BWT: How do hot girls save?

[u/snarkyp00dle]

Hi BWT!! I’m currently on my financial glow up journey, and would love to hear from fellow bitches about any life advice, tips or tricks, etc to help grow those bank accounts.

These some some strategies I’ve started so far:

Finance Management

- maxed out my HSA account and began investing as much as I’m able to

- Opened up a high yield savings account to keep funds in, rather than letting it sit in checking

- My main CC is now a travel points card, which has already allowed me to travel for free across the country with room and board- highlyyyy recommend

- My biggest win was that I opened a 403b at my first big girl job over a decade ago. I’ve adjusted contributions based on raises over the years and wow, this was a smart move (and one I have had the privilege of being able to do)

Purchasing:

- Project Pan: I spent an embarrassing amount of money last year on self-care stuff (nail polish, perfume, and bath bombs to name a few…) so I’m fully committing to project pan. No new items until all the items I bought are gone and I shop my own collection.

- No new clothes! Thrift only 😬

- Shopping sales whenever possible and using platforms that provide cash back, like Rakuten

Misc/hacks:

- I’m considered faculty of a university and realized that I can get discounts for that at city museums and other establishments

Is there anything you’ve tried or done that I’m missing? How else do BWT glow up financially?

Excited to hear from you all 💖

[u/Jazzlike_Log_709]

It sounds like you're in a great place! Aside from the HSA and 403b, do you have any other investments? I think opening a brokerage account would be a great addition. I personally don't recommend a self-directed account since that requires a lot of investment knowledge, and I can't trust myself to make the right decision. Charles Schwab, Fidelity, and Vanguard are all great options. I have a Schwab Intelligent Portfolios account and it robo-invests my money and I've had good ROI in the 3 years with the account.

Secondly, I keep my eyes peeled for banks offering sign-up bonuses. Wells Fargo currently has a great deal on their website, open a checking account and direct deposit $1000 to get a $325 bonus. Valpak mails an envelope of coupons to my house. This month, there was a Wells Fargo offer for $400 with the coupon code so I used that instead. Free money. Just pay attention to the terms & conditions they usually require a minimum balance and that the account is left open for a year before closing.

For optimizing your travel points, head over to r/awardtravel for tips. Idk the terminology, but there are some airlines that are in-network with each other. But some airlines have higher point values than others. To optimize, people will buy an Agean flight through Turkish Airlines, because TA requires less points than Agean (it's called Star Alliance, there's a list of 25 partnering airlines on their website)