Regardless of your financial situation:

• If you want to have access to more money, focus on what you can control — the money you already have in your possession.

• Live within your means. Often, life may “happen.” If you do not have funds to pay for emergencies, you may be paying much more in the long run.

• Small purchases add up. The coffee you buy each day? $5 × 365 = $1,825. This can be good news or bad news, depending on how you look at it!

• Get creative. There almost is always some random user off of Reddit who has a promo code, or you can plan to buy that fridge, or large purchase, on a holiday that often has discounts. Youtube creators often have promo codes or affiliate links that can save you money.

Often, once you understand and practice the tools below, you will be able to benefit from taking the overall concepts and applying them to other systems!

Disclaimer:

Time is money. You decide what you can afford to spend time on or not! I also acknowledge that many people do not have the time afforded to them to take advantage of some of these tools— out of no fault of their own. Also, misfortune ≠ defects in character. I, personally, had the privilege of being raised by older parents— who were raised by single parents who lived through the Great Depression. They knew how to save money and had the time to teach me!

As you create different accounts on websites for free trials, promos, self-referral systems:

Gmail treats an email address the same, regardless of how many periods are in the address.

For example, if your main gmail address is money@gmail.com, emails to m.oney@gmail.com or m.o.ney@gmail.com will also arrive in your inbox! This is automatic. Nothing needs to be set up.

Websites other than gmail may treat the e-mails as separate accounts! Often, you may need to sign up to websites without signing through gmail as opposed to just entering the email address you want to use.

The 1st step of solving problems is identifying there is a problem— and concretely and accurately defining the problem!

Many people struggle with avoiding talking about money or looking at their bank accounts, through their past purchases, or spending tendencies.

It can be painful, especially if you have had financial hardship or conflicts you had no control over or have no control over in the future.

Finding a way to gain awareness of your current financial situation can save you literally thousands of dollars in the future. You don’t even have to be in financial distress. You may want to add to your disposable income or save more.

Be your own friend, and see if you can find ways to reframe the way you relate to money and/or seek help. If you’re not keeping track of your finances, money, or spending, who is?

Needing help does not speak to personal weakness or character defects. People have different backgrounds as to how they were raised, misfortunes or privileges, and strengths and weaknesses.

See Tool #3, ‘Community and Emotional Obstacles.’

Don’t try to do everything alone. This individualistic society wants you to be alone, on your phone all the time so they can sell things to you and use your data to make money from data brokers.

If you find that you are avoiding what you know you ought to do to help ‘Future You,’ be honest with yourself—ask a close friend to come over and either help you or watch a TV show while you get some tasks done. You can even co-work via an audio or video call— they work on stuff they’re avoiding while you work on your own!

Just because you can’t get something done because you’re having feelings doesn’t mean you have a character defect or that you are any less than anyone else. By asking for help, you give the other person the opportunity to feel like they can make a difference in other people’s lives.

I acknowledge that asking for help can be hard. I encourage you to forget this world’s hierarchy. We’re all just people trying to survive, thrive, and connect.

Click the ‘Savings’ page from the website’s menu to see a list of all specific tips per website, category of purchase, or opportunity. Use “Find” by pressing [Ctrl+F] or [⌘+F] to find the site you’re looking for!

Below is a concrete example.

For those with pets:

Every other time you order online, you can create a new account to get a free $20 gift card if your order is $49+, using the promo code WELCOME. Remember Tool #1 here— an example at the bottom of this section will walk you through this, step-by-step!

That’s it— that simple.

Other general tips include:

• Use Autoship when you order to get an additional % off your order—ensuring you cancel the Autoship after the purchase. I’d cancel the Autoship after you receive your order for good measure.

• For 20% off of your Chewy Pharmacy order for new customers, use the promo code RX20.

• Buy in bulk. Often Chewy will have deals if you make large purchases such as a $45 e-gift card if you buy $150 of high-quality dog food. They often offer a free $30 e-gift card if you make a purchase of $100+.

• Product-specific deals: Confirm whether the product you’re buying qualifies for an extra % off or deal.

• Briefly search on your browser ‘chewy promo codes.’ Be careful of shady website links. The extra couple of minutes, even if you get a couple that don’t work, may save you a good amount of money! Often Chew will have deals if you make large purchases

Main tip example:

• Sign up to chewy.com using your main account, for example xyz@gmail.com.

• Order $49+ of items, and use the promo code WELCOME.

• After the order ships, they will e-mail you the $20 gift card.

• Use the gift card on your next order with xyz@gmail.com.

• The next time you order, create a new account using x.yz@gmail.com.

• Repeat the process for another $20 gift card.

I want to pass on the privilege of having parents who helped me to the mindset of making more with less— taking advantage of the control we do have.

I will continue to be as transparent as possible.

• I offer consultations to review your budgets, financial situations, spending habits, or processes with you. Or, I can simply support you with my presence and knowledge if you have a lot of financial stress around money.

• During consultations, I will use easy, ‘plug and play’ financial spreadsheets to track your money, spending, bills, and loans that I’ll give you access to. I can meet with you on a consistent basis, show you how to do it if you want to learn, or periodically meet with you as personal accountability or check-in.

• I offer the chance to donate on my website. If people feel moved to show appreciation for my work out of the savings they’ve gained, then great! I recognize some people are just trying to get by, so I try to respect that.

Regardless, I’m here to give you more options and ideas… and also encourage you to benefit from the control you do have if time is not an issue!

Going forward:

I may have specific promo codes or referral codes in the future— from which we both will benefit. I will keep the website as plainspoken and to the point as I can. We’ll see!

Use the ‘Contact’ feature on this website!

I’m also almost always open to feedback— let me know what would help. If I send a consensus, I’ll look to update the website!

I’ll ask if you want your first name, last initial, and generally where you’re from to be credited!