Consider the value of your purchases, that doesn't mean buying the cheapest thing. It means buy the things that give you the most benefit. Price compare, don't just blindly go to the store and buy something.

Don't drive to the store to buy one thing. Go to the store if you're already going past it or need to do a full run.

If you think you want to buy something you don't necessarily need, don't buy it immediately, put it in your online shopping cart and leave it there for a few days, then decide if you still want it.

Sell stuff that you don't want or use anymore.

Never go out to eat/ order food if you can help it.

Stop drinking soda/energy drinks.

Stop smoking, doing drugs, and drinking alcohol.

Never go inside the gas station to pay, always pay at the pump. You'll avoid impulse purchases and don't buy lottery tickets.

Stop caring what other people think, you don't need to buy a bunch of fancy clothes, shoes, the latest iPhone, etc. The only time you need to dress nice is a job interview and special occasions.

Show up to work on time, don't complain out loud, and have a willingness to learn something new. You don't have to be the best to get more money. Don't stay at the same job if you're not getting promoted or regular pay raises.

Buy a bicycle.

Floss your teeth, dental work is expensive.

Move to a higher cost of living area to get jobs that pay more. Rent is higher, but everything else costs pretty much the same so you're better off and have more job opportunities.

Put as much money into your retirement account while you're young, time in the market is better than timing the market.

Take care of your things, especially if you have a car. Maintenance costs less than a new engine.

Learn to fix things yourself

Go to thrift stores

Take advantage of free services, go to the library, they have access to a lot of online subscriptions.

Stay away from predatory loans from places like rentacenter, buy here pay here car lots and payday loans. Just don't.

Don't take out a car loan if you can't afford it.

Get a savings/checking account with the highest interest you can find. It doesn't have to be a local credit union/bank.

Do your own taxes for free, don't pay someone to do them if you only have a regular job.

Get a roommate and split rent.

Take the bus/train.

Coupons/ deals/ rewards points.

Never talk to the cops.

Start running a zero balance with a set amount. So if you ste your zero at $100. If you have $200 you only have 100. Raise this over time until you have enough

I don't have anything remotely close to 6 months savings in the bank. It doesn't make economic sense for me to do so. I'm far better off talking any would-be savings and put it towards all this debt I'm still carrying from my college days.

You will never make more interest on an investment than you will get charged interest for the same amount as a loan. Ever. It does not happen. So for me to sit on money that could go towards paying down debts, I'm just needlessly paying more in interest than I would be otherwise.

My current plan is to pay down or pay off all by debts (ultimately paying them off but if they're close then ok); then consolidate all of my remaining debt into a line of credit, and close out all of my other debt accounts. When that's paid, it will hopefully be enough that I can put that available credit towards any spontaneous costs, and if no such costs occur, save as much as I can so I won't need the line of credit if I have incidentals. Hopefully saving up to 6 months or more, plus investing into a retirement fund.

The retirement fund is an afterthought because at this point in my life I expect that I will be financially incapable of retiring. I'll just work until either I go crazy (dementia or similar), or I simply die at my job. I'll just work until I'm dead.

I've been so financially fucked by all the once-in-a-(insert large amount of time here) events that just coincidentally all happened during my life so far that this is what I'm expecting going forward. Record inflation, stagnant wages, everything as-a-service basically robbing you monthly for something you should have bought and long since paid off, but instead you're paying for in perpetuity for no good reason....

Everything has turned into a monthly charge. It's terrible, and you think "oh, it's only $20 a month". Yeah, that's $240/yr. For something that probably doesn't make you any money and probably doesn't help you with your employment or any earnings you may bring in... It's just a stupid tax. We're stupid.

I think there is a whole lot of variability in this equation. I do try to keep some "cushion" in the bank, but I can borrow if I have to. So if I have drained the savings I can still get by via borrowing for a while if necessary.

I'm fortunate that my employment is very steady. The chances of me losing my job are slim. If it were less steady I'd be better about keeping that cash stashed.

If the unlikely did happen and I lost my job I would pretty quickly have access to a large stash of cash. Which I'd rather save but would spend if it saves my ass from starving and foreclosure.