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Like many people, I used to have a debt pile. I would try to save some money each month. But it would take little time for shopping to sound like a more fun option.
Of course, I tried budgeting techniques, but they never seemed to stick. That was until I found these 7 tiny changes that actually made a difference.
42% of people don’t do the last tip I’ve got on my list, and it’s one that makes a big difference to your monthly income.
Since implementing these little tips, we’ve been able to pay off debt, buy our house last year, and have savings for emergencies and peace of mind.
Keep reading below or watch the video:
Here are the 7 easy actionable ways to live below your means.
1. Stop using credit cards
I’m no financial expert, but this is what has worked for us. When using a credit card, it doesn’t take long to see how quickly expenses on it can pile up.
We used to have a credit card. Nowadays though, I prefer just using the money that I actually have.
Yes, credit cards can give you some advantages. But unless you pay it all off straight away and you don’t have any overdraft or overspending going for the next month—which can be very easy to forget about, especially when you’ve got a busy lifestyle—those interests and fees can really add up. And they can make a smallish debt snowball into a much bigger one that can seem impossible to get out of.
According to the research I did for this article, the average credit card debt in the UK for 2024 has been about £2,500. While the average credit card debt for the USA was about $7,200 (source).
So for us, completely ditching credit cards has actually been a really positive change. We simply use debit cards—meaning we’re using the money that we actually have in our bank account. A side effect of this is also the fact that not having a credit card makes you a lot more intentional with your spending.
2. Spend less than you earn
This might seem easy for people with a higher income, but there is a phenomenon called “lifestyle creep”.
For many people, as their income increases, so do their spending and expenses, every single month. So regardless of the amount of income that’s coming into a household, people tend to raise their expenses as their income rises as well. They are still living paycheck to paycheck, even though their income has increased.
For us, it’s been really important to keep this in mind. Even if our income increases, even if my business grows, it doesn’t mean that my expenses need to grow exponentially.
The only way to actually save money is to spend less than you earn.
I used to tell myself, “Oh, when I make more money, I’m going to save more money.” And that can be true because obviously, earning more gives us more financial flexibility. But it’s something that needs to be a conscious decision. Otherwise, our spending can so easily go overboard every single month.
3. Try the 50-30-20 rule (or 80-20 rule)
This is a rule that’s very popular in the finance world: out of your monthly income, 50% should go to needs—necessities, things you actually need to pay every month; 30% for wants—things you want to buy; and then 20% should go into savings.
The downside of this rule is that these percentages might not apply to everybody. So perhaps you can take this and adjust those percentages to better fit your lifestyle and current situation.
But one thing that’s been really helpful for us was to do some calculations and decide on a percentage of our monthly income that we can easily put into savings each month.
Once you do this for yourself, you can also automate so that the established amount of money goes into your savings each month. This way, you don’t even think about it—it’s like that money doesn’t exist.
The reason why this is helpful is because those savings will start to accumulate.
4. Reduce impulse buying and mindless shopping
I wish I could have told myself this a few years ago when I was struggling with this, and I know it’s easier said than done.
For me, the biggest help with reducing impulse buying was to give myself a cooling-off period. That’s why I use a wish list.
When I want to buy something, I will wait a while—maybe a few weeks—to give myself some breathing space. This allows me to see if I actually want and need that item or if it’s just an impulse buy that I’m going to regret.
So instead of doing mindless shopping, I have started to invest a lot more in myself and my skills. And I’ve been using Skillshare a lot for this. (AD: This part of the article is sponsored by Skillshare, by the way.)
Skillshare is the largest online learning community that has thousands of classes available on hundreds of topics like business, creative career, even arts, drawing, piano, and so much more.
One of the main things I love about it is the convenience.
Am I sitting on the floor in my toddler’s room just waiting for her to go to sleep? I’m probably listening to a Skillshare class.
Am I cooking and want to maybe learn something in the meantime? I’ve got Skillshare on.
Am I annoyed at myself for aimlessly scrolling Instagram once again? I switch that off and turn on Skillshare.
Learning from other people who are experts in a particular skill has been so helpful for me. I realised this is the best way for me to not only learn about saving more money but also gain new skills that have increased my monthly income in my business—like learning filmmaking techniques for my videos, better editing for my YouTube channel, or learning to get more organised by planning everything in Notion.
So give it a go, and let me know how you get on in the comments below.
5. Track your spending
This might seem like the most basic financial tip, but it doesn’t mean you have to have a specific and strict budget. Budgeting is not something that has really worked for me in the past. What I do nowadays though is to have a look at my finances. And I do that by going through my statements once a month or whenever I get a chance.
You can even make a spreadsheet to keep track of spending and see, for example, this month, what have you been spending on. Was there a lot of money spent on clothes? On impulse buys? On things that weren’t necessary or were followed by regret for buying?
For me, it’s really helpful to see how much money I’ve actually spent that month. And I know it can be painful to look at that and see where our money has all gone, but I do think it’s important. Whenever we want to change something we don’t like about our life, it always starts with awareness, doesn’t it?
So being aware of where your money is going is so, so powerful. This way you can see where you can maybe cut down a bit. You don’t have to cut everything out completely. Maybe just cut down a bit and put some of that money into savings.
6. Start paying off debt
I know that when you have a huge debt in front of you, it can feel like a mountain that you’re never going to be able to climb.
One of the things that has really changed my perspective on this is reading the Atomic Habits book. I even wrote a whole article about it—that’s how much it helped me.
I’ve learned that the biggest changes in our lives are not one massive event but rather a series of very tiny changes that we make every single day, week, or month. And when it comes to debt, I think we often underestimate how big of a difference it can make to just start slowly paying it off.
7. Reduce unnecessary monthly payments
According to a study I came across, 42% of people taking part in this study have forgotten about a subscription they no longer use but still pay for it monthly. The same statistic also mentioned that many people underestimate how much of their monthly budget goes, in total, to those little subscriptions. And when trying to guess their amounts per month, they were off by even hundreds of dollars.
One monthly payment that we have completely cut out is car payments. We decided instead to start saving money and buy a car. It’s not the fanciest one of all, but we wanted to buy it in one go. We preferred this to getting a more expensive car and paying monthly payments on it. Car payments can be hundreds of pounds every single month, so I think for us that has been a really good way to save money as well.
And you can also look at all of the other subscriptions that you have for apps, streaming services, or deliveries. I’m not saying you have to cut them out completely. It might just be helpful to have a spreadsheet or a Notion page somewhere where you can track all of these.
Do this for just one month and see: what subscriptions are you currently paying for? Is there anything in there that you’re not using anymore? Something that maybe you’ve replaced with something else but forgot about the old one?
This can be a really good way to reduce those monthly costs, add a bit to those savings, reduce some of the debt, and give yourself a high five.
Having a goal in mind as well can be super helpful. Are you doing this because you want more freedom in your life? More financial flexibility? Is it because you want peace of mind if an unfortunate event happens?
Taking control of your finances can feel overwhelming at first, but starting small makes a difference. Try a few of these changes, and remember, it’s not about perfection but about progress. Little by little, you’ll see those changes add up!
I hope you found these 7 actionable ways to live below your means useful.