You’re not going to change your entire financial situation in one afternoon. Making changes in how you spend, save, earn, and give takes time and discipline.
But you can make small positive changes in just a few minutes. And those small changes pile up—especially when we do them repeatedly. Your first step in the right direction doesn’t need to be a big one.
If you want to change your financial circumstances, here are ten quick actions I encourage you to take today.
Ten 5-Minute Money Actions to Help Your Finances Today
1. Invest $50 in the Stock Market.
When I was younger, investing in the stock market was complicated. You needed a bunch of money, a stockbroker, and it cost a lot.
But now, with apps such as RobinHood, anybody can invest in the stock market, instantly, for free, with as little as $1. In fact, if you sign up through my link above, you can get a free stock just for signing up!
It’s become so easy to invest in stocks, I now encourage people who are struggling to save money, to buy stocks rather than open a Savings account. It’s more fun and exciting to watch your money grow in the market than a bank, and the interest earned tends to motivate people to save more.
Find $50 to deposit into RobinHood. If you don’t know much about investing, just buy $50 worth of the index fund VOO which tracks the S&P 500 index. Or, if you want to risk for higher returns, subscribe to Pete Nikolai’s Leveraged Momentum System (that’s what I do).
2. Open Your Most Recent Credit Card Statement.
I don’t know if you regularly read your credit card statement each month. Maybe you just pay the bill, or your spouse/partner handles sending in the payment.
Either way, take five minutes to log in to your credit card account and manually review your statement for the last two months. You may be surprised at the charges listed.
I did this just last week (in preparation for this article) and immediately found 3 recurring charges that I hadn’t cancelled previously.
3. Unsubscribe From Email Newsletters.
Email newsletters from retailers and companies are designed for virtually one purpose: to sell you something.
Take five minutes in your inbox to unsubscribe from the worst offenders. You may believe five minutes won’t make a difference, and to some extent you are correct, you likely won’t be able to unsubscribe from every retail newsletter in that time frame.
But it can make a dent. And another five minutes tomorrow, and the day after, will definitely result in an inbox that is less inclined to persuade you to spend.
4. Sell Something on FB Marketplace.
Locate one large item in your home that you can put up for sale for $25 or more. Take a picture, and post it for pick-up on your local Facebook Marketplace or neighborhood community app.
You might be surprised how quickly you can turn clutter into cash. If your first item doesn’t sell, don’t give it up. Just try something else. You’ll free up space in your home and add dollars to your bank account.
5. Run your Amazon Order History Report for the Last Year.
You may be surprised to see, all in one place, how many of your hard-earned dollars are being shipped to Amazon. Most people, after running their report, are shocked to see how much they spend on Amazon during a year.
6. Empty Cart on Amazon.
If you’re anything like a lot of families, your Amazon cart may have a few unordered items sitting inside it. Items were added that were of interest to you (or someone else in the family) and haven’t been ordered yet.
Do yourself a favor, go empty it.
What if you forget what was in there? That’s the point. If you didn’t need the item yesterday, you won’t need it tomorrow.
7. Pay $100 on your Highest Rate Debt.
There are plenty of different strategies for getting out of debt: pay off your highest interest debts first: pay off your smallest loans first; consolidate your loans; pay double your minimum payment; just to name a few.
Of course, the most important thing is to actually get started.
To do that, send $100 to your highest interest rate debt, right now. Your credit card, your car loan, or something else… don’t think twice, just send $100 to begin paying it down. See how it makes you feel to take that step.
I understand if you’re at the end of a pay period, you may need to wait until the next one. But as soon as you can, send the $100. Rather than spending it on unnecessary things, it will be out of your hands and already used to pay down debt.
As Albert Einstein once said,“Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world. Those who understand it, earn it… those who don’t, pay it.“
8. Cancel One Subscription.
The average consumer spends over $3,000/year on subscription services—more than twice what they think they spend. In one survey, 89% of respondents underestimated how much money they spent on subscriptions services every month.
Cancel one or more:
- Which streaming service do you watch the least? Cancel it.
- Which magazine do you rarely read? Cancel it.
- Not keeping up with your audio book subscription? Cancel it.
- Which streaming music platform do you use the least? Cancel it.
- Got a cell phone? Cancel your landline.
- Meal services, subscription boxes, gaming platforms, apps. Find one to cancel.
9. Pack a Lunch For Tomorrow.
If you’re used to eating out every day at work, packing a lunch may seem a little unexciting. But it’s an important lifestyle change that you can make to better control your finances.
The cost of convenience adds up quickly.
Take your lunch to work tomorrow and save the money. You could also brew your own coffee (though I’d suggest waiting for the morning to do that).
10. Decide to Spend No Money Next Week.
Granted, actually going 7 days without spending takes longer than 5 minutes, but you can make that decision in less than 5 minutes.
I don’t think deciding on a whim to go one week without spending money is too extreme—you’ve probably got enough food in your fridge and pantry to last that long. But if it sounds too difficult, try the weekend or the weekdays instead. It will require some mindset changes, no doubt, but some people go an entire year without buying anything. Make it fun and a personal challenge.
Incremental small changes eventually amount to big changes. I didn’t write this list as all the exhaustive steps you need to take to get ahead financially. Like I mentioned, that takes more time and effort than 5 minutes.
However, each of these steps can be taken right now, before even putting down your phone or closing your computer. Go back through the list and pick one or two to complete. You’ll be glad you did.
Vicki Chilcote says
I have a testimony of many things. And I can testify to the truth of minimizing and happiness. I am just beginning this journey although I have known its importance for some time. We are in debt, have five storage sheds of items many of which we have not used in a decade or more, have a garage full and I mean FULL of items that are boxed and waiting to be unpacked from our move six months ago, a cluttered home and depression that makes it difficult to even tackle one project. However, you have given me hope to do just that. One step at a time, one box at a time, one forward moving choice at a time to clear our space, increase our earnings and create the peaceful living space in our home as well as our souls. I am discovering the beauty of living with positive intention in all that we do. Thank you so much for the roadmap and the support.
Martha says
Love this idea, it gives me so much inspiration and ideas for my next year planning. Unsubscribing to magazines I don’t have time to read would certainly help and make a huge change.
Mrs. FCB @financialchainbreakers says
I really like the one about reviewing Amazon orders. It’s so, so easy to make little $10-30 purchases without thinking anything of it. And they definitely add up. It’s eye opening to actually look at how much it added up to.
eishstudentbudget™ says
This is so true!
Gary Grewal says
Love these little tidbits of actionable advice that makes a real difference. That’s exactly the format I go for in my writing. We’re already busy/distracted as it is.
Especially resonate with the unsubscribing and no spend weeks, things I’ve done that have not affected my quality of life at all, but have brought more mindfulness and fulfillment in life.
Weird & Liberated says
These are some really great, useful tips.
Jonah says
Hi All,
I love this website, and I know that Josh has wisdom that I need. That said, please be careful with “Pete Nikolai’s Leveraged Momentum System.” In finance, leverage = debt. In addition to that red flag is the claim on his site that he can double your money every three years. Wealth building is usually boring, doesn’t involve debt, doesn’t hinge on a single person’s bets, and doesn’t claim 20%+ annual returns. It also appears that the strategy and newsletter began in 2015 – the middle of a bull market when everything was going up (and many funds earned 20%+). These are several red flags for me. Instead, consider a Vanguard LifeStrategy funds. They are boring, low-cost, and incredibly effective.
joshua becker says
I offered $VOO as a less riskier option.
Impersonal Finances says
Packing a lunch–that one I struggle with!
Max says
Got a cell phone? Cancel your landline. – Oh, please tell me how to do that. I have been trying to do this for years but here in Germany the telephone landline tariff is inseperably linked to access to the internet – unless you want to use exclusively mobile data which is more expensive in any case. Or at least in my case.
Boswell J says
That’s about right, Max. I am trying to bring it down to only one which I am close to it. TV screen is on, if not, laptop is 24/24, and then more often than not, the cell is on call. So good to hear you want to take it all down at all cost! Great info. Have a good day!
Anne Pratt says
Oh, please don’t recommend Robinhood. They have been investigated more than once by the SEC, and have had shoddy practices that include accounting issues, “gamification” of financial moves, including risky stock purchases, and in general can’t be trusted.
There are many other places where you can put your money, starting with a small amount, and investing it wisely.
joshua becker says
Thanks for the comment. I’ve been using RobinHood for over 5 years and have never had an issue. In fact, they provide better service than most tech companies I’ve worked with. I’d never recommend anything I don’t fully trust.
Vicki Burgesd says
When a young, working mom, I saved all bonuses, plus added a sum into the savings account each month. If left in the account to accumulate, the sum grows into large one. I was able to put a down payment on a house.
Sherley says
Those are very helpful words of encouragement for people like me. Being a single mom myself, I have found the high cost of living hasn’t helped the middle class in any way to do such savings. The houses cost are getting higher and higher and the inflation goes at a rate as no comparison to my lifetime. Savings is a very good habit to form and at its best it can only procure safety and stability. I have learned this a hard way, and now my child is in college I felt the pressure to work day and night at my two jobs to contribute to his higher education. One of the societal issue that has been and has stayed as so for such a long time in our country.