quadrupled her former corporate income<\/a> and built a seven-figure net worth, which she credits to diligent saving, disciplined spending, and long-term investing. Business Insider verified her net worth by looking at account screenshots.<\/p>\nHere are two savings strategies that helped her notch her first million.<\/p>\n
1. Track your expenses<\/p>\n
Tracking expenses is the first thing Allocca tells people to do \u2014 even before creating a budget. <\/p>\n
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“If you don’t track your expenses, you’re spending more money than you think. I guarantee it,” she told Business Insider, adding that it’s normal to underestimate your spending. “We’re hardwired to protect our self-interest, so you’ll subconsciously lie to yourself about how much you’re spending if you’re not actually writing it down.”<\/p>\n
Allocca built an expense tracker to understand her outflow, but there are various apps that’ll record your purchases, such as You Need A Budget or Monarch. The important thing is to select a method you’ll stick with.<\/p>\n
Once you get a clear idea of exactly where your money is going, you can figure out where you’re overspending and start to cut back.<\/p>\n
2. Set spending boundaries \u2014 and try a “no-spend” month<\/p>\n
Allocca prefers setting spending “boundaries” rather than strict rules: “I feel like rules become very rigid and can lead to the pendulum swinging the other way, where people are like, ‘Screw this, I don’t want to have a budget at all.'”<\/p>\n
Instead, she creates flexible guidelines around what she will and won’t spend money on. Sometimes those boundaries are about behavior rather than categories. For example, she avoids shopping on her phone and doesn’t keep her credit card near her computer.<\/p>\n
“That creates friction in the buying process,” she said. If she really wants something, she has to get up, retrieve her card, and make a more intentional decision. <\/p>\n
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Allocca is a full-time content creator and the author of “Own Your Money.”<\/p>\n
Courtesy of Michela Allocca<\/p>\n
Another strategy she uses is a “no-spend month.” During a recent “no-buy January,” Allocca set clear parameters around what she’s allowed to spend on and what she’s not.<\/p>\n
“I’m not buying any new clothes or new beauty products this month,” she said. “But I am letting myself go out to dinner once a week and spend money on my hobbies. I’m starting needlepoint, so I can go out and buy the materials for that.”<\/p>\n
The idea is that introducing guidelines for defined periods of time can make spending boundaries feel more manageable.<\/p>\n
Focusing on earning is still key<\/p>\n
When reflecting on the money moves she made in her 20s that helped her reach millionaire status by 30, Allocca said increasing her income was a major factor.<\/p>\n
“The reason I’ve been able to hit these big numbers is because I increased my income outside my corporate job,” she said.<\/p>\n
While side hustles and entrepreneurship aren’t for everyone, she said they were the biggest drivers of her financial growth: “It’s not the sexiest thing \u2014 not everyone wants a side hustle or to start a business \u2014 but that’s the big driver.”<\/p>\n
Still, she emphasized that higher earnings only work if lifestyle inflation is kept in check.<\/p>\n
“No matter how much you increase your income, you have to avoid lifestyle creep,” she said. “Otherwise, you’re not actually going to make progress.”<\/p>\n