Money Hacks Proven To Work by Science
Written by
Jamela Adam
Edited by
Zuri Anderson
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Many money hacks you see on TikTok or Instagram sound great, but they often lack real evidence and research that prove they actually work.
If you’re serious about bettering your financial health, here are three money hacks actually backed by behavioral science.
Automate Your Savings and Debt Payments
A large study from the National Bureau of Economic Research analyzed over 60,000 employees hired after automatic enrollment and compared them with around 56,000 hired before. It found that automatic enrollment raised net retirement contribution rates by about 0.6 % of income over a five-year horizon. Adding automatic escalation also increased contributions by roughly 0.3 % of income.
This money hack works so well because when saving is the default, it removes friction and procrastination, and you don’t have to actively decide to save.
So if you haven’t already, on payday, automatically send a portion of your income into a savings account or investment account. Also make your debt-payment minimums automatic so you never miss them.
Give Your Savings Goals a Name and a Frame
How you frame a goal influences how you act on it. A study in the Journal of Marketing Research found that simply changing how people think about their savings goals (by making the goal more specific) changed actual savings behavior.
In their experiments, participants who set specific goals and framed them at a high construal level, like asking themselves, “Why am I saving?” saved more than those with vague goals and low-level framing.
This money hack works because framing a goal and giving it meaning turns a vague idea into intention. That concreteness then triggers emotional and motivational signals. In other words, framing helps you engage with why you’re saving rather than just how you’ll save.
You can try this hack by creating distinct buckets or labels for your money, such as kids’ college 2030 or a six-month emergency fund. When you transfer money in, say that you’re contributing to that goal. And once a week, think about why you’re doing it rather than just how much you’ll save.
Use Mental Accounting To Create Boundaries
Research in behavioral economics shows that when you deliberately assign money into specific mental buckets and set rules, you spend less and save more.
By mentally labelling money for a purpose, such as “Dining Out $150/month”, you create a built-in limit. When you see that your “dining out” budget is empty, you stop. If everything is just one big blob, like “My money,” you’re more likely to splurge because you don’t feel the constraint.
Apply this money hack by opening separate accounts or sub-accounts. Allocate a fixed monthly amount to each. When it’s gone, you don’t dip into another bucket. Over time, this will help you develop discipline and start taking back control of your finances.
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