I've interviewed dozens of 'super savers' who set aside more than half their income. Implementing 3

Publish date: 2024-07-08
2022-07-31T11:30:00Z

Over the past seven years, I've interviewed dozens of "super savers" about how they set aside the majority of their income. 

A Google employee told me that he lived in his truck in the company's parking lot and saved 90% of his income; a couple based in upstate New York explained how they live on their side-job income, which allows them to save and invest 100% of their day-job income; and a YouTuber told me that his simple and minimalist lifestyle makes it fairly easy to save the majority of his income.

I'm not a "super saver" by any means. I send about 20% of my paycheck to accounts earmarked for my future (retirement-specific accounts and a taxable brokerage account), and then any leftover money at the end of each month goes into a high-yield savings account.

Thanks to strategies I've picked up from talking to so many saving specialists, though, I've managed to free up more cash and increase my monthly "leftover money." 

Here are three, expert-backed savings hacks I use to set aside an extra $1,000 a month.

I live with roommates to save on rent

Expert savers tend to agree that if you want to improve your savings rate significantly, stop focusing on the small stuff like cutting your daily latte. Instead, find ways to lower your major expenses like housing, transportation, and food.

According to the 2020 Consumer Expenditure Survey from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, those are the three categories where Americans spend the most: housing is the biggest expense, making up 34.9% of the average budget, transportation accounts for 16% of average spending, and food makes up 11.9%.

I've always done a decent job of keeping food and transportation costs in check — I drive a 2007 Toyota that I paid for in cash and cook the majority of my meals — but housing is something that's always taken up a massive chunk of my paycheck. 

I live in Los Angeles, where rent isn't cheap. I've also lived alone for the majority of the three years that I've been here, shelling out $2,000 a month for a studio apartment. 

Los Angeles is beautiful but pricey. Courtesy of Kathleen Elkins

In April 2022, though, I sold most of my furniture and moved in with roommates. I now pay $1,325, meaning I gained back $675 a month. Over the course of a year, that's $8,100 in savings. It's the easiest way I've ever saved so much money and it didn't require much sacrifice — just a little bit of space and privacy.

I track my expenses and know exactly how much money is coming in and going out

I've been tracking my expenses since 2015, when I was making $12 an hour as an editorial intern in New York City. Living on a small income in a pricey city, I felt like it was essential to track everything to make sure I wasn't spending more than I was making. 

Even after I started earning a salary and benefits, I continued tracking my spending — and I still do to this day in the same Google sheet I built seven years ago. At the end of each day, I simply add in what I spent money on. It also includes my monthly fixed costs (rent, insurance, internet, etc.) and income, so I can see exactly how much I'm spending versus earning each month. 

Recording expenses is a helpful habit that holds you accountable and also lets you see exactly where your money is going. If I'm trying to hit a savings goal by a certain time and want to make a conscious effort to save more one month, I'll go back through my spending from the previous month and see which categories I could cut back on. 

But don't take my word for it. Ali and Josh Lupo, who are on track to retire in their 30s, say they weren't great savers until they took a hard look at their spending habits. 

"A few years ago, we thought we had a good idea of what we were making and spending," they told me, "but when we started actually tracking it, we realized our numbers were completely off."

Once they understood where their money was going, they were able to implement lifestyle changes that allowed them to cut back significantly. "It's really important to get a good idea of: How much am I making every month? How much am I spending? What debts do I have? What assets do I have? You want to get a picture of where your money is going so you can optimize it."

I started a side hustle and save 100% of the earnings

Even the best savers admit that there's a cap on how much you can save. If you increase your income, though, and keep your spending the same, you can make tremendous savings gains. 

When I moved to LA three years ago, I started teaching tennis on the side. It started as a way to meet people in a brand new city, but turned into a lucrative side job. Last year, I transitioned from working for a tennis center, which took a cut of my hourly rate, to working for myself. It requires more logistics — I have to find a court, for example, and buy equipment like tennis balls — but allows me to make significantly more per hour.

I set my own schedule and can work as little or as much as I want on the weekends. Over the past year, I've averaged $1,200 a month in tennis income. It's not money that I need for bills or day-to-day expenses, so I send it directly to my savings accounts. 

Teaching tennis was a natural (and relatively easy) side hustle for me to pick up. I've played the sport my entire life and have been coaching since high school. Plus, I love the game. 

When it comes to picking a side hustle, I'd follow "Financial Freedom" author and side hustle guru Grant Sabatier's advice: make two lists, one of the things you truly enjoy doing and another of things you're good at. Then, look for overlap between your lists and think about how you could monetize your interests and skills. Maybe you've been playing music for years and can start giving lessons or playing gigs. Maybe you love to travel and can become a consultant and help people plan trips. 

If you pursue something you actually enjoy, chances are you'll stick with it. Plus, it'll feel less like actual work.

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