If spending too much $$$ was a problem this past year, then this Tip Jar is for you. We chatted with financial expert and Tiktokker Pattie Ehsaei (she/her) aka the Duchess of Decorum about how to stop blowing through our budget in the new year, and the results are surprisingly simple.

Keep reading for 5 easy, yet effective tips on saving money (and your sanity) in 2023, along with a few of our own reccos to help you out.

1. Make your coffee and lunch at home. The average price for coffee was about $5 in August, and equates to spending almost $1800 annually. The average price of buying lunch is around $11 and can add up to nearly $2,860 annually. While making your coffee and lunch yourself isn’t free, the cost is a fraction of the $4660 you’d spend annually otherwise.

The Newsette’s rec: Easy at-home recipes to try.

2. Watch out for ATMs and overdraft fees. Americans pay, on average, $329 annually on bank fees. Find a bank that will not charge you for an account, like Chime. Use only ATMs associated with your bank, and keep track of your spending so you don’t have overdraft fees.

The Newsette’s rec: Other ways to avoid extra charges.

3. Don’t buy new gadgets when the ones you have are just fine. Americans spend $1200 a year on new tech that doesn’t need replacing. You don’t need the latest thing, so hold on to your phone until it really stops working to save yourself a ton of money.

The Newsette’s rec: How to buy tech that lasts.

4. Stop using single-use items. We spend too much on single-use plastics, and it’s not helping our wallets or the planet. It’s time to ditch the disposable plates, utensils, and pretty much everything else.

The Newsette’s rec: Reusable and portable utensils at your service.

5. Cancel subscription services. According to these stats, 1 in 4 participants spend more than $75 per month on streaming subscriptions, which can build up to $900 a year on services they might not even use. Look through your bank and credit card statements to see what you’re subscribed to, and cancel the ones you don’t use or don’t use that often.

The Newsette’s rec: Let it go, let it go!