What is the best financial move you’ve ever made?

I asked my old job for a raise as I was well underpaid for the work I was doing. They told me how valuable I was, but that they couldn’t just raise my pay. So I applied for jobs and was offered a job at a different agency. To get me stay, my old job suddenly found the money to be able to give me a raise, but it was too late. I accepted the offer (slightly less than what my old job was offering me to stay) and got a 10% raise within my first year, as well as a ton of praise for my hard work. Now I make more than I would have if I had stayed. I’m also much less stress and have so much more freedom.

Putting away 10% of my income the second I get it (monthly). I don’t even think of that money as mine, built quite the buffer over the years.

Edit: I do the same with bonusses, gifts, etc. Of course this only works if you have a reliable, liveable and steady income to begin with.

Buying a property the moment I could afford the deposit. It seemed like a bad time to buy but I did it anyway. Best thing I ever did financially for sure.

Sorry for boring response!

Putting my dads life insurance money in a CD.

My dad passed in 2019 and we got about $65k each (two sisters and I ) in life insurance. During that time I had a job but, due to my alcoholism I was fighting, I lost it shortly after he passed. I didn’t work due to my addiction from 2019- January 2021. My fiancé, boyfriend at the time, suggested I put half the money in a CD so I couldn’t touch it without penalty. To this day, I still have $30k in that CD that collects about $1,200 in interest a year. I am the ONLY one out of my sisters who has any of that money left. I’m also 3 years sober so that money can now be used for adulting like a house down payment or a car loan instead of alcohol.

I like to think he would be proud of me.

I worked a commission job from 21-27. Every paycheck all commission went into savings and I lived only off of my hourly wage. Was not easy or fun, but it definitely paid off for me in the long run.

Doing my Bachelor’s degree at a university where I had a scholarship that covered all my tuition, and moving in with my grandma for a few years during that time. I worked during the summers and part time during my semesters, and not having any huge expenses like rent or tuition allowed me to actually build up a bit of savings instead of a bunch of debt.

Getting laser focused on long term goals vs the “but I want it NOW” mentality.

Everywhere is being pushed “because you DESERVE it! Buy it now!” You deserve to be happy and hopefully as stress free as possible. What is going to get you there?

Married a man who’s better with money than I am lol

Seriously though, he’s very into spreadsheets and budgeting and investing etc, and I am not.

Getting divorced! Not having to support my husband freed up a lot of money.

Leaving an abusive relationship. All of the money that I lost on things that I wasn’t interested in or because he somehow forced me (I say that both lightly and not lightly) I consider an investment in my future. I got out of there, I learned my worth, and I learned how to handle people like that.