit card, how about an emergency fund?? That will be even better than a credit card.

The rewards that you get are not worth the risk of carrying credit from month to month that is accruing interest.  It is too risky to possibly not pay off your credit card every month and start to slide into debt with it.

4.  Sell some stuff

This is one of the best ways you can make some extra cash and give yourself a new perspective on “stuff.”  No matter who you are, you definitely have some stuff lying around your home that you don’t need that someone else would want. 

Selling some stuff will clear out the clutter in your home, help you make some extra cash and allow you to feel what it’s like when you simplify your life (spoiler alert:  it feels AWESOME!). I have sold stuff on eBay and Facebook Marketplace and both are pretty easy to accomplish. 

You just never know what people will want to buy!

Related Post:

3 Amazing Benefits to Selling Your Stuff

5.  Cut your costs within your budget

This may sound super, “duh,” but really.  Inside your budget for the month, look at your variable expenses (those expenses that can be tweaked) and try to get them as low as possible.  These are things like your food, toiletries, cosmetics, entertainment, clothing, etc.

This is one of the exciting and challenging things about budgeting.  These are some of the numbers you can control and really make an impact on how much money you are freeing up every month to get it working for you, and not the other way around.

Get a bit creative (use hotel samples to get by for the month instead of buying new shampoo), completely empty your pantry instead of making that last trip to the grocery store, skip a haircut for a month, change to a cheaper makeup brand, etc.

Start paying attention to where you are spending your money and improve it!  You are in control of where your money is going, so why not make it do its very best for you?

6.  Have a “No Spend” weekend or month

A “No Spend” time is literally a time where you spend nothing outside of your fixed expenses.  Meaning, you still pay your bills, but you do absolutely nothing extra for the time period you have picked out.

If you are new to this concept, I would start with a no spend week and see how that goes.  Then you can build on that. These can be a bit tough to do but think of them as a money cleanse.  You will be fasting for a bit to reset your mindset and wallet. Bonus: you can end up saving tons of money during these!

7.  Start Meal Planning

This could be a single challenge for the year all on its own.  Meal planning is like this huge mountain for some of us to climb.  But, as it turns out, it really doesn’t have to be that complicated.  

In my own life, I was able to cut my grocery budget down from $700-$800/month to $250/month for a family of four.  I didn’t do anything magical beyond meal planning. It just took some effort on my part to be intentional about our menu and groceries.  Now that I’ve been doing it a while, it is second nature.

If you are totally new to meal planning, you need to start simple and build on it.  It is totally doable and will save you TONS of money.

Related Posts:

What’s For Dinner?  Meal Planning Simplified

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The Life Saving 12-Week Rotating Meal Plan

8.  Shop with a cashback app

If you haven’t been using cashback apps, you have been leaving money on the table.  Two of the best apps out there to give you cash rewards for things you would already have been buying anyways are:

iBotta

How iBotta Works:

First, make sure you download the app and get signed up!  It is completely FREE and you will get a $10 sign up bonus!

Make your grocery list.

Compare your grocery list to the iBotta app to find the offers that apply to your list.

Go shopping and save your receipt!

Redeem those offers by taking a picture of your receipt.  This is how you earn cash back! (You seriously just take a picture……zero effort).

You will cash deposited back to you in 48 hours.

Another way to use iBotta that isn’t just groceries: 

 Get signed up!  Don’t miss out on that $10 bonus!

 Use the mobile app for online purchases.

 Browse the many stores they have.

 Make a purchase that qualifies for cashback in the app.

 Get cashback!  Easy peasy!

Rakuten (previously Ebates) 

Rakuten is a free membership loyalty program.  This program helps you save money at stores you would already be shopping at, and the stores get more sales.  It’s a win-win for everyone. It is totally FREE to sign up, and you actually get a $10 welcome bonus when you sign up.

For every purchase you make in one of their loyalty stores (online), you get a percentage of your cashback.  This happens in one click. It’s freaking amazing!

This is a no-brainer.  Do you shop online? Do you enjoy saving money?  Do you have friends who also like to shop online?

You need Rakuten!  It is totally FREE!  All you have to do is sign up and they are going to give you a $10 welcome bonus.  Then you can start inviting others and doing the shopping you would be doing anyway and get cashback.

Get signed up today and start getting that cash back!  Sign up for Rakuten here!

Related Posts:

Rakuten:  A Full Review

How to Use iBotta to Save Money

9.  Pay off debt

Overwhelmed at the thought of this?  Excited at the prospect of this? You are in the right place!  Paying off debt is the number one way to free up your income to actually start working for you.  How many payments are you currently making every month?

I totally get the debt trap.  I was living with half a million dollars of debt. My debt payments were more than my mortgage.  It sucked! It feels like you have zero control of your money.

Do you have a similar feeling?  Ready for a change?

This is the year to get yourself out of debt.  Imagine what you could do with your money if you didn’t have to pay it to someone else.  Once you put together a budget, then you can put together your debt payoff plan and start making progress toward your future of financial freedom!

Related Posts:

How to Pay Off $35,000 of Debt in 6 Months

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10.  Create money goals

Goal setting is so huge when it comes to changing your financial future.  Setting money goals sounds super boring, but it really is one of the most important things you should be doing.  Whether you are just starting to budget, trying to pay off debt or build wealth, you need to know where you see yourself by next year.

I used to be one of those people who said, “I’m going to pay off debt this year.  That is my goal.” But soon, I realized that if I just had a general goal of paying off debt, I didn’t really know what it meant?  What was I actually trying to accomplish?

Would paying off $10 of debt be as rewarding as $1,000?  Heck no! If you want to make financial progress in your life, you need to be setting specific financial goals.

Related Post:

5 Reasons You Have to Set Specific Financial Goals

USE OUR FREE GOAL SETTING WORKSHEET TODAY TO PUT YOUR GOALS IN WRITING!  GET ACCESS WHEN YOU SIGN UP BELOW!

11.  Create an emergency fund

An emergency fund is an absolute MUST if you are serious about doing better with your money this year.  If you don’t have an emergency fund, you are fairly normal.

 Fewer than 1 out of every 2 Americans have money in savings to cover an unexpected expense. 

I used to be one of those people without an emergency fund too.  Here’s the thing though. Emergencies are going to happen. I don’t care who you are, it will happen to you at some point.  I went from never having an emergency to having three pretty big ones in a short period of time.

Once you have an emergency fund in place, you will then have the rest of your money kind of safeguarded.  If something comes up, you will have separate savings set aside to take care of it. This leaves your budget intact and your stress level at a minimum because you are prepared!

Sounds nice, right?  

Related Post:

Why You Need an Emergency Fund & How to Make it Happen

How to Quickly Save $1,000

12.  Cancel memberships & subscriptions

Memberships can be great, but only if you can actually afford them.  Not all memberships are a must in your life. Some can help you save money, but a lot of them lock you into spending a certain amount of money with them every month.

Let’s take gym memberships as an example:

Gym memberships are not a must-have in life.  You can spend anywhere between $10-$50/month on a gym membership.  Instead of paying for that convenience, workout in your own home or outside and free up that money.

There are tons of workouts available on YouTube, you can run outside or do exercises in your home.  Again, this isn’t permanent, so you can find a temporary solution to canceling your gym membership. When you aren’t struggling anymore, the gym will still be there.

Take this approach to any membership you may have.  Is there a cheaper alternative? Do you actually need this membership to survive right now?

Get creative to save yourself some money right now, and then you can always join again later.

Making serious lifestyle changes can feel uncomfortable, but most things in life worth having can be a challenge at first.  If you are looking to change your financial situation, you are going to have to get a little uncomfortable to do so. What you have been doing isn’t working so you need to get out of your comfort zone and try something new!

We get to start every year fresh, which is super exciting.  How serious are you about saving money this year and taking control of your finances?  If you can use these money-saving hacks, you will be well on your way to saving some serious dough and making your money work for you.

Here’s to your best year yet!  

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