Tracking every purchase, even in a simple notebook, can reveal $100+ in monthly spending that’s easy to cut.

Job switching typically delivers bigger pay bumps than staying put.

Often, the hardest move is keeping your spending flat after each raise instead of boosting your lifestyle.

A recent post on Reddit’s r/povertyfinance struck a nerve, highlighting issues many people face:

Five years ago, I was living paycheck to paycheck, making $9/hour at a gas station. I had $200 to my name, was behind on rent, and lived off Dollar Store ramen and whatever was marked down at the grocery store. Credit was shot, no savings, and I felt completely stuck. The turning point wasn’t some dramatic moment—it was realizing I needed to start somewhere, anywhere. I began tracking every single penny I spent using a notebook.

​The post chronicles a journey from gas station clerk to warehouse supervisor through relentless expense tracking, job hopping, and refusing to let spending increase after each raise. The story reflects what millions of Americans are living right now.

About 27% of adults say they’re either “just getting by” or “finding it difficult to get by,” according to the Federal Reserve’s latest household survey. Among lower-income households, 43% struggled to pay their monthly bills in 2024, up from 38% the year before.

So, what can help those just starting out pay off debt and begin to put savings away?

The Reddit user’s turning point was a $2 spiral notebook. “Seeing $4 here and $6 there on energy drinks and snacks was eye-opening,” the Redditor wrote. “I cut out everything nonessential.”

Many people don’t realize how much they’re spending on nonessentials. For example, when researchers ask Americans how much they spend on subscriptions, people guess around $86 a month. The real amount is $219, a $133 gap between perception and reality.

The fix doesn’t require sophisticated budgeting apps. Writing down every purchase for 30 days forces a confrontation with spending patterns that feel invisible in the moment. Small purchases—a coffee here, a convenience store run there—add up to large costs over time.

The Reddit post emphasized chasing raises and switching employers rather than waiting for annual increases.

The data supports this approach.​

Workers who stayed put in their job had their wages grow 3.8% in 2025 over the year before, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Wage Growth Tracker. Those who switched jobs gained 4.6%—almost a percentage point higher.

The strategy is to treat every role as a steppingstone. Build skills, document your accomplishments, and periodically apply for positions that pay more. Loyalty to an employer rarely pays as well as loyalty to your own income growth.

Saving even $25 a week adds up to $1,300 a year, enough to cover many emergency car repairs without reaching for a credit card.

A hard part about getting your budget and savings in order is not to ramp up your spending with each raise or promotion.

​The Federal Reserve’s consumer spending data shows how quickly spending rises with income. Households in the lowest income bracket spend about $35,046 annually. Jump to the second-lowest bracket—starting at just $29,932 in earnings—and spending shoots to $50,054. That’s a $15,000 spending increase for barely crossing an income threshold.

Lifestyle inflation is why higher earners often feel just as broke as when they made less. Each raise gets absorbed by a nicer apartment, a car payment, or subscription creep.

The Reddit poster’s approach—”I kept living like I made $9/hour and banked the difference”—captures the principle. Whether you adopt that exact discipline or a softer version, putting raises toward savings rather than spending is what separates people who build wealth from people who just earn more just to spend it.

For anyone carrying balances, there are two main strategies experts suggest:

The snowball method tackles the smallest balance first, regardless of interest rate. You pay minimums on everything else and throw extra cash at that smallest debt. The psychological wins from eliminating accounts keep you motivated.

The avalanche method goes after the highest interest rate first. This saves the most money mathematically and usually finishes faster. Paying off a $5,000 credit card at 22% annual percentage rate before a $3,000 card at 15% can save over $1,000 in interest.

Viral money stories are satisfying because they offer a clear arc: a person with little money does the hard stuff and gets results. Reality is messier—luck, timing, and circumstances vary wildly. But the core strategies hold up.

Track every dollar for 30 days to find spending you didn’t know existed. Apply for better-paying roles instead of waiting for raises that may never come. When income grows, resist the pull to upgrade everything immediately. None of it is glamorous, but the math works.

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