If targeted Instagram ads, promo code email blasts, TikTok Shop hauls, and an overabundance of gift guides haven't worn you down yet, color us impressed. For everyone else, this time of year can be particularly brutal on our wallets, threatening to bring even the most frugal among us down to bank account zero.
And it's a lot of money. Shoppers told the National Retail Federation they planned to spend an average of $890.49 per person on gifts, food, decorations, and other seasonal extras in 2025, the second-highest amount in the survey's history. Even if you showed some restraint on Black Friday, there are still holiday parties to shop for, gifts to stock up on, and trips home to book. Need we say more?
Before your eyes glaze over with cartoon-like flashing dollar signs, take a deep breath and r-e-l-a-x. We've rounded up the money-saving tips that actually stick, the ones that work in December and every other month too. Curious to try them for yourself? Here are 20 cash-savvy pointers.
Separate Your Checking and Savings Accounts
If your accounts are tied together, there will always be a temptation to dip into your savings. Try moving your savings to a separate account, or even a different bank, to lessen the temptation. A high-yield savings account at another bank does double duty: it's out of sight, and it earns noticeably more interest than a standard savings account. If you're building a cushion for the unexpected, here's how to start an emergency fund.
Break Up With Outdated Subscriptions
Automated billing can be a blessing and a curse. Streaming services, apps, delivery memberships, the gym you went to twice: if you're not using it, cancel it. No shame in being honest! Scroll through the last three months of your bank and card statements to find them all, or let a budgeting app like Monarch, which tracks recurring charges, flag them for you.
Try a Money Detox
It might seem drastic, but this is an obvious and clear way to cut down on spending. A money detox doesn't have to run for consecutive days, either. Take a look at your calendar and mark several days over the course of a week or month when you won't spend any money. Once you've mastered that, you can bump up the time commitment and try longer stretches.
Customize Your Own Money-Saving Challenge
If a no-spend detox seems too intense, try a custom savings challenge. The 52-week money challenge has you put aside $1 in week one, $2 in week two, and so on, adding $1 each week until you hit $52. By the end of the year, you'll have saved $1,378. It's an extremely low-effort way to build your savings if you're starting from scratch. Facing pricey months ahead? Flip it and start at $52, so the biggest deposits happen before the holidays hit. Challenges like this work because they turn saving into a habit, which is half the battle, as our guide to building a savings habit that actually sticks explains.
Download Helpful Money Apps
Finance apps are a no-brainer, both for tracking what's going out and for growing what you keep. For budgeting, YNAB (which offers a 34-day free trial) and Monarch are both solid starting points. For saving and investing on autopilot, Acorns rounds up your purchases and invests the spare change, and Betterment offers automated investing plus a high-yield cash account. Not sure a line-by-line budget is your style? Our panic-free guide to recession-proofing your finances weighs a detailed budget against a looser "unbudget." If you used Mint back in the day, it shut down in 2024, so it's worth picking a new home for your numbers.
Don't Forget You Can Say "No"
Birthday dinners, standing brunch reservations, shopping trips, drink dates, and the group chat's latest bachelorette plan: there are a hundred money-sucking activities that are easy to get swept up in. Feel empowered to say "no" and leave the pressure to spend behind. A good friend will understand "I'm saving right now, but I'd love to do something low-key instead."
Try Not to Shop for Yourself
We know, we know. All of those awesome sales make it extremely difficult to resist treating yourself. But self-gifting is a slippery slope, especially when you have 10+ family members to shop for. If you can, hold off until January, when your budget is back in balance (and the sales are often still there).
Eat and Drink at Home
Winter is the perfect time to explore big-batch soup and chili recipes that can feed you for days. Fill up on cheap and easy meals at home to cut down on superfluous spending.
And Meal Prep for the Week
Poor planning can contribute to a lot of unnecessary spending on your daily food needs. Setting aside 10 minutes to plan out your menu for the week can help you get ahead of a lot of the last-minute food runs and deliveries.
Automate Your Bills
Late fees are the absolute worst way to spend your hard-earned dough, mainly because they're a totally avoidable charge. Make sure your internet, phone, car insurance, and other monthly expenses are set up to be paid automatically. Some companies and lenders even offer a small discount when you sign up for autopay. Just keep a buffer in your checking account so an automatic payment doesn't trigger an overdraft fee instead.
Stop Buying Into Trends
There's no shame in wanting to freshen up your wardrobe every now and again. But may we direct you to consignment and vintage stores, or buy-sell-trade shops like Crossroads and Buffalo Exchange, to avoid falling for costly microtrends that'll be outdated before you know it.
Stop Paying a Premium for Convenience
Look, we totally get that cooking for yourself every day gets exhausting. It's nice to have a night off from kitchen duty. But delivery apps like DoorDash and Uber Eats are a costly alternative once you add up service fees, delivery fees, menu markups, and the tip your driver deserves. If you're going to order, choose pickup over delivery for an instant way to save.
Track Prices Before You Book Flights and Hotels
The Federal Trade Commission is studying "surveillance pricing," where companies use personal details like your location and browsing history to set the price you see. (Ew, creepy.) Searching in an incognito or private window costs you nothing, so go ahead. The bigger savings, though, come from timing. Set up price tracking on Google Flights for your route and dates, and you'll get an email when fares change significantly, so you can book on a dip instead of guessing.
Bookmark Any and All Free Events
Adding free, local events to your calendar is a great way to keep extracurriculars soft on your wallet. The next time your friends hit you up to hang, recommend one of the freebies on your radar, like a free concert, a holiday market, a museum's free night, or a tree lighting.
Pool Money for Gifts
Budgeting for gifts isn't the easiest, especially when you're busy saving for your own financial goals. This is why pooling money with friends or family is a great idea: together, you can give a more generous gift than any of you could afford on your own. A Secret Santa or white elephant exchange with a set price limit works too.
Let Go of Your Things
Thanks to resale apps, it's never been easier to clean out your wardrobe and apartment and make money doing so. List clothes and accessories on Poshmark, and furniture and everything else on OfferUp or Facebook Marketplace. (Letgo, the old favorite, merged into OfferUp in 2020.) Then let the listing begin.
Find a Credit Card With Rewards, and Pay It Off Every Month
Could you be earning cash back or travel points on your everyday expenses? Probably, so do your research on credit card rewards before swiping on another purchase. One big caveat: rewards only pay off if you clear your balance in full each month. The average interest rate on credit card accounts was 21.19% in August 2026, according to the Federal Reserve, which wipes out a 2% cash-back perk fast. If you're already carrying a balance, here's how one writer paid off $60K of debt before she turned 30.
Make Your Money Work a Little Harder
Trivia apps and survey apps promise easy cash, but the payouts tend to be small. Your time is better spent on income that can actually grow, whether that's freelance work, a skill-based side gig, or investments that compound in the background. If you're curious, here's how to build multiple income streams without burning out.
Take a Course on Money
Have you checked out the free resources online meant to help you get smarter about money? If you didn't go to business or finance school, it's not too late. The FDIC's Money Smart program offers a free, self-paced set of games and resources for building your money skills.
Pick Up a Book
Endless money-saving tips are at your disposal in a good personal finance book, and you don't have to buy one. Borrow ebooks and audiobooks free with your library card through Libby, and put the money you would have spent straight into savings.
Small wins count. If you're already thinking about January, steal a few of these money resolutions from women founders. Sign up for Girlboss Daily for practical money and career advice that helps you spend, save, and plan on your terms, delivered every weekday.
