38 Personal Finance Tips to Help You Master Your Money (2024)

I think we can all agree that money management can be pretty overwhelming, and the learning curve seems pretty steep at times.

There was a time in my mid-twenties when I really felt like I had gotten my money sh*t together, and my financial future didn’t seem all that scary.

And then I got divorced at 27. My ex-husband was the breadwinner in our marriage, so my lifestyle changed pretty drastically. And I was basically starting over financially.

And suddenly, I no longer felt like I had my money sh*t together.

Determined not to let my situation keep me down, I threw myself into learning all the personal finance tips I could.

In this post, I’m sharing 38personal finance tips that I learned to help me master my money, and that can help you master yours as well.

There are affiliate links in this post, meaning I may make a small commission at no additional cost to you. For more information, see my full disclosure policy here.

Create a budget

When it comes to personal finance tips, creating a monthly budget is pretty much Money 101. I think it’s something that way too many people put off because it seems either overwhelming or unnecessary, but it’s actually neither.

Make a list of your monthly income and expenses and create a budget for yourself based on your financial goals. Be realistic with your budget, and be sure to update throughout the month to make sure you’re staying on track!

Creating a monthly budget is essential, even for those who aren’t struggling financially. I remember when I created my first budget in my early twenties, I thought I was doing pretty well. We made a decent amount of money and never felt like we were running out.

And then we did our budget and realized we had been spending $1,000 every month eating out. $1,000 freaking dollars!

Had we not created a budget, we would have continued to waste an awful lot of money on unnecessary expenses.

Use the 50/20/30 budget method

Many people struggle with creating a monthly budget because they just aren’t sure what portion of their income they should be devoted to each part of their budget.

The 50/20/30 budget helps to take some of the guesswork out of budgeting by creating a basic guideline. It looks like this:

50% of your budget should go toward non-discretionary spending like housing, utilities, transportation, and food
30% of your budget should go toward discretionary spending such as entertainment, vacations, and shopping
20% of your budget should toward savings or debt payments

Depending on your salary and where you live (since this will affect your housing costs), this budget may or may not work for you. But at the very least, it gives a general framework for how to break down your budget.

Set financial goals

It’s important to have financial goals for yourself! Setting financial goals helps you to determine where you should be prioritizing your money every month.

Some financial goals might include paying off debt, saving for a vacation, or putting away money for a downpayment on a house.

Even if you aren’t saving for anything in particular right now, your financial goal can be getting to a certain amount in your emergency fund – 3-6 months worth of expenses is recommended!

Once you have your goals laid out, you can create a line item in your budget for those accounts to be sure you’re consistently putting away money.

Know your net worth

Most people pay attention to what they can see: the money coming into their bank every month and the money going out. But that’s a really short-sighted way to look at your finances.

While those things are important to pay attention to, you should also know your net worth!

Your net worth looks like this:

Net Worth = Assets (what you own) – Liabilities (what you owe)

Assets would include:

Money
Investments
Real Estate
Vehicles
Anything else of value that you own

Liabilities would include:

Student loan debt
Mortgage
Credit card debt
Auto loans
Any other money you owe

Unfortunately, thanks to student loans, most adults leave college with a negative net worth. Start keeping an eye on this as early as possible and always be working to increase your net worth.

Check your finances regularly

Prior to my divorce and starting over financially, I rarely checked in on my finances. I had never had a month where I didn’t enough to pay the bills, and I just assumed that would always be the case.

Then, once I was on my own financially and starting from scratch, I really wasn’t in the habit of checking my finances regularly and wasn’t really aware of what my own financial habits were.

It was definitely an eye-opening experience to realize how much money I was spending every month without realizing it.

Since then, I’ve made it a habit to check my finances very regularly. I open my budget app at least once every single day. I’m always aware of where my money is going.

Sure, there are still months when we go over budget. But it’s always a conscious decision, and we’ve made a plan to make up for it.

Here are my favorite budget apps for checking in with your finances.

Start reading personal finance books

When I was ready to get serious about turning my financial situation around, I really threw myself into reading a lot of personal finance books. The books I read covered a variety of personal finance advice, from money mindset to budgeting to getting started with investing.

There is no shortage of personal finance books on the market. I guarantee everyone can find one that really speaks to them. Like I did, you can start by reading general personal finance books and graduate to those that address a particular topic, like investing.

Read personal finance blogs

There are so many amazing personal finance blogs out there, and if you aren’t following them, you’re really missing out.

In fact, reading about other people’s financial journeys and progress is part of what helped to inspire me so much on my own financial journey.

The best part is there are different blogs out there, no matter what your financial goals are and where in your life you are.

If you’re a single millennial woman trying to get ahead of the financial curve, there are financial blogs for you.

If you’re a mother trying to save for the future while paying for kiddos, there are financial blogs for you.

Check your credit report

Your credit score is incredibly important to your long-term financial success. Your credit score represents your creditworthiness, meaning it will help lenders choose whether you’re a good candidate for borrowing money for large investments in the future.

Your credit score can make a huge difference in the interest rate you’re offered when taking out a loan for a purchase such as a home or a car. A good credit score might save you thousands of dollars over the life of a loan.

Be sure to check your credit report regularly. There’s no need to pay for a credit check – apps like Credit Karma allow you to check your credit report for free at any time.

This will allow you to make sure you’re maintaining a healthy credit score, as well as ensure there aren’t any errors or fraud on your credit report that might be hurting your score.

I also love that apps like Credit Karma will proactively alert you if there have been any changes to your credit report, both good and bad.

Use online budgeting tools

Since most of our lives exist online these days, it makes sense to take your budgeting online as well. You can connect your bank and credit accounts to a third-party aggregator that tracks your finances for you. Some of the tools available include Mint, You Need a Budget, and Personal Capital.

These budgeting tools make it super easy to stay on top of your finances because they track everything for you. You can set spending goals for yourself, and the tools can let you know if you’re going over budget.

If an online budgeting tool isn’t for you, you can put together a budget spreadsheet to track your finances. For several years, I just kept a budgeting spreadsheet in Google Drive, and that was how I tracked my budget all month!

I’ve found that my favorite budget tools are those that have a hands-on approach, like You Need a Budget or a budget spreadsheet.

Tools like Mint can be helpful, but they really don’t force you to stay on top of your budget in the same way that other tools do.

Build an emergency fund

You’ve probably read the statistic that fewer than 50% of American households don’t have enough savings to cover a $400 emergency. It’s a pretty frightening statistic!

It might be tempting to put all of your savings toward more exciting financial goals, such as saving for a home or a vacation, but the emergency fund is even more important.

While you may feel financially secure right now, you just never know what is going to happen in the future, whether it be a medical emergency or being laid off from a job.

The recommended emergency fund should have 3-6 months worth of expenses. The amount you’ll need to save depends a lot on your lifestyle.

Pay yourself first

There are many people who wait to see how much money they have in the bank at the end of the month and then decide if they are able to throw a little in savings. That’s what I did for years.

The problem here is that there might be a lot of months where you aren’t putting any money in savings at all.

Instead of just saving what you have left at the end of the month, start budgeting the money you’ll save and make that your first payment after you get paid.

I have an automatic transfer from my checking account to my savings account the day after I get paid every single month, and I never have to stress about whether I’m putting money into savings – it’s automatic!

Reduce variable expenses

Your monthly spending can be broken up into two categories: fixed expenses and variable expenses.

Your fixed expenses are those that are the same every month, such as rent or mortgage, loan payments, insurance, and more. Your variable expenses are those that change month to month. Those expenses include food, shopping, and entertainment.

Variable expenses are easier to reduce. Look at how much you’re spending now on those expenses, and see where you might be able to make cuts. I remember being taken aback when I realized just how much I was spending on eating out, and it was an easy category to cut back on!

Choose your priorities

My theory is that everyone should pick one or two spending categories that are a big priority for you and you’re willing to splurge on, and then decrease spending everywhere else.

For example, my significant other and I love to go out for food and drinks, and we love to go see live music. And often, the two go hand in hand. Because of that, those are the areas where we spend the most money.

However, I buy all of my makeup from the drugstore, and I only buy new makeup when I’m out. Similarly, we only buy new clothing when something needs to be replaced.

Because we spend less on other nonnecessities, we’re comfortable increasing our budgets a bit for the areas where we do like to spend a little more money.

This is going to look very different for everyone.

For example, I know some people who really love fashion. They’re budgeting money for new clothes every single month because that is what is most important to them.

And where we spend quite a bit of money eating and drinking out, I know people who might only eat out once per month. And they’re perfectly happy with that because eating out isn’t a big deal for them.

Create a vision board

You might not see a connection between your finances and a vision board. But I promise there is one!

My significant other and I have some big financial goals over the next few years, and I was having a hard time staying motivated to cut spending.

It turned out that a vision board was exactly what I needed. When I can literally look at our goals, it’s a lot easy to push myself to keep working toward them!

Use a meal plan

Food is one of the biggest monthly expenses for many families. Meal planning can help you save a lot of money on groceries, as well as cut down on wasting food. Meal planning can help you avoid those nights when you aren’t sure what to make for dinner, so you resort to eating out.

We take a bit of a hybrid meal-planning approach. First, we pick a meal or two that we’re really in the mood for. And for the rest of the meals, we just a meat that’s on sale and some side dishes that would pair well with it.

Reduce your monthly payments

How many monthly payments are you making that could be lowered, or cut altogether?

Start by considering which expenses you can completely cut. This might include cutting cable in favor of a cheaper alternative or cutting monthly subscriptions or gym memberships you aren’t really using.

Once you’ve cut where you can, look at which expenses you can reduce. Can you find a cheaper phone plan? Are you overinsuring any of your vehicles, and could lower your payment by reducing your coverage a bit?

Making quite a few small changes can go a long way in your monthly budget.

You could also make bigger changes to save even more. For example, you could move to a more affordable apartment or trade your car in fir one that doesn’t have a monthly payment.

Use money-saving apps

Remember when families used to cut coupons from the newspaper each week? These days, its a lot easier to save money on your shopping with money-saving apps.

Two of my favorite apps are Fetch Rewards and Ibotta. With both apps, you can scan your grocery and other shopping receipts to get cash back on your purchases.

There are also plenty of other shopping apps and browser extensions like Rakuten and Honeythat can help you earn cash back or find coupon codes for you to make your online purchases cheaper.

Try getting into the habit of using one of these apps for every purchase, and you can start saving a little bit every day.

Diversify your income

I’m a firm believer in side hustles as a way to make extra money to put toward debt repayment and financial goals. Just earning an extra $1,000 per month can drastically reduce the amount of time it takes you to reach your goals.

Not long after starting my first job after college, I started my blog as a creative outlet. Within a year I had started earning a bit of money from my blog. And just a couple of years later, I was able to turn my blog into a full-fledged freelance writing business.

The money from those side hustles helped my partner and I build a healthy emergency fund, pay off our high-interest debt, and buy our RV that we used to travel the country for a year.

The good news is that there are so many ways to make extra money right now, so anyone can find one they enjoy.

Read More: 35+ Legit Ways to Make Extra Money

Ask for a raise

Instead of increasing your income by starting a side hustle, you could also increase your income by asking for a raise. However, when you approach your boss about this, don’t make it about you wanting more money!

Make sure to demonstrate to your boss the value that you have brought to the company and will continue to bring to the company.

I talk more about how to ask for a raise in this article about increasing your income.

Change careers

This might seem like drastic advice, but it’s really not when you think about it. Staying in a low-paying career for your entire working life will cost you an incredible amount of money over the course of your life.

I started my career in state government. While it was a fulfilling job, the pay ceiling was quite low and I would have struggled to pay off my debt, buy a home, travel, or reach any other financial goals.

Switching careers was the biggest game-changer for me. I left my government job to run my freelance writing business full time and was able to increase my income several times over.

Make money while you watch TV

Most of us spend a LOT of time watching TV. And let’s be honest, that isn’t the most productive use of time.

I tend to get a bit bored and antsy when I watch TV, so years ago, I discovered a great way to have something else to keep me busy while I watch TV that also allows me to make some extra money: online surveys.

There are lots of companies out there that will pay you to take market research surveys online. They’re free and easy to join and use. You aren’t going to get rich this way, but you can definitely make $100+ per month. My favorite survey company is Survey Junkie.

Learn to say no

When someone invites you to join them in a fun activity or go out to dinner, it can be tough to say no, whether it be because of FOMO or just because you feel bad saying no.

Unfortunately, this can lead to a lot of unnecessary spending. And what’s worse is that you often spend money on things you aren’t particularly excited about. Suddenly you have less money for the things you really value.

When I worked in my state government job, there were many opportunities for lunch or drinks with coworkers. And the cost of those outings really added up. I implemented a rule for myself that I would only spend money to spend time with people I really enjoyed spending time with.

Sure, I would spend money to grab lunch or go to happy hour with a friend. But I stopped spending money on lunch with coworkers just because they invited me.

Focus on getting out of debt

Most of us are carrying some sort of debt, whether it be student loans, credit cards, car loans, or other personal debt.

Not only does debt cost you a lot of money in the long run because of interest payments, but it also takes a pretty significant emotional toll. Finances are a huge source of stress for most people and one of the leading causes of divorce!

If you’re carrying debt, consider how you can make it off more quickly.

Chances are that there are places in your budget where you can cut back to increase your debt payments. And debt payment methods like the debt snowball and debt avalanche can help you make a plan to pay off your debt.

Not only will paying off your debt faster save you money on interest, but having the finish line in sight does wonders for your mental health (at least it did for me).

Avoid credit card interest

There are plenty of people in the personal finance community who advise that you should never use a credit card.

And while I certainly don’t agree with such a broad generalization, it’s definitely important to proceed with caution when it comes to credit cards.

There are some credit cards that have some really great rewards programs. If you travel regularly and use travel rewards, you know how amazing those credit card rewards can be!

However, credit card rewards are only beneficial if you’re paying your credit card off monthly and avoiding paying interest. Credit card interest is a huge waste of money!

While some people are able to have a credit card and consistently only spend what they have in their bank account every month, other people tend to overspend and eventually aren’t able to pay off the balance every month. It’s really about knowing your financial habits.

Start saving for retirement

If someone had told me in my early or mid-twenties that I should start saving for retirement, I would have brushed them off. To be honest, it just didn’t feel important at the time.

I got lucky that my employer required that we contribute at least 7% of our income to the state retirement plan (and they matched those contributes). If not for that, I probably wouldn’t have started saving until nearly a decade later and would have been tens of thousands of dollars behind.

The thing about saving for retirement is that you need compound interest to do it most effectively. And to really take advantage of compound interest, you need lots of time.

If you aren’t already saving for retirement, start by looking into your employer’s retirement plan, if they have one. That’s a great place to start investing, especially if your employer offers a match. If your company doesn’t have a workplace retirement plan, an individual retirement plan is another great place to start.

Maximize your employment benefits

We’ve already talked a bit about employer matches in the section above, but let’s talk a bit more about them here.

Many employers offer a match for their workplace retirement plans. Essentially, your employer agrees to match your retirement contributions up to a certain percent of your income.

For example, many employers agree to match up to 50% of your contributions up to 6% of your income, or 100% of your contributions up to 3% of your income.

First, this match is literally free money. It’s a 100% return on your investment, which would otherwise be basically impossible. More importantly, that match is a part of your total compensation package. Not investing enough to get your full employer match is essentially allowing your employer to dock your pay.

Avoid impulse spending

I used to be terrible when it came to impulse purchases. Like, really terrible.

In college, I would go to the mall, and if I saw a piece of clothing I liked, I would buy it. And a lot of those pieces would sit in my closet, never to be worn.

Now I keep a pretty minimalist wardrobe, so I’m almost never tempted to buy clothing!

However, I have had other spending temptations to deal with.

When I bought a house, it was home decor items. And I love to read, so I’ve struggled with impulsively buying books in the past.

Recently, however, I’ve made a rule for myself that I don’t buy anything on impulse. If there’s something I want to buy, I add it to my Amazon shopping list. Then, if I find myself continuing to think about it and decide I really need to have it, I can always go back and purchase it later.

If you’re someone who struggles with impulse spending, set a rule for yourself where you have to think about every purchase for 24 hours before pulling the trigger.

Use windfalls wisely

When I was in college, tax season was the best because it meant I was going to get a tax return that could be put toward a vacation or some other fun purchase.

Now that some time has passed, I see how much more wisely I could have spent that money.

Yes, it’s tempting to find something exciting to do with those small windfalls like tax returns But they are much better spent going toward paying off debts or building an emergency fund.

And your tax return isn’t the only windfall you might get. Some people get bonuses from their employers, perhaps as a Christmas bonus or a bonus for good performance.

Another windfall is the extra paychecks that many workers get each year. If you’re paid biweekly, you’ll find there are two months per year when you’re paid three paychecks instead of two. Since you probably based on just two paychecks, the third could go to good use.

Some examples of ways you can use those windfalls are by building your emergency fund, making an extra debt payment, or saving for one of your financial goals.

Unsubscribe from sales emails

You wouldn’t think this would make any noticeable difference, but it really does! If you unsubscribe from sales emails, you won’t be tempted the next time your favorite clothing store is having a big sale.

Save for the holidays all year long

Most people drop quite a bit of money during the holidays but don’t prepare for it ahead of time. In fact, I see a lot of people put all of their holiday expenses on a credit card and then pay interest on it for the next six months while they try to pay it off.

What if, instead, you put a little money away every month, and then by the time the holidays arrived, you had enough money in the bank to cover everything?

The first year I did this, I couldn’t believe how much less stressed I was when Christmas shopping rolled around. Since then, I’ve always set aside money every month for Christmas.

Sell unwanted items

You probably have a lot of things sitting in your house that you aren’t using. With a bit of effort, you could make money from those items by selling them on sites like Facebook Marketplace.

I’ve used Facebook Marketplace to sell a few items in my home, some for well over $100. I’ve also sold some more expensive items, like a computer and a TV, for which I made significantly more.

For some items, it’s probably just easier to donate them, especially if they’re only worth a small amount. But I know several of people who have made thousands of dollars selling items online.

Ask for an increase in your credit limit

Your credit utilization, or the amount of credit you’re using compared to your credit limit, is a big part of determining your credit score.

By asking for an increase in your credit, you can decrease your credit utilization and probably increase your credit score.

Most people only think to ask for an increase in their credit limit when they need that extra credit to buy something, but that’s the wrong time to make the ask!

Ask for a lower interest rate

It seems simple, but it really works sometimes! Sometimes your lender might be willing to lower your interest rate for a variety of reasons.

For example, I had been paying my student loan payment every month for literally years. And then one day I asked about a lower interest rate, and they said they could lower it half a percent if I set up automatic payments instead of making the payment manually every month.

Such an easy change to make, and it’s going to save me money over the life of my student loans!

The worst that can happen is they say no, so it never hurts to ask.

Don’t close old credit cards

Like your credit utilization score, the length of your credit history also determines your credit score. The longer your good credit history, the higher your credit score.

This means that even if you aren’t using those credit cards any longer, you don’t want to close the accounts. By closing those accounts, you’re erasing years of credit history!

The only exception to this rule would be credit cards you aren’t using anymore that have a high annual fee.

Communicate about finances

As I mentioned earlier, financial stress is one of the leading causes of divorce.

And it really does make sense. Money is a huge part of every single day of our lives. So if you aren’t communicating about money, you probably have some pretty large communication issues in general.

Remember that you are a team! My partner and I talk about money all the time, whether it’s just checking in on how we’re doing for the money or we’re making a plan to reach one of our financial goals.

Get the right insurance coverage

Insurance requires an up-front cost before you see any return on your investment. Because of that, it may be tempting to cut corners in this area. Don’t do it!

Figure out what insurance coverages you need to have in place, and get them in place. Insurance coverage might include: renters or home insurance, car insurance, medical insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, and life insurance (just to name a few).

Avoid lifestyle inflation

If you get a raise, that’s awesome! But don’t also your monthly costs to make up for it.

Many people start upgrading everything from their car to their house to their wardrobe when they get a big raise.

However, just imagine how well prepared you would be for the future if you kept your lifestyle the same each time you got a raise.

Final Thoughts

Dealing with money and budgeting can seem so overwhelming. I know I felt like there was a huge learning curve when I started getting serious about my finances.

By tackling the basics, you’re setting yourself up for success and can move on to more advanced personal finances when you feel ready. As with anything else, it’s important to go at your own pace.

These 38 personal finance tips are a great place to start if you’re ready to get your financial life in order!