Improve your fiscal fitness with 8 easy money moves that only take an hour or less and may save more than you realize

Personal finance doesn’t always have to be time-consuming or headache-inducing.

In fact, according to AARP and USA Today, these DIY financial hacks take less time than an episode of your favorite TV show. In fact, you could do some of them while watching that episode.

Must Read

• Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how

• Dave Ramsey warns nearly 50% of Americans are making 1 big Social Security mistake — here’s what it is and 3 simple steps to fix it ASAP

• Approaching retirement with no savings? Don’t panic, you’re not alone. Here are 6 easy ways you can catch up (and fast)

Here are eight easy money moves to help save, grow and protect your money and credit score — and they all take an hour or less. No spreadsheet required! (1)(2).

1. Put your money to work in a high-yield savings account

If you have money in a savings account earning 0.01% interest, you’re not saving money. Inflation is eating away at it.

A Vanguard report calls “idle cash” a “savings blind spot,” with 57% of respondents reporting that their savings earn less than 3% interest, including 24% of respondents earning less than 1% on their savings account (3).

Read More: Are you richer than you think? 5 clear signs you’re punching way above the average American

In contrast, a high-yield savings account (HYSA) can offer interest ranging from 3.5% to more than 4%.

Say you have $10,000 in savings. An account earning 0.01% would earn you a piddly $1 a year. With an annual interest of 4.00% APY, you’d earn $400. Plus, most HYSAs don’t have monthly fees or penalties and come with low or no minimum balance requirements.

2. Double-check your credit report

Take a few moments to download and review your credit report, since it could contain errors that hurt your credit score.

This is surprisingly common. In 2024, Consumer Reports and WorkMoney teamed up to survey 4,300 participants and discovered that 44% who access their credit reports found errors, such as:

• on-time payments wrongly reported as late or missed.

• debt reported to collections that they didn’t recognize (4).

Of equal concern is that 27% of those errors were potentially damaging to participants’ credit scores — and that could end up costing them money, as in the case of a typical mortgage.

“The difference between having mediocre credit and good credit is about $150,000 over the life of the loan,” Carrie Joy Grimes, CEO of WorkMoney, told Consumer Reports.

You can check your credit reports from Equifax, Experian and TransUnion for free at AnnualCreditReport.com.

3. Cancel unused subscriptions

How many times have you signed up for a ‘free’ trial subscription, only to forget about it and continue paying for it over the course of months or even years?

The average American spends $1,080 a year on subscriptions — and about $200 of that goes toward subscriptions that are no longer used, according to CNET’s second annual subscription survey (5)

It’s not just streaming services; it could be apps, software, e-commerce subscriptions, fitness memberships, even meal kit services.

Take an hour out of your day, figure out which subscriptions you’re still paying for, which ones you actually use and which ones can be cancelled. Those small savings can add up over time.

4. Top up your 401(k) contributions

Maybe you’re putting money aside in a 401(k), but are you maxing out your contributions each year?

In 2025, the maximum contribution is $23,500 — with a catch-up contribution of $7,500 for those 50 to 59 or 64-plus, or $11,250 for those aged 60 to 63.

Even if you don’t max out your contributions this year, you could start topping them up by 1% going forward. That will boost your savings and you probably won’t even notice it.

Say you make $80,000 a year. Putting an extra 1% of that to your 401(k) would add up to $800 a year — even more if your employer matches your contributions. And that doesn’t even account for compounding growth. It only takes a few minutes to log into your 401(k) portal and increase your contribution level.

5. Automate your bills

This might not seem like a way to save money, but if you ever forget to pay a bill on time, then you could be charged interest and late fees.

Those fees can add up, especially in the case of credit cards, where the average APR (as of October) is a whopping 24.19%.

But there’s a more concerning penalty: Late fees can hurt your credit score.

You can set up automatic payments online for everything from utilities to health insurance premiums to credit-card payments and never miss a due date.

6. Put the brakes on pricey auto insurance

Auto insurance costs 12% more this year than last on average, according to Bankrate, with costs expected to keep rising as insurers pay more for auto parts due to tariff policies.

Switching your insurer could save money.

A Consumer Reports survey found that drivers who switched insurers saved a median of $461 a year, with 41% saving $500 or more and 13% saving $1,000 or more (6).

Online estimates from insurers or aggregators are usually fairly quick. Just be sure to have your current policy handy so you can easily compare coverages)

7. Apply for a 0% APR credit card

If you’re trying to pay down credit card debt and can’t get ahead because of all the interest you’re paying, you could consider transferring the balance to a 0% APR credit card.

It only takes a few minutes to apply, but you may get turned down if you have a low credit score; plus, there may be a transfer fee.

But there’s a catch: The 0% APR is usually offered for a limited promotional period (for example, 12 months) and the interest rate will jump up after.

The trick is to use it strategically and pay off your debt during that promotional period — and not pile on more debt.

8. Find lost money

You might have money you didn’t even know about in lost or forgotten accounts, like a 401(k) you left behind at a previous job.

Consider this: There’s more than $2 trillion sitting in forgotten or left-behind 401(k) accounts with an average balance of $66,691, according to a report from Capitalize in partnership with the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College (7).

Imagine finding out you have an extra $66K that’s been sitting around accruing interest all this time.

It’s well worth the small amount of time it takes to do a search on the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits (8).

You can also check out Missingmoney.com, the official website for unclaimed property of the National Association of State Treasurers, to search for unclaimed property or old bank accounts.

The takeaway

These hacks are a small investment in time that could have big rewards, particularly when you combine them.

For example, if you increase contributions to your 401(k) by 1% and discover money sitting in an old 401(k) you didn’t know about, that could boost your retirement savings significantly.

Of course, it makes sense to prioritize these based on your financial pain points.

If you’re about to renew your auto insurance and your premium has jumped 30%, it makes sense to shop around for cheaper insurance first.

If you’re saving for a down payment on a house, you’ll want to make sure there are no errors on your credit reports that could hurt your credit score.

And if debt is your biggest burden, a no-interest credit card may be your top priority.

You May Also Like

• ‘Hold on to your money’: Jeff Bezos issued a warning to rethink buying a 'new automobile, refrigerator, or whatever' — does it hold true today?

• Warren Buffett used 8 solid, repeatable money rules to turn $9,800 into a $150B fortune. Start using them today to get rich (and stay rich)

• Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan ‘works every single time’ to kill debt, get rich — and ‘anyone’ can do it

• 22 US states are already in a recession — protect your savings with these 10 essential money moves ASAP

Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

AARP Magazine (1); USA Today (2); Vanguard (3); Consumer Reports (4, 6); CNET (5); Capitalize (7); National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits (8)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.