15 Best Money Hacks You Need to Know

A real money hack is a small move that takes an hour or less and keeps paying you back. Think a phone call that drops a bill, an account that pays you interest, or a form that puts more of your own paycheck in your pocket. Most of the 15 below need no app and no purchase.

To pick where to start, ask yourself three things. How much time do you have today? Do you want a one-time win or one that repeats every month? Is your bigger problem spending, debt, or money sitting idle? Every hack lists the exact steps and the catch. Stack a few and it gets much easier to save an extra $100 a month.

15 Money Hacks You Can Use This Week

1. Audit every recurring charge, then cancel or negotiate

Recurring charges are the easiest money to get back, because you fix each one once and the savings repeat every month.

1. Pull your last 60 days of bank and card statements and write down every charge that repeats.
2. Cancel anything you forgot about or stopped using.
3. For the bills you keep (internet, cell phone, insurance, streaming), call and ask two questions: “What promotions am I eligible for?” and “What is your lowest-priced plan that covers what I use?”
4. If the first person can’t help, ask for the cancellation or retention team and say you are comparing other providers.

If scrolling through statements sounds painful, Empower links your accounts and sorts your transactions into categories for you, so the repeats are easier to spot. Empower says its dashboard and financial tools are free.

The catch: no provider has to say yes, and a promotional price usually expires. Put the end date on your calendar and call again before it does.

2. Ask your credit card issuer for a lower APR

Your interest rate is not fixed forever, and asking is free.

1. Find your current purchase APR on your latest statement.
2. Call the number on the back of the card.
3. Say how long you have had the card, that you pay on time, and that you would like a lower rate.
4. If the answer is no, ask what would change it and when you should call back.

Two rules work in your favor, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. If your issuer raised your rate, it generally has to review your account at least every six months. And if your rate went up because you paid more than 60 days late, the issuer has to give you the old rate back once you make six on-time minimum payments in a row.

If the issuer won’t budge, a fixed-rate personal loan can replace several card balances with one payment. That only helps when the loan’s APR is lower than your cards’ and you stop adding to the cards. We walk through the other options in our guide on how to pay off credit card debt.

The catch: never pay a company that promises to lower your rate for you. The Federal Trade Commission says these companies can’t do anything you can’t do yourself for free.

3. Refinance private student loans, and think twice about federal ones

A lower rate on a student loan cuts what you pay every month, or what you pay in total, or both. If your credit or income has improved since you borrowed, it is worth a look.

1. Write down the rate, balance, and remaining term on each loan you have now.
2. Get quotes. Splash Financial is a marketplace that shows offers from multiple lenders.
3. Compare the new rate and the new term. A longer term can lower the payment and still cost you more in total interest.

The catch: this is a big one for federal loans. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns that moving a federal loan to a private lender can’t be reversed, and you give up federal repayment plans, deferment, forbearance, and forgiveness programs. Our guide to refinancing student loans covers how to decide.

4. Stop letting your bank underpay you and overcharge you

The FDIC’s national rate for savings accounts is 0.37% as of this update, and 0.07% for interest checking. At 0.37%, $10,000 earns about $37 in a year. Every extra percentage point of yield is worth about $100 a year on that same $10,000.

1. Open your banking app and find the APY on your savings account.
2. Compare it with current high-yield savings accounts. Confirm the bank is FDIC insured, or NCUA insured if it is a credit union.
3. Open the new account, link your checking, and move the money.
4. Check your checking statement for a monthly maintenance fee. Ask the bank how to waive it, or switch to one of the checking accounts that doesn’t charge one.

If you are switching banks anyway, see whether the new one pays a sign-up bonus. Referral Codes lists current bank and app bonuses in one place.

The catch: savings rates are variable, so the rate you open with can drop. Bonuses come with requirements, such as a minimum direct deposit. Read them before you open anything.

5. Move money to savings automatically on payday

Money you never see in checking is money you don’t spend. Automating the transfer takes the decision out of your hands.

1. Pick an amount you won’t miss, even if it is small.
2. Schedule a recurring transfer for the day your paycheck lands. Or ask your employer’s payroll team to split your direct deposit between two accounts.
3. Send it to a separate savings account, ideally at a different bank than your debit card.
4. Raise the amount every time you get a raise.

Not sure what you are saving for yet? Start with an emergency fund.

The catch: leave a buffer in checking. If the transfer overdraws your account, your bank may cover it and charge you a fee, which wipes out the point.

6. Take the full employer 401(k) match

Many employers add money to your 401(k) when you contribute. The IRS gives the example of a plan where the employer puts in 50 cents for each dollar an employee defers. If you contribute less than the amount your employer will match, you are leaving part of your pay on the table.

1. Ask HR for the match formula, or find it in your plan’s summary plan description.
2. Set your contribution to at least the amount that earns the full match.
3. Look up the vesting schedule so you know when the employer money becomes yours to keep.

The catch: the IRS says your own contributions are always 100% vested, but a plan can require a certain number of years of service before the match is fully yours. Not every employer offers a match, and this money is meant to stay put until retirement.

7. Pay medical costs through an HSA or FSA

Both accounts let you pay qualified medical expenses with money that gets a tax break. The details below come from IRS Publication 969.

With a health savings account (HSA), you can deduct your own contributions even if you don’t itemize. Contributions from your employer may be left out of your income. Earnings in the account are tax free, and withdrawals may be tax free when you use them for qualified medical expenses. The money stays in the account until you use it, and the account goes with you if you change jobs. You need to be covered by a high deductible health plan to qualify.

A health flexible spending account (FSA) comes through your employer. Reimbursements may be tax free when they cover qualified medical expenses.

1. At open enrollment, check which account your health plan allows.
2. Add up costs you can predict, like prescriptions, glasses, and regular visits.
3. Set your contribution and keep your receipts.

The catch: FSA money generally has to be used within the plan year unless your plan offers a grace period or a limited carryover, so don’t overfund it. The IRS sets yearly contribution limits for both accounts. Check the current Publication 969 for the numbers and for what counts as a qualified expense.

8. Fix your tax withholding

A big refund means too much came out of every paycheck all year. An unexpected tax bill means too little did. Either way, the fix is the same form.

1. Grab your most recent pay stubs and your last federal tax return.
2. Run the free IRS Tax Withholding Estimator. The IRS says it estimates the correct amount your employer should withhold.
3. Use the result to fill out a new Form W-4. The tool can generate a pre-filled one.
4. Give the W-4 to your employer or enter it in your payroll system.

The catch: withhold too little and you will owe at tax time. Rerun the estimator after a new job, a marriage, a baby, or a side income.

9. Search for unclaimed money in your name

Old paychecks, utility deposits, and forgotten bank accounts get turned over to the state when a company can’t reach you. USA.gov says state governments hold most unclaimed money, and searching for yours is free.

1. Go to unclaimed.org, run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. It links to each state’s official program.
2. Search every state you have lived or worked in.
3. Try old addresses, a maiden name, and common misspellings of your name.
4. File the claim on the state’s site and upload the ID it asks for.

The USA.gov unclaimed money page also points to federal databases for things like unpaid wages, tax refunds, and savings bonds.

The catch: you may find nothing. And you never need to pay anyone to search, because the official sites are free.

10. Check your credit reports for free every week

Your credit reports feed the scores lenders use to set your rates, so a mistake on one can cost you real money on a loan or a card. The Federal Trade Commission says all three credit bureaus have permanently extended a program that lets you check your report from each one once a week for free.

1. Go to AnnualCreditReport.com, or call 1-877-322-8228. The FTC says it is the only website authorized to fill these free report orders.
2. Pull your Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion reports.
3. Look for accounts you don’t recognize, wrong balances, and late payments you made on time.
4. Dispute mistakes with the credit bureau and with the business that reported the information.

The catch: the free report doesn’t include a credit score. Look-alike sites may try to sell you a subscription, so type the address in yourself.

11. Ask for a price adjustment, and use the return window

Prices drop after you buy all the time. Many retailers will refund the difference if you ask within a set number of days, but they won’t do it on their own.

1. Keep the receipt or order email for anything expensive.
2. Look up the store’s price adjustment policy and note the deadline.
3. Check the price again before the deadline. If it dropped, contact customer service with your order number and ask for the difference.
4. If the store has no adjustment policy and you are still inside the return window, you can return the item and buy it again at the lower price.

The catch: policies vary a lot from store to store. Many exclude clearance, big sale events, and third-party sellers, and some charge return shipping or a restocking fee. Read the policy before you count on it.

12. Get cash back on things you were already buying

Cash back sites get paid by stores for sending shoppers their way, and they pass part of that on to you. It costs nothing extra at checkout.

1. Before an online order you were going to place anyway, start at a cash back site such as Swagbucks and click through to the store from there.
2. Check out the way you normally would.
3. Pay with a rewards credit card if you have one and pay it off in full. The two stack.

The same kind of site will also pay small amounts for your spare time. Survey Junkie and InboxDollars pay for surveys, and the Nielsen panel rewards you for sharing how you use your devices. Treat that as pocket change, not income.

The catch: it is only a win on purchases you had already planned. Buying something to earn cash back is just spending.

13. Use your library card for free books and audiobooks

If you pay for ebooks or an audiobook subscription, check your library first. Libby, the library app from OverDrive, says thousands of public libraries offer ebooks and audiobooks for free through it.

1. Get a card from your local public library. Check its website for how to sign up.
2. Install Libby and add your card.
3. Borrow what you would have bought, and place holds on popular titles.
4. Cancel any paid reading or listening subscription you no longer need.

The catch: popular titles can have a waitlist, and the selection depends on your library.

14. Ask for the generic and compare pharmacy prices

The FDA requires a generic medicine to have the same active ingredient, strength, and dosage form as the brand-name drug, and says approved generics work the same way. They usually cost less.

1. Ask your doctor or pharmacist whether a generic version of your prescription exists.
2. At the counter, ask for the cash price and compare it with your insurance copay.
3. Check the price with a free prescription discount card, and call a second pharmacy. Prices for the same drug can differ between stores.
4. For medicine you take long term, ask whether a 90-day supply is cheaper.

The catch: not every drug has a generic, and a discount card is used instead of your insurance, not on top of it. Never switch or stop a medication without talking to whoever prescribed it.

15. Make yourself wait 24 hours before an impulse buy

Most impulse purchases feel urgent for about a day. A waiting rule lets that feeling pass before your money does.

1. For anything you didn’t plan to buy, leave it in the cart and close the tab.
2. Come back in 24 hours. For a big purchase, make it 30 days.
3. If you still want it and it fits your budget, buy it.
4. Delete saved cards from the stores where you overspend, so checking out takes effort.

The catch: it only works if you actually follow it, and “sale ends tonight” timers are built to break it. If you need more ideas after this one, we have a longer list of the best ways to save money.

Where to Put the Money You Free Up

A hack only counts if the money ends up somewhere on purpose. A common order is a cash cushion first, then high-interest debt, because card interest is usually the most expensive money you owe. After that, investing is an option. These are not hacks. They are places some people put long-term money, and every one of them can lose value.

Real estate funds, starting at $10

You don’t need to buy a building to invest in real estate. Fundrise runs private real estate funds you buy through an app, with flexible minimums that start at $10. The company says it is trusted by more than 2 million people.

This is long-term money. Fundrise describes its liquidity as quarterly, so you can’t count on cashing out the day you want to, and it states that all investments may result in partial or total loss.

Retirement accounts you may already have

Once you are getting the full match from hack 6, extra dollars can go into the same 401(k) or into an IRA. Both come with tax advantages, and both have yearly limits and withdrawal rules set by the IRS. Your plan’s website or IRS.gov has the current numbers.

A share of a rental home for $100

Owning a rental used to mean a down payment, a mortgage, and tenants calling at midnight. Arrived shrinks that down to an app where you buy shares of one specific rental house at a time. The minimum is $100 on every offering, according to Arrived’s help center.

The company does the landlord jobs for you, which means finding tenants, collecting the rent, and handling maintenance. Arrived says properties pay monthly dividends once they start generating income. Jeff Bezos is among its well-known backers.

The appeal is the low entry point, not fast cash. Money you put in is meant to sit for years, and a home’s value and its rent can both go down, so start with an amount you will not need back soon.

Stocks and funds in a brokerage account

A regular brokerage account has no contribution limit and no lockup. SoFi Invest is one app for buying stocks and funds. If you want help choosing individual stocks, Motley Fool Stock Advisor is a paid subscription that sends stock picks. Stock prices move every day, so this is money you can leave alone for years.

Money Hacks FAQ

Start With One Hack Today

You don’t need all 15. Pick the one that matches your biggest leak. If it is bills, start with hack 1. If it is debt, start with hack 2. If your savings are sitting in an account that pays almost nothing, start with hack 4. Do one this week, then come back for the next.