Last week I asked influencers in various social platforms to share their biggest financial hacks with me.
I wanted to showcase real-world advice from other frugal people. The benefit to this is A. it isn't a sales pitch and B. these are everyday people, giving simple, money-saving advice!
I took their financial hacks and separated them into a few categories for you.
In each category, you will see the quote and the influencer that shared it. I will leave some comments about the advice, and hope you get something valuable out of this!
Even if you apply only one of these financial hacks it will increase your trajectory toward financial freedom!
I want to add to this list, comment down below and tell me what your favorite financial hack is!
Credit Cards
“Leveraging credit cards to stack points and fly for free.” ~Tony Michael
“Not sure if I’d classify it as a hack, but any bill I can put in my rewards credit card, I do. Points add up.” ~Kristian Ray
Credit cards can be a great way to hack your finances!
If you are responsible enough to pay off your card every month.
By paying your expenses with a credit card It is possible to earn a huge amount of cash rewards, or travel points!
Theoretically, you can earn free flights or just some cash back, from simply paying your bills!
Again, if you're responsible enough to pay it off! I currently have more credit card debt than I care to have, due to some large unexpected expenses. This is not good, and I'm paying it off immediately!
Real Estate
“These two things have helped us pay off our houses very quickly:
- Every time we have refinanced a property, we have also decreased the term of the loan. The payment amount doesn't change much but the payoff date is changed significantly.
- Always choose the bi-weekly mortgage payment. This essentially adds an extra payment each year.” ~Stephanie Kiesewetter
- “BRRRR. Even better if you can do it on a VA or conventional loan assumption out of a distressed situation!
- Read “Profit First” by Mike Michalowicz
- My first year investing, I got a real estate license and referred deals to another agent, getting paid 25% of the commission for passing along a name and number. Also got paid on my own deals.
- Find a job where you can sell for a commission or be paid commission only—fastest way to get big checks. Grant Cardone says that 4/5 millionaires work for someone else. Just plug into their system and kill it.
- House-hack deals from wholesalers and foreclosure auctions.
- Most important—get around people who are higher achievers than you. You’ll naturally start pushing harder and earning/doing more to hit your goals.” ~Wes Litton
You all know that real estate investing is my bread and butter! I think it is a great way to reduce expenses (through house hacking), and an even better way to build generational wealth!
That being said, I really like Stephanie's tip about refinancing a property to reduce the term, not the payment. That is a unique way to pay your house off faster! Also, the bi-weekly mortgage payment is a great way to speed up the debt-paydown on your properties!
Wes is spot on with a lot of his advice, especially getting around higher achievers than you! Improving your network is virtually guaranteed to improve your chances of success!
Extra Income
“Create symbiotic businesses. For instance, I’m buying up vacation rentals to self-manage (bought a job), but I’m using the income from it to buy traditional rentals under property management that will support the STRs during our off-season. When I want to retire, I hire property management for the STR or sell, and I’m passive.” ~Tim Doenges
“Side hustle. It’s been the best avenue for me to save money and the earnings I’ve had from my side hustles add up super quick!” ~Trey Rosenbaum
They both said it, but creating businesses that add to your income level (without increasing expenses) is a financial hack worth doing!
Don't actually do this, but it is hilarious!
Miscellaneous
“Anything that generates a high savings rate! But seriously, the hack has to be sustainable. You have to feel challenged & fulfilled (“Winning!”) or you've crossed the line from frugality into deprivation.
And of course, military families are all keenly aware of the line between frugality & deprivation.” ~Doug Nordman
sustainable…yes! People try some pretty crazy methods to save money, and much like fad-diets they often don't stick.
Don't put your self into deprivation mode just to save a few bucks. If you like beer, budget for it. You don't need to cut it out of your life haha.
“POOP AT WORK! Haven't paid for toilet paper in years.” ~Alex Felice
Alex is full of wisdom! As crazy as this post is, it is a financial hack, although I would be curious to see how much money he saves annually hahaha.
“Having multiple bank accounts for money management!!! Best thing I've ever done for my finances.” ~Denis Trufin
I do this! My wife hates it because I have money all over the place, but I understand the madness, and it ensures I don't spend money I should be saving.
- “Give and Receive with Gratitude.
- Make Saving to discomfort and Investing to risk management tolerance a fun daily gamification habit.
- Don’t let Fear extinguish your Curiosity and Stunt your Personal and Financial Growth.” ~Bill Yount
I think these are some crucial mindset hacks, especially number three. Fear stops entirely too many people in their tracks!
“Buy used cars instead of new. Best stats for price & reliability, price $5k to $8k, 10 years old or newer, 100k miles or less (<75k even better), craigslist or facebook marketplace, reconstructed titles are a bonus. $5k-$8k is the sweet spot for vehicles that still have a lot of life left in them and have already suffered the majority of their depreciation.” ~Micah Mcdonald
This is excellent advice for buying a vehicle! I especially like that he broke this financial hack down to what age, price, and mileage provide the best return on investment! I recently bought a 6-year-old Diesel VW Jetta for $10,900 with only 24,000 miles! This car should easily run for the next 200,000 miles, and is worth $3,000 more than I paid for it already!
Final Thoughts About Their Biggest Financial Hacks
I had fun collaborating with people in the community to write this post!
I wrote this post to showcase the vast amount of unique ways to improve your financial situation. There are financial hacks on this list that I had never thought of, and I've done a lot of reading about finances!
I know this post is a little different than my normal writings, but I hope you got something out of it! Let me know if you would like to see more communal posts like this in the future!
Here are a few more frugal living ideas!
