$5 money moves that add up fast — plus the tools that make them easy to do

When people think about cutting back on spending or saving more, they often picture drastic changes, like giving up going out with friends or skipping trips altogether. But building savings doesn’t always have to require major lifestyle changes.

In some cases, it can start with just $5. Simple, repeatable actions like eliminating a $5 monthly charge, redirecting a $5 weekly purchase or setting aside $5 at a time into savings can quietly accumulate into hundreds over the course of a year.

Here’s more on low-lift money moves you can make that add up over time.

Although an actual $5 subscription is hard to come by these days, checking your subscriptions can help you find $5 here and there. Perhaps a streaming platform you’re paying for is the ad-free version and downgrading to the version with ads means $5 back in your pocket. Or maybe there’s a subscription you can get rid of entirely simply because you barely use it, whether it’s some online workout program or an app you didn’t realize you pay monthly for (guilty).

Freeing up just $5 each month on an annual subscription can save you $60 a year, and that’s before you cancel any subscriptions outright.

You may want to consider signing up for an actual subscription tracker, which can find and cancel unwanted memberships for you. The irony, of course, is that some trackers charge their own subscription fee if you want access to premium features. Paying for a subscription tracker can be worth it if the cost is less than the amount of savings you free up in canceled subscriptions and reduced bills, and if it makes your life easier. Otherwise, some trackers have pretty solid plans that cost nothing.

With Rocket Money, for instance, there’s a free version that offers all of the below:

• Tracks your recurring subscriptions in one place
• Provides upcoming bill tracking
• Offers bill negotiation
• Includes snapshot of your spending and income
• Gives ability to set budgets
• Includes financial literacy resources

And, for additional features like having Rocket Money cancel your subscriptions for you and accessing more customizable budgeting features, the app uses a “pay what you think is fair” pricing model for its premium subscription, which ranges from $7 to $14 per month, with a 7-day free trial.

Don’t wait until you receive a windfall of cash to begin saving. Setting aside just $5 weekly or even monthly can add up to $260 or $60, respectively, over the course of a year. And that’s before taking interest into account.

If you’re setting aside that cash in a high-yield savings account, you’ll earn an above-average return and that interest compounds, meaning your interest earns interest.

Take the UFB Portfolio Savings account as an example. It offers a competitive APY along with easy access to your money. It also has no monthly fees and no minimum deposit requirements. The EverBank Performance Savings is another option that offers a high APY, with no minimum balance requirements or monthly fees.

Another $5 money move that adds up over time is earning cash back on your everyday purchases.

Spending $5 and getting 2% cash back means you earn about 10 cents, while a 5% rate on a $5 spend puts about 25 cents back in your wallet. What sounds like pocket change can certainly add up when you’re earning across multiple categories and, ultimately, spending more than just $5.

Rakuten is a cash-back app that rewards both online and in-store purchases, as long as the retailer is within Rakuten’s network. You can either browse the thousands of retailers already part of their network or install the browser extension to be notified when there is a cash-back opportunity on a retailer’s site.

Ibotta is a free app and browser extension that allows you to earn cash back on various purchases, including at grocery stores, on travel and at online retailers. To sign up, you download the app and create an account either on your phone or through a browser extension on your computer.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every savings article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of banking products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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