Martin’s Money Tips: 10 Ideas That Work in the US

Photo by kaboompics on Pexels

If you’ve ever Googled “Martin’s money tips,” you’ve probably heard of Martin Lewis — the British personal finance guru who turned saving money into a national obsession. His site, MoneySavingExpert.com, gets tens of millions of visits a month. But here’s the thing: most of his best ideas translate perfectly to life in the US. You just need to swap the British lingo for American equivalents. Let’s do exactly that.

1. Do the 5-Minute Subscription Audit

Martin Lewis’s single most famous tip is stupidly simple: log into your bank account, scroll through the last two months of charges, and cancel anything you forgot you were paying for. That’s it. Five minutes.

Americans waste an average of $219 per month on subscriptions they rarely or never use, according to a 2024 survey by C+R Research. That’s over $2,600 a year silently leaving your account. Streaming services, gym memberships, app subscriptions, that meditation app you downloaded in 2022 — all of it adds up fast.

We’ve covered the full process in our guide to subscriptions you’re probably wasting money on — worth a read before you start clicking cancel.

2. Switch to a Cheaper Phone Plan (Seriously, Just Do It)

In the UK, Martin Lewis constantly pushes people to ditch expensive mobile contracts. The US equivalent? Stop paying $80–$100/month for the big three (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) when MVNOs — that’s “budget carriers” using the exact same towers — charge $15–$30/month for the same coverage.

Mint Mobile, Visible, and Consumer Cellular all run on major network infrastructure. A family of four switching from a typical $200+/month plan to a $15/person MVNO plan could save $1,440+ a year. The call quality is identical — because it is identical.

3. Always Buy Store Brand (The 80% Rule)

One of Martin’s most repeated grocery tips: stop buying name-brand staples when the store brand is made in the same factory. Rice, pasta, oats, canned goods, butter, cleaning products, over-the-counter medicine — the store brand is almost always 20–40% cheaper and just as good.

The rule I use personally: about 80% of my grocery cart is store brand. The remaining 20%? Things where brand genuinely matters to me — usually a specific hot sauce or coffee. That’s fair. But ibuprofen is ibuprofen. The CVS bottle costs $4. The Advil costs $11. They’re the same drug.

If you want to dive deeper into this, we tested 20 specific products in our store brand vs. name brand comparison — some results might surprise you.

4. Call and Negotiate Your Bills

This is Martin Lewis gold. Call your internet provider, insurance company, or any recurring bill and simply ask: “Is this the best rate available to me?” Nine times out of ten, they’ll offer you something better to keep your business.

The strategy: look up what competitors are charging, mention it by name, and ask them to match or beat it. If they say no, say you’re thinking of canceling. You’ll almost always get transferred to a “retention department” that has access to deals the front-line rep doesn’t.

Photo by Gustavo Fring on Pexels

5. Use Cashback Apps and Browser Extensions

Martin Lewis is a huge advocate of cashback sites. In the US, the equivalents are Rakuten, Ibotta, and browser extensions like Capital One Shopping or Honey. These tools automatically apply discount codes and give you a percentage of your purchase back — for no extra effort.

Rakuten alone pays out over $1 billion in cashback per year to US shoppers. If you’re already buying something online, there’s zero reason not to run it through Rakuten first and pocket 2–15% back. It takes two clicks.

6. The “30-Day Rule” for Non-Essential Spending

Martin Lewis teaches people to use a “stop-and-think” mantra before buying. The US frugal community calls it the 30-day rule: when you want to buy something that isn’t a necessity, wait 30 days. If you still want it after a month, go ahead.

In most cases, you’ll forget you ever wanted it. That $60 sweater? Gone from your mind by Tuesday. The gadget you “needed”? You’ll realize you were just bored. Impulse purchases are the silent budget killers — this rule is the cure.

7. Meal Plan and Shop With a List — Always

The average American household wastes about $1,500 worth of food every year (USDA estimate). That’s money you already spent, sitting in a compost bin. Martin Lewis pushes meal planning hard because it directly attacks two problems: food waste and impulse grocery buys.

The fix is boring but bulletproof: plan your meals for the week on Sunday, write a list, and only buy what’s on the list. Eat before you shop. Never go hungry into a grocery store unless you enjoy spending $40 on snacks you didn’t need.

We have a week-by-week system for this in our guide to saving money on groceries in 2026 if you want a structured approach.

8. Automate Your Savings (Pay Yourself First)

Martin Lewis is obsessed with this concept: move money into savings the moment your paycheck hits, before you have a chance to spend it. If it never lands in your checking account, you can’t spend it.

Set up an automatic transfer of even $25–$50 per paycheck into a high-yield savings account (HYSA). As of early 2026, the best HYSAs are still offering around 4–4.5% APY — dramatically better than the 0.01% most big banks still pay on regular savings. You’re leaving free money on the table every day you don’t switch.

9. Give Every Dollar a Job (Zero-Based Budgeting)

Martin Lewis’s UK version of this is the “money makeover” — going through every single expense and asking if it’s worth keeping. In the US, the most effective version is zero-based budgeting: every dollar of income gets assigned a purpose before the month begins.

Income minus expenses equals zero — not because you spent everything, but because every dollar is accounted for, including savings and investments. Apps like YNAB (You Need a Budget) or even a simple spreadsheet make this easy. People who do this report finding $200–$400/month they were “losing” without knowing it.

10. Compare Before You Buy — Every Single Time

Martin Lewis built an empire on comparison. In the UK, he compares energy deals, insurance quotes, mortgage rates, broadband plans. In the US, the same principle applies — just to different products.

Before renewing car insurance, get at least 3 quotes. Before buying a big appliance, check Google Shopping, then Amazon, then the store’s own website (they sometimes have web-only discounts). Before signing up for any financial product — credit card, loan, savings account — compare at least 3 options.

The two minutes it takes to compare car insurance quotes can save you $300–$600 a year. That’s a free vacation. Or at least a very nice dinner.

Quick Reference: Martin’s Money Tips at a Glance

The Bottom Line

Martin Lewis built his reputation on one idea: most people are overpaying for most things, and a little bit of attention fixes that. None of his tips require sacrifice or deprivation. You’re not eating rice and beans every night. You’re just stopping the slow drip of money you never meant to spend.

Start with the subscription audit — literally five minutes — and see how much is leaking from your account right now. The other nine tips will still be here when you get back.

The best part about Martin’s philosophy? It’s not about being cheap. It’s about being intentional. Spend on the things you love. Cut the things you don’t notice. Keep the difference.