The reason? Saving money is easier said than done. And though we seem to have mastered telling ourselves were going to change our money habits, most people are still trying to figure out how to turn those words into action.
The good news: Weve got seven personal finance bloggers to help you make it happen, whether your goal is retiring early or paying off debt.
1. No-BS Money Tips
This is not your fathers boring money show, promises Andrew Fiebert, cohost with Matt Giovanisci of Listen Money Matters , a podcast and blog. Fiebert, a self-proclaimed money nerd, and Giovanisci, a small business owner, crack open a couple of cold beers, then get straight to distilling actionable money tips-including how to budget, how to talk money with a significant other, and how to reduce your debt in 10 days.
The two speak from experience. The 2008 financial crisis left Giovanisci reeling from a poorly-timed real estate purchase, while Fiebert lost his job after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Everyone will sing about diversifying investments, but nobody talks about diversifying your income, says Fiebert. Having a single source of income is far more risky today than any investment decision you can make.
2. Earn Extra Cash
Nine years ago, Kyle Taylors $50,000 in student loans drove him to start an online blog to hold himself accountable for digging out of debt as quickly as possible. He wrote about his budget, his payoff plan, and a whole host of side gigs, and after learning others were interested in his story, he founded The Penny Hoarder
Its articles cover everything from taxes to retirement how-tos, but its the side gig content that sets the site apart: roundup after roundup of ways to earn money from home, including pet-sitting, selling smartphone photos, cash-back shopping portals, selling old tech devices, and even renting out unused baby gear. 3. Save Like a Millennial
From $2.26 to more than $1 million-Thats Grant Sabatiers claim to fame, and he wants to help others follow in his footsteps. After being laid off from his corporate job in 2010-and spending all his time either working or recovering from working-he made a vow: Make a million dollars and reach financial independence. After five years, he succeeded.
Now, through the Millennial Money blog, hes offering actionable advice to others in his generation-including a calculator for planning your own million-dollar savings. Sabatier also hosts two podcasts, one of which boils down key personal finance topics into five-minute explanations. His top tip? The easiest way to save more money isn't in the small purchases like cutting back your Netflix subscription. The average millennial spends 70 percent of their income on three things: housing, transportation, and food. That's where you get the biggest savings, in that order.
4. Budget Smarter
Living on a college students budget is difficult. In 2003, Jesse Mecham and his wife Julie found out that its just as tough when you marry while in school. They created budgeting rules to get by, including breaking up larger, infrequent expenses into monthly bills and only spending money theyd earned at least 30 days before. They found the system so effective that they created You Need a Budget (YNAB) -a blog, podcast and budgeting software company-and theyve been helping others manage money ever since.
YNABs content covers topics like financial myths, debt reduction and, of course, budgeting. Give every dollar a job, says Mecham. Decide on priorities first, then assign dollars to those priorities before they walk off. Because your money is going toward your highest priorities, your spending has to clear a higher bar.
5. Think Long Term
Jeff Rose knows money management dos and donts. On the one hand, hes a certified financial planner; on the other, he once lost $5,000 investing in penny stocks. When it comes to boiling down tough personal finance concepts into laymans terms, he gets the job done with cheeky, punny explanations on his blog and podcast, Good Financial Cents .
In January, Rose convinced more than 140 financial bloggers and media outlets to band together and write about the importance of Roth IRAs. His go-to example? Lets say a 25-year-old puts $2,000 a year into a Roth IRA and stops entirely when they turn 35 (contributing $20,000 total). A 35-year-old starts from scratch and contributes the same amount until they turn 65 (contributing $60,000 total). The first person, who started 10 years earlier, would make $73,633 more, even though they put in $40,000 less. Plus, itd be tax-free, and thats the beauty of the Roth IRA, writes Rose.
6. Invest in Real Estate
Freelancing is by nature a string of unpredictable gigs. Eight years ago, that idea drove freelance writer Paula Pant to buy her first piece of real estate: a triplex that would allow her to live in one unit, rent out the other two and, therefore, completely cancel out her cost of living. The investment turbocharged her savings rate and allowed her to buy four more rental properties. Now, Pant shares her advice on real estate, investing and financial freedom on her blog and podcast, Afford Anything .
Her top tip for burgeoning property investors? Invest where the good returns are -- you wouldnt buy a stock just because it happens to be located in your hometown, says Pant. And before you make a purchase, the single most important metric to calculate is capitalization rate, or cap rate -- a way of measuring your return on investment that goes beyond property value and takes operating costs into account.
7. Improve Your Money Hygiene
Jamila Souffrant is a saving machine. After an unfulfilling job in real estate asset management inspired her to start working towards financial independence in 2016, she and her husband put away more than $200,000 over the next three years. Now, she spends her days helping others reach financial independence via her podcast and blog, Journey to Launch . Content is structured around building better habits, how to choose a retirement account and more money tips- and it includes step-by-step strategies from her own saving journey.
Souffrants top saving tip? Make saving a mandatory expense in your budget, then spend whats left over. Take advantage of any pre-tax retirement savings plans you have access to, and if you cant max them out, increase contributions by 1 percent (or a few dollars) each pay period.