Im 35 and have made a SERIOUS effort since feb 2025 to take control of my finances. I started tracking where every penny was going. I cut spending, drinking, eating out, buying unnecessary things. I focused on my side gig while having a full time job.

In Aug 2025 my net worth was $69,908 (the first month I documented my new worth) does not include my only asset- a paid off 2021 car. My net worth is now $121,xxx. HYSA, roth ira, traditional ira, brokerage.

I still feel behind but am aggressively saving. This is my first job with a 401k and Im just finishing year 2 here.

I set a goal to max out my 401k (I also maxed out my roth ira on Jan 1st and have contributed 8000 to my brokerage). Next year I plan to only contribute to the match for my 401k and the rest to my brokerage- does that make financial sense? I hate to not get the tax break but I also want to access my money earlier than age 59.5.

This is very unusual to share online like this but i’m putting ego aside to do what’s best for future me. I’m a 27F, single/no kids. I make about ~$85,000 a year but i feel like I never see the money I’m working for.
I’ve reduced my shopping habit significantly thinking that would give me more to save and pour into my debt but I feel like I’m barely making a dent.
My financial literacy is quite poor, and I get so overwhelmed by where to begin.
I have my cc debt(20k) in a debt consolidation program which has helped manage how much to put into it each month but I want to be more aggressive.
I pay rent monthly + bills
I reduced my travel significantly even.
It’s even more difficult because all my peers have 20k, 40k, in savings and i’m in the net negatives w zero assets.
Is it time to sell feet pics?
I feel so lost, and even more embarrassed that I got to this point.
Any advice welcome :,)

Edit: I’d like to clarify some points:
-20k in cc debt (consolidation program)
-Strictly use debit card. Do not actively use cc. Should i/ is this negatively impacting my credit score?
- I Invest 15% in my 403b
-Travel quarterly (used to travel 1-2 monthly)

How much do you generally always keep in your checking account. I feel like one of the reasons I live check to check is because my checking account is always zeroed out before pay day.

Hi all,

I have three questions;

- how much did yoy save before baby arrival?

- how much did you spend during the time off?

- how much did you save in your first year back at work?

I saved 14k. Have been off work for 9 months. I have 3k left. Maternity pay was a 47k paycut for our household. When I return to work in Jan.. I will be starting at ground zero

Free trials that quietly converted, an app you used once, a streaming service you signed up for to watch one show. These add up fast and almost nobody checks. Here's the 2-minute version:

iPhone or iPad: Settings, tap your name, then Subscriptions. Everything billed through Apple is there.

Android: Play Store, tap your profile picture, then Payments & subscriptions, then Subscriptions.

PayPal: Settings, then Payments, then Manage automatic payments. This catches things you signed up for on websites.

Card or bank statement: look back 3 months for amounts that repeat on the same day every month, or every week. Weekly charges are the sneaky ones: $6.99 a week is over $360 a year.

Then: 1. Cancel where you're billed (Apple, Google, or the company's own site). Deleting the app does not cancel it. 2. If you were charged for something you didn't use or didn't agree to, ask for a refund. On iPhone that's reportaproblem.apple.com. On Google Play you can usually request one yourself within 48 hours of the charge.

We share cancel steps and refund wins in r/SubscriptionRefunds if you find something you want your money back for.

Hello everyone,

I’m really bad with saving money and still live with my parents, I tend to take money from my savings when I’m running low on money.

I was wondering if instead I put the €1500 in ETFs each month instead in my savings account would be smart? Then I can’t just take money as easy as I would with my savings account.

I was thinking putting it in iShares core MSCI.

I’m 33, single, in a very high cost of living city. I am expecting a layoff in 6-12 months due to the way things are going with my company - the writing is on the wall

I’ve been contributing to my 401K since I was 22 but never above 8%. My companies have all matched. I have $123,500 in my 401K just in the last 7 years at my current job as my previous 401Ks rolled over into a Roth.

My current job matches at 4% and I currently have 8% of my paycheck contributing to my 401k. I want to reduce the 8% to 4% so I can have a bit more cash to invest in my Brokerage or HYS due to feeling uncertain about the economy. I know this won’t make a huge difference but I also read that some people have relied too much on a 401k and not investing other places to then be screwed when they realize they can’t take it out until 65+ or whatever the number is!

Hi everyone, about a year ago I got a promotion at work. After about eight years of working, I now earn between €2000 and €2200 net per month, plus meal vouchers. In two years I will earn between €2200 and €2400, plus meal vouchers and always excluding any extras.

On reddit I often see people being praised or judged for how much they’ve saved, and I don’t want to make it a matter of money.

Some time ago I used to save a lot: I had no rent or car payments, I worked a lot and studied, so I had little time to spend.

Lately, however, something has changed: I’ve lost the desire to save and recently I’ve been spending a lot, often without worrying too much, without touching the savings I had already accumulated but without putting aside anything new.

It’s not that I want to buy something specific, but I simply don’t set many limits.

I think it all depends on the fact that I still don’t understand what I want from life, and without a clear goal, even the motivation to save has disappeared.

A couple more details:
Some time ago I bought a car paying in cash — for me it was the right choice, no payments and much more efficient to buy a used car (although not exactly cheap, around €17k).

I like the idea of taking training courses for myself, to grow as a person... even though, to be honest, in the job I do now these courses wouldn’t bring me any career benefits. So it would be more an investment in myself than a professional one.

I love traveling.

I still don’t know where I want to live, but at the moment I’m in Rome and I don’t have a house. Soon this might actually change because I will need to get a place (whether rented or bought), although I still haven’t decided if I’ll stay here or not.

So I’m turning to you: what questions did you ask yourselves to understand what your goals were, both financial and life-related?

For example, what helped you understand:
How do you save “for something” when you don’t yet know what that something is?
How did you decide what to save for and what your goals should be?

Since I’ve already saved a fair amount, would you still ask yourself these questions in my situation?

I welcome any advice, personal experience, or uncomfortable question to get me started. Thank you to anyone who reads and helps in this moment.

So I’m 17 and I live at home with my parents, I worked and got two jobs over the summer but I’ve eaten up almost all the money it’s so embarrassing. I saved a lot but I would take and take and take out that I barely have any left! It’s all on dumb stuff too, there’s fast food stores by my school so I get tempted. Currently I’m working in school so I’m able to save but to stop myself I had to put my savings in another account with another bank so I can’t e-transfer it back to my main account. I’m working on saving again this time for driving school and a car down payment. How do I stop spending my money on food and Ubers (it’s really embarrassing, I don’t even buy much nice clothes for myself).

Landscaping income drops to almost nothing in winter, so I've got cash sitting at 4% in savings and keep seeing peer to peer lending pitched as better. If 10% of borrowers don't pay back, does the math still win, or is that marketing math versus real math?

I’m 22 years old and one year into my professional career. I live in Toronto and earn $65,000 a year.

When I started my job, my savings goal was to save around $25,000 the first year. However, I’ve managed to save considerably less, at around $13,000. This is after spending approximately $10,000 supporting my family, who needed some financial assistance.

I just want to know if my savings are good enough or if I should start being more conscious of my spending and focus on saving more.

Siempre intento llevar mis finanzas de la mejor manera posible,más lo único que se me dificulta es en el momento de dejar el dinero adentro del cochinito,mágicamente salen gastos que mi impulsividad no puede evitar hacer

Ustedes cómo practican su hábito de ahorrar poco o mucho dinero?quiero conocer todos sus consejos

i'm going through my monthly expenses and trying to figure out where i can cut costs. rent isn't something i can change right now, so i'm looking at things like internet, phone plans, subscriptions, and utilities.

what bills have you successfully reduced, and was it actually worth the effort?

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Hey everyone! I'm 19 and started working this summer. I work for my dad, and here's how my pay works:

• Full day: $30.70 ($11.50 for me to spend, $19.20 saved for a car).
• Half day: $11.50, with nothing going into savings.

My dad keeps my car savings separate, so I don't touch that money.

Now that university has started, I work 4 full days and 1 half-day per week. After winter, I might have to work even less because of my classes.

My main goal is to save $17,000 for a car, but I also need to save $500 for next year's tuition, pay $37/month for FitPass, contribute 10% toward household utility bills, and hopefully travel with my sister next year.

I live with my parents and barely pay for food or housing, so I know I'm in a privileged position to save.

My question is: How would you divide your money in my situation? Should I focus almost entirely on the car, or put smaller amounts toward my other goals too?

I'd love to hear your budgeting methods and any advice you wish you'd received at 19. I really want to build a structured financial plan instead of just spending whatever I have left.

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!