What small daily acts can help save money? Here are some Philadelphians’ financial life hacks.

When it came to her personal finances, Brittany Bronson knew the big-picture advice — the tips a financial adviser might dole out for saving more, paying off debt, or hitting other money goals.

She was well aware of the power of budgeting, the value of investing, and the habits that can lead to lower energy bills.

But the 34-year-old Roxborough resident wanted more: the less obvious day-to-day tips for financial discipline that would help her boost her savings.

So earlier this month Bronson, a DEI executive and mother of three, took to the popular Facebook group Philaqueens to share her own tips for financial success in the new year — and solicit the advice of other Philadelphians.

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Bronson said she has found her fellow millennials to be refreshingly open about money on social media and in real-life conversations, and more than willing to share their knowledge to help others.

“We’re all in the same boat,” Bronson said. “We need to put our collective ideas together.”

Still, Bronson said, she was surprised at the response to her post: More than 100 other people wanted to share what has worked for them.

Their tips covered everything from cutting back on subscriptions, to taking advantage of lesser-known supermarket deals, to using Buy Nothing groups, which allow users to pick up outgrown clothes, excess kitchenware, and extra food from neighbors who would otherwise throw the products away.

A few women commented on Bronson’s post and suggested taking out $5 to $20 in cash every time there’s a cashback option at a store. They stash those bills away as a type of manual savings account, one that can’t instantly be transferred back to a checking account for the instant-gratification of an online purchase.

Here are some other pieces of financial advice tried and tested by these real-life Philly-area consumers. They might help you chip away at your own money goals in 2025, or just put you in a headspace that makes saving feel like a game, not a chore.

As Yimika Osinulu brainstormed her 2025 money goals, she came to a realization.

“There is not a day that goes by where I don’t swipe my card, whether it’s $3 or $300,” said Osinulu, a 28-year-old who lives in Southwest Center City.

This fall, she started implementing “no-spend days,” where — you guessed it — she doesn’t spend a cent. Osinulu, who works in marketing, said it began with one day per week. Now, she is up to three no-spend days a week.

“Now I’m doing ‘no-spend days’ where I’m not spending any money, and I’m taking money out of my checking and putting it into my savings,” she said.

This year, Osinulu has vowed to put aside $200 each week, about what she might have spent on lunches, Target runs, and online shopping on the three no-spend days.

After Jill Mullin was laid off in 2023, she had to cut her grocery budget, not an easy task for a single mom of a 13-year-old.

So Mullin started comparison shopping, keeping a running list on her phone of the prices of items at different stores.

“I started thinking about what are the things that we eat all the time,” said Mullin, 51, of Fishtown. “Because I had more time, it allowed me to focus on the stores that I prefer to go to and really kind of capitalize on that.”

At the time, she found that Wegmans had some of the least-expensive pasta and pasta sauces. Trader Joe’s, meanwhile, often had the best prices on frozen seafood, eggs, veggies, chips, and chocolate treats. She would go to ShopRite for chicken breasts when they were on sale, and scoop up some of Whole Foods’ 365 brand products, which could be reasonably priced. She said she also found good deals on healthier foods at Sprouts.

Even though Mullin is back working in a sales position, she still tries to be cognizant of shopping at the stores with the best prices on items she needs. She uses the comparison shopping information she compiled when she was out of work and looks out for sales and promotions on the apps for all her local grocery stores.

“I just don’t want to waste money,” Mullin said.

You know which apps will send you down a money-spending rabbit hole.

Bronson, a busy mom who just finished a doctorate program, used to spend the most on Amazon and UberEats.

So in November, as the expensive holiday season approached, she deleted those tempting apps from her phone, she said, in an effort to stop “impulsive scrolling” and impulsive spending.

“It was just too easy from my phone,” Bronson said.

She still has an UberEats account and an Amazon Prime account, which her family of five uses to order essentials like toilet paper and paper towels. But now she must log onto her computer to make a purchase.

The extra step has dramatically reduced how often she spends on these services.

“I’m not getting up and getting on my computer at 2 o’clock in the morning to order lotion,” she said.

If you’re not ready to delete your apps, Kalista Morris Battaglia has another strategy: Let an item sit in your digital cart for 24 or 48 hours before purchasing.

During her self-imposed waiting periods, Battaglia, 32, of Media, said she recently reconsidered whether she really needed a new dress for a wedding and the Snackle Box charcuterie container, which social media had convinced her was a necessity for a friend’s bachelorette party.

“I hit pause and was like, ‘I have an entire cabinet of Tupperware and Chinese takeout containers,’” said Battaglia, a commercial insurance underwriter. “How often am I going to be using a Snackle Box? It would make one cute picture, but is it worth it?”

The answer was no, Battaglia said. More times than not, she said, her impulse buys aren’t things she needs a day later.