Saving Money During Coronavirus: Some Not-So-Obvious Tips

Summary

WSJ Your Money Briefing: "Saving Money During Coronavirus: Some Not-So-Obvious Tips"
Date: May 27, 2020 | Host: J.R. Whalen | Guest: Christina LaRosa

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Episode Overview

In this episode of WSJ Your Money Briefing, host J.R. Whalen speaks with Wall Street Journal reporter Christina LaRosa about creative yet simple ways to save money—especially relevant during the financial instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Though saving can seem daunting, the discussion focuses on sustainable, straightforward "hacks" and behavioral tweaks that don't require complete life overhauls.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Savings Shortfall: Why and How to Start (00:35–02:12)

• Financial Vulnerability Exposed:
  Many Americans find themselves unprepared for emergencies, with studies showing about 4 in 10 cannot cover a $400 emergency expense.

  “The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a long term personal finance problem for many Americans. They don’t save enough.” – J.R. Whalen (00:37)

• Getting Unstuck:
  Christina LaRosa emphasizes how savings don’t require dramatic changes—small, regular habits can add up.

  “It’s not like you have to basically go and change the entire way of how you spend your money or save your money. It’s little hacks. It’s things you may already be doing.” – Christina LaRosa (01:00)

Small Changes for Big Impact (02:12–02:41)

• The Power of Small Adjustments:
  Rather than an all-or-nothing approach, cumulative minor changes can boost savings without feeling deprived.

Targeted Expense Cuts & Mindful Spending (02:41–03:17)

• Cutting Back Without Sacrifice:
  Common advice like “don’t buy lunch out” works even if done occasionally. Put the money directly in savings for tangible results.

  “Maybe it’s as simple as don’t buy lunch once a month. When you take your lunch, you take the amount of money that maybe you would have spent on lunch… and put that into a fund.” – Christina LaRosa (02:47)

Ranking and Reviewing Expenses with a Partner (03:13–04:01)

• Get Analytical & Collaborative:
  Print two to three months of card transactions and rank each item’s necessity—separately, with a partner or friend—to identify true “easy cuts.”

  “If both people really think that this is unnecessary, then it really is unnecessary.” – Christina LaRosa (03:17)

Leverage “Found Money” from Extra Paychecks (04:01–04:35)

• The Third Paycheck Strategy:
  For those paid biweekly, two months a year may offer an “extra” paycheck. Automatically direct some of this money to savings.

  “If you set an automatic transfer of however much into your savings, then it’s something you don’t even have to think about.” – Christina LaRosa (04:06)

Creative Motivation: The Sweatpants Tax (04:35–05:20)

• Turn Comfort into Savings:
  Inspired by an Ohio State professor, the idea is to “reward” yourself for comfortable choices (like work-from-home attire) by putting a set amount into savings whenever indulging in those activities.

  “If I decide today that I’m going to wear…sweatpants or even a pair of comfortable jeans to work… I’m going to almost make myself put money into the sweatpant jar.” – Christina LaRosa (04:39)

Reverse the Savings Habit: Pay Yourself First (05:20–06:05)

• Set Deposits in Reverse:
  Direct paychecks into savings accounts, then transfer only what’s needed into checking for expenses. This creates a built-in savings habit.

  “Most people get direct deposits into their checking accounts, and then they will transfer a certain amount into savings. This…is the opposite.” – Christina LaRosa (05:26)

Declutter for Dollars: Selling One Thing a Month (06:05–06:31)

• Monetize the Quarantine Cleanup:
  Sell one item per month from home clean-outs and send proceeds directly to savings.

  “Instead of the article of clothing or the piece of furniture or the toy sitting in your attic or basement, you’re actually selling it and making some money.” – Christina LaRosa (06:08)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On big changes vs. small tweaks:

  “It’s little hacks. It’s things you may already be doing. Or maybe doing something twice as opposed to once a month.” – Christina LaRosa (01:00, 02:12)

• On collaborative expense ranking:

  “If both people really think that this is unnecessary, then it really is unnecessary.” – Christina LaRosa (03:17)

• On the sweatpants ‘tax’:

  “If I decide today that I’m going to wear…sweatpants… I’m going to almost make myself put money into the sweatpant jar.” – Christina LaRosa (04:39)

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Important Segments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Segment Description | |-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:35 | Introduction of COVID-related savings challenges and problem set-up | | 01:00 | Christina explains the value of small hacks over big changes | | 02:47 | Actionable lunch-money savings idea | | 03:17 | Expense-ranking technique with a partner | | 04:06 | Automating savings from extra paychecks | | 04:39 | The sweatpants “tax” motivational savings method | | 05:26 | “Reverse” savings habit—deposit to savings, transfer to checking | | 06:08 | Monthly selling of unused household items |

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Conclusion

The episode offers reassurance and actionable advice: saving is accessible to everyone, even in tough times, by leveraging minor behavior changes, being mindful with spending, and automating smart savings strategies. Christina LaRosa’s suggestions, backed by financial experts, are designed to demystify saving and make it a manageable part of daily life—no overhaul required.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

Here's your money briefing for Wednesday, May 27th. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal. The coronavirus pandemic has exposed a long term personal finance problem for many Americans. They don't save enough. A Federal Reserve study last year showed that about four in 10 wouldn't be able to come up with $400 in a financial emergency. And while Americans want to sock away some money, many don't know where to start.

[C]

It's not something like you don't have to basically go and change the entire way of how you spend your money or save your money. It's still little hacks. It's things you may already be doing. You just don't realize that you're doing them. Or it's maybe tweaking a little thing that you do or maybe doing something twice as opposed to once a month. So it's little things.

[B]

More than 30 financial experts have offered some simple and not so obvious tips to help you build up savings. In just a moment, the Wall Street Journal's Christina Laros will be here to discuss some of their ideas. The pandemic has put Americans with little savings in a tight financial spot. The Wall Street Journal's Christina La Rosa is with us to discuss some key savings tips from financial experts. So Christina, many people are probably realizing they had a lot of excess in their lives before the coronavirus.

[C]

They had a lot of excess in their lives. And I think more to the point, they may not have had enough money to tap in an emergency. Or maybe they had the money and they had to tap it because of the pandemic.

[B]

Now the idea of saving is pretty intimidating for a lot of people, especially if they don't have much left after paying their bills.

[C]

So the idea is that you can do small things. It's not something like you don't have to basically go and change the entire way of how you spend your money or save your money. It's still little hacks. It's things you may already be doing, just don't realize that you're doing them. Or it's maybe tweaking a little thing that you do or or, or maybe doing something twice as opposed to once a month. So it's little things. It's, you know, they're not surprising things. Some of the things are obvious, but taken together, they can really make a difference in how much money you save.

[B]

And planning out your expenses can make a difference, like finding one thing to cut from your spending.

[C]

Everyone says, don't eat out for lunch, take your lunch. It's a lot easier said than done. But maybe it's as simple as don't buy lunch once a month. And then instead of. And then when you take your lunch, you take the amount of money that maybe you would have spent on lunch, say whether it's $10, $20, and put that into a fund. So it's not just the idea of, oh, I won't buy lunch that day. It's, I'm going to take the money that I would have bought for lunch, and I'm going to purposely put that aside.

[B]

Financial experts also recommend ranking your expenses.

[C]

One of a great idea that we received from one of the people we tapped is take about two or three months worth of debit card or credit card transactions, print them out, look at them, actually make two copies. Give one to yourself and one to a spouse, partner, friend, trusted family member. And then you rank them and then have that person separately rank them. The idea is that if you and I both rank something as unnecessary, then that's an easy thing to cut. If there's something that I rank as necessary but you rank as unnecessary, then maybe I, you know, think about cutting that one or not cutting that one, or maybe I just cut it partially. So it's kind of an idea of seeing, wow, if both people really think that this is unnecessary, then it really is unnecessary.

[B]

Now, for many people, there's an extra payday that occurs in two months out of the year.

[C]

So most of us get paid twice a month. You know, that third paycheck, at least part of that third paycheck can actually be a little bit of found money. Even if it's $20, $30, $100, you just automatically take a part of that third paycheck a month. And I believe it happens maybe four times a year, I believe. And it's like found money. And I think if you actually automate it where you know on what week you're going to get that third paycheck, if you set an automatic transfer of however much into your savings, then it's something you don't even have to think about.

[B]

Now tell me about the sweatpants tax and how that could help people save.

[C]

That's a great idea that we received from a professor at Ohio State University. The idea is to reward the things you want to do by giving yourself an opportunity to do the things you should do. So, you know, everyone's in sweatpants right now. And the idea is when we all go back to work, we probably won't be able to wear our sweatpants. Not everyone is going to be able to go, you know, go back to work in casual clothing. But if you are, the idea is that you basically force yourself to pay for wearing these comfortable clothes again. So if I decide today that I'm going to wear, you know, a pair of sweatpants or maybe even a pair of comfortable jeans to work as opposed to getting more dressed up, then I'm going to almost make myself put money into the sweatpant jar.

[B]

Now, here's something I hadn't thought about. Transferring specific amounts of money from your savings account to your checking account.

[C]

This is actually my, I think, my favorite hack of all the ones that we receive. It kind of is a reversal of what most people do. Most people get direct deposits into their checking accounts, and then they will transfer a certain amount into savings. This kind of is the opposite. You get all of your money going directly into your savings account, so the savings is built in. And then you just transfer out the amount of money you know, you need to spend so you don't have to think about, oh, let me put aside this amount of money, because you're doing that by default. The trick to that is you have to be pretty cognizant of how much money you actually are going to spend and what your expenses are, because you want to make sure you have enough of that in your checking account.

[B]

And while we're all at home, it's a good idea to look around and see what's sellable.

[C]

I think all of us, during the quarantine have cleaned out attics, have cleaned out basements, have cleaned out closets. And the idea for this one is that you take one item a month and you sell that item. And if you do this on a monthly basis, then you're creating a bit of a revenue stream for your savings account. Instead of the article of clothing or the piece of furniture or the toy sitting in your attic or your basement, you're actually selling it and making some money.

[B]

All right, that's the Wall Street Journal's Christina LaRosa with us. Christina, thanks for coming on the show.

[C]

Thank you for having me.

[B]

And that's your Money briefing. I'm J.R. whalen for the Wall Street Journal.

[A]

This episode is brought to you by Charles Schwab. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news in Washington. Listen @schwab.com washingtonwise.