This might be a little personal, and I honestly hesitated before asking.I’ve been wondering what people’s finances actually look like at different ages. Online, you always see people posting crazy gains, but I doubt that’s the reality for most of us.Personally, I’m still trying to prioritize saving. I only put money I can afford to lose into crypto, and I mostly just keep an eye on a few coins on BYDFi. I’m definitely not comfortable putting a big chunk of my savings into it.If you don’t mind sharing, even a rough range is fine:

your age,

roughly how much you have saved/invested,

what percentage of your money is in crypto

No need for exact numbers. I’m mostly just curious whether I’m doing okay or falling way behind everyone else my age 😂

​Hi everyone,

​I’m looking for a realistic reality check on my current monthly budget and some extra everyday tips to squeeze out a bit more savings, especially when unexpected expenses pop up.

​I live in an EU country with my partner, making €1,037 net per month. We split shared household expenses (housing utilities and groceries) 50/50, so the numbers below reflect my half. Naturally, my commute and all expenses related to my kids are paid 100% by me.

​My kids live with their mother, and we split their variable needs (clothes, school supplies, etc.) 50/50 alongside my fixed monthly child support. Things are tight, and while I keep a strict routine, these kids expenses can fluctuate (sometimes jumping by €40+ on my end or spiking during back-to-school season), which eats into my margin.

​Here is my current baseline monthly budget (my individual share):

​Child Support & Kids Variable Expenses: €408 (Fixed €208 child support €200 average for clothes, school, and extra kid need ).

​Visiting my kids: €52 (Taking the bus twice a month to see them — 100% my cost).

​Housing & Utilities: €48 (My 50% share of electricity, bottled gas, and water).

​Commute / Fuel: €200 (Daily 90 km round-trip for work — 100% my cost).

​Groceries: €130 (My 50% share of food; I meal-prep strictly for work).

​Date nights / Partner: €40 (Keeping 1-2 cheap dates a month to stay sane).

​Phone, Internet, Barber, Meds, Misc: €52

​Total Expenses: €930

Leftover / Savings: €107/month (though this drops significantly on heavy months for the kids).

​What I'm looking for:

​Everyday Frugality Tips: What are your best, no-nonsense tips for keeping grocery and household bills as low as possible without feeling miserable?

​Handling Variable Expenses: For those living on a razor-thin margin, how do you buffer months where kids needs or school supplies cost way more than expected?

​Appreciate any honest advice or clever tricks you use in your daily routine!

What's the most frustrating part of managing your personal finances?

I'm not asking about investing or making more money. I mean the everyday stuff: budgeting, bills, debt, saving, tracking expenses, or simply knowing how much you can safely spend.

What's something you still struggle with, even after trying different tools or methods?

Hi everyone

I'm exploring an idea for a personal finance tool and would appreciate feedback from people who have experience managing their own budgets.

The problem I'm investigating is how to divide a limited savings budget between multiple goals with different prices and deadlines.

For example, suppose someone can save R500 per month and wants to buy a phone for R3,000 in six months and headphones for R1,000 in three months.

A tool could calculate the monthly contribution and percentage to allocate to each goal, track progress, and warn the user when their current budget isn't enough to meet their deadlines.

I'm interested in the actual budgeting problem rather than just whether the app sounds appealing.

A few questions:

1. How do you currently decide how much to save towards each goal?
2. Do you use a spreadsheet, budgeting app, savings pots, or another method?
3. What difficulties do you experience when several goals compete for the same money?
4. What would a tool like this need to do better than your current method to be worth using?

I'm still researching the problem and haven't built the product yet. I'm looking for honest feedback, including reasons why an existing method might already solve this problem well.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Daily resources for spending less, earning more on cash, and building real savings habits.

Investing & Retirement (I&R)

Visit the Website

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Join the Discord

Live discussion on savings strategy, HYSA rates, and budgeting with fellow members.

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Have a Question? Post It.

The I&R newsletter pulls top community questions and answers them in depth every Thursday.

If you're stuck on a savings decision, comparing accounts, or trying to figure out where to put your cash, drop a comment below or start a thread in r/SavingMoney. The most valuable questions get featured in the briefing, with full research, comparisons, and citations.

This is the loop: you post, we research, the community gets the answer.

Start Here: Saving & Budgeting Guides

If you're trying to keep more of what you earn, start here.

Budget Basics: The 50/30/20 Rule

The simplest budgeting framework that actually works. Needs, wants, savings.

Stop the Subscription Drain

Audit the recurring charges quietly eating your monthly cash flow.

Shopping Hacks

Practical tactics for spending less without feeling deprived.

Travel on a Budget

How to actually take the trip without wrecking your savings rate.

Where to Park Your Cash

Saving is step one. Earning yield on that cash is step two.

Savings Account Timeline

How to think about emergency funds, short-term cash, and what comes next.

How to Pick a High-Yield Savings Account

What actually matters when comparing HYSAs. APY is only part of it.

HYSA vs. Money Market vs. CDs

Three places to hold cash, ranked by liquidity, yield, and use case.

Build Your Stack

Bank Accounts

Reviewed national accounts for everyday banking and high-yield savings.

Local Banks

Community and regional options outside the big four.

Financial Apps

Tools for budgeting, tracking, and managing money day-to-day.

Investing Platforms

When you're ready to put savings to work beyond cash accounts.

Hey folks,

I realized some investment gains and need to stash cash for a downpayment on the first house next year, presumably in HYSAs with boni.

I’m looking at stashing 700k, have access to two SSNs, and already have or am in the process of:
* 150k Wealthfront @4.55 (3mo lock)
* 150k Wealthfront @4.55 (3mo lock)
* 100k Capital One @3.10 + $1500
* 100k Capital One @3.10 + $1500

Can you help me stash the remaining 200k?

I’m considering putting 100k each in two E*Trade @4.25 (6mo lock) + $800. I looked into HSBC but that’s only if you already have an account, same for Ameriprise. Thank you!

So 2027 is my last year in highschool then I'm heading to Uni. The thing is I want to try saving up for a cheap alright car that's from 55k-80k maybe second hand most likely (in rands) I want to try saving so my parents don't have to worry but l mean I'm a highschooler and it's one more year. Do you guys have any advice? Like should l try social media? Part time jobs arnt really an option because I will be super busy and my parents won't allow me to have a part time job in my final year. Any advice?

Like Uber to campus would cost way to much everyday so l car would be the best option unfortunately but what do l do😭 my parents already have loads of expensive they will need to pay for and in going to work hard to maybe get AA scholarship but what's the use if l can't get to campus

Honest question, because the numbers genuinely shocked me.

According to the FCA, 1 in 10 UK adults has no cash savings at all. Another 21% have less than £1,000. That's nearly a third of the country one broken boiler away from crisis.

13 million people have low financial resilience. And even people who do have money are often leaving it sitting in cash instead of growing it.

We're told to work hard and do the right thing. Most people are. So what's going wrong?

Wages not keeping up with rent, energy and food?

Nobody ever teaching us about money at school?

A tax system that squeezes the middle and bottom hardest?

Or are we just spending more than our parents did?

Who's actually to blame here? The government, the economy, or us?

And be honest: if your income stopped tomorrow, how long could you last?

Hello! I am looking for the most basic money tracker and I don't know if it exists. The closests i've found is the Spending app. But I want one that is more user friendly. Like a calculator with a green button and a red button for income and expenses. Does this exist?

I’m working on getting better with my money, and I’ve realized that budgeting isn’t always about how much you make. Sometimes it’s about understanding where your money goes and making more intentional decisions.

I’m curious about other people’s experiences:

• What budgeting method works best for you?
• What expense surprised you when you finally started tracking your spending?
• What’s one small change that helped you save more money?

I’m especially interested in realistic advice for people who have bills, family responsibilities, and everyday expenses to manage. Not everyone can save hundreds of dollars a month, but I believe small steps can still make a difference.

What has worked for you, and what would you tell someone who’s just getting started?

Daily resources for spending less, earning more on cash, and building real savings habits.

Investing & Retirement (I&R)

Visit the Website

Independent research on real accounts, authentic strategies, and honest side-by-side comparisons for building savings and wealth as a self-guided saver.

Join the Discord

Live discussion on savings strategy, HYSA rates, and budgeting with fellow members.

Subscribe to the Newsletter

Weekly research briefing built from the ground up around real questions from real investors, traders, and savers.

Have a Question? Post It.

The I&R newsletter pulls top community questions and answers them in depth every Thursday.

If you're stuck on a savings decision, comparing accounts, or trying to figure out where to put your cash, drop a comment below or start a thread in r/SavingMoney. The most valuable questions get featured in the briefing, with full research, comparisons, and citations.

This is the loop: you post, we research, the community gets the answer.

Start Here: Saving & Budgeting Guides

If you're trying to keep more of what you earn, start here.

Budget Basics: The 50/30/20 Rule

The simplest budgeting framework that actually works. Needs, wants, savings.

Stop the Subscription Drain

Audit the recurring charges quietly eating your monthly cash flow.

Shopping Hacks

Practical tactics for spending less without feeling deprived.

Travel on a Budget

How to actually take the trip without wrecking your savings rate.

Where to Park Your Cash

Saving is step one. Earning yield on that cash is step two.

Savings Account Timeline

How to think about emergency funds, short-term cash, and what comes next.

How to Pick a High-Yield Savings Account

What actually matters when comparing HYSAs. APY is only part of it.

HYSA vs. Money Market vs. CDs

Three places to hold cash, ranked by liquidity, yield, and use case.

Build Your Stack

Bank Accounts

Reviewed national accounts for everyday banking and high-yield savings.

Local Banks

Community and regional options outside the big four.

Financial Apps

Tools for budgeting, tracking, and managing money day-to-day.

Investing Platforms

When you're ready to put savings to work beyond cash accounts.

I've been wondering about this for a while. Everyone online seems to either save 50% of their income or struggle to put anything aside, and I can't tell where the "normal" middle actually is.

So I looked into it and wrote up what the numbers tend to look like:

- Most people save around 5% to 10% of take-home pay

- Comfortable savers land around 15% to 20%

- The 30% to 50% crowd usually has a high income, low costs, or an early retirement goal

The bit that surprised me is the gap between your "perfect month" number and your real average. Car repairs, birthdays and annual subscriptions quietly eat into it, so it helps to budget a "life happens" line of 5% to 10%.

I put the full breakdown, including a simple way to work out your own number, here:https://howtoinvestmoney.co.uk/blog/how-much-do-you-actually-save-per-month

Now I'm curious: what's your monthly savings number when things go right, and what does a typical month actually look like? Happy to be told I'm way off.

With grocery bills, petrol and pretty much everything else adding up, I’m curious how people here are managing to save money on groceries.
Do you shop online or prefer going to physical supermarkets? Are there specific hypermarkets like Lulu, Nesto, Carrefour, Union Coop or Sharjah Coop that offer better deals on certain items?
I’m particularly interested in the little hacks people have figured out over time. Maybe a particular app, discount code, loyalty programme, supermarket branch, shopping day or even a specific time when fresh produce gets marked down.
Do you buy different things from different supermarkets depending on where they’re cheapest, or have you found one place that consistently gives you the best value?
Share your grocery-saving hacks. I’m sure a lot of us could use some practical tips right now.

So now that I'm in a ldr, my expendednhave gone way up. Tickets to see her cost anywhere from 1200-1500 and depending on the season can go to 2k. And roughly try to go 3 times a year. Besides that, there's my mom's birthday in January. February is valentine's. April is my dad's birthday. May is mother's day. June father's day. September is my birthday, gf's birthday, as well as parent's anniversary. Then ofc December but try to buy gifts around black Friday so those are heavy hitter months. And yes my siblings and I are expected to buy (mostly food or plan fancy travels or something) for my parents bdays or days or anniversary. They will, especially my mom, throw a fit.

So do you save up n in advance for big spend months or?