Remember the days when getting a good deal meant signing up for Groupon or Travelzoo, finding a secret promo code, or better yet: just clipping an actual coupon? Or when finding innovative ways to grow your savings was just code for “being rich and having a good broker”?

Today’s world is moving faster than ever and it’s easy to feel left behind. But you don’t need to master AI and algorithms to keep up. It’s easier than that. Just copy what the next generation — in this case, Gen Z — already knows and does. 

1. Use cashback websites and apps

If you can be diligent about clipping coupons, guess what: snapping pics of your receipts may be even easier. That’s the idea behind Fetch Rewards, an app that gives you points when you share pics of your receipts that you can then redeem for gift cards. 

Other apps like Rakuten, RetailMeNot and Upside all have similar perks. You can even get cash back on gas! Tip: try a handful out to see what works for you. Then stick to just a couple favorites. You’ll rack up rewards faster.

2. Reverse image search

No, reverse image search isn’t new, but savvy shoppers have discovered they can use the Google wundertool to expose items sold by retailers like Crate & Barrel or West Elm that are actually made by another manufacturer and sold by other retailers for different — often better — prices. 

Just take a screenshot, upload it to Google, and voilà! That “Elizabeth” sofa might be called “Trudy” on another site for $300 less. 

3. Dupe hunting

Did you know you can recreate expensive makeup setting sprays with cheap drugstore products? Dupe hunting is sort of a sibling of reverse image search. Same concept, but expanded a bit to include many beauty and skincare products. 

TikTok creators like Nina Pool have racked up millions of views and followers by meticulously studying ingredients to  “expose” brands that repackage products with splashier names, packaging, and marketing to increase prices. And then fill you in on the best affordable dupe. 

How to find dupes? Go to TikTok, Instagram Reels, or  YouTube; type in the name of an expensive skincare product, and then “dupe.” You might just get lucky!

4. Price track to price hack

In a world where knowledge is power, tools like Honey, Keepa, and CamelCamelCamel help put the shopping power back in your hands. 

Big online retailers love to mess around with prices, hiking them before a sale so they can then be “discounted.” These price trackers let you keep an eye on your favorite products, so you can see what the cheapest price has actually been and when. 

Now you don’t have to feel like they’re preying on you — you’ll know when a deal is really a deal.

5. Practice Loud Budgeting!

Flaunt that frugality! That’s the approach to Loud Budgeting — a term coined by TikToker Lukas Battle to describe a movement to embrace proudly and loudly saying no when it comes to overspending. 

It was a response to a different, polar opposite trend called Quiet Luxury. But what it really stands for is adhering to good financial habits, making mindful decisions, and not feeling tempted by the ever faster pace of fashion trend turnover.

6. Underconsumption Core

Underconsumption Core can also be called de-influencing. It’s a direct response to social media, influencer, and frictionless shopping culture (looking at you, TikTok Shop) that results in buying too many things we don’t need or use, only to toss them out when the next trend hits. The focus is on reducing and reusing what you have, and buying pre-owned when you want more.

“Isn’t that just thrift store shopping? Do they need to rename everything?” Kinda, but it’s a specific response to a current climate. And one you can learn from if you’ve forgotten the simpler times when you only needed one stainless steel 24 oz travel mug.

7. Second-hand shopping sites

Speaking of consumption, the roller coaster of fast fashion, sustainability, and environmental impact has given rise to a whole new way of second-hand shopping via trendy online stores like Depop, Poshmark, The RealReal, and Grailed.

The old, fun way of hunting for a find at a vintage boutique hasn’t gone away, but if you know what you want, you can probably find it somewhere online, whether it’s a 20-year-old pair of 501’s or a 50-year-old Chanel bag. 

8. Gamification: make saving fun again

There are two ways to think about gamifying savings: the old way, which often includes using paper money in physical  envelopes, and the new way, which often involves an app.

Gen Z has embraced both ways, learning from those who came before them with ideas like “Weather Wednesdays,” where you just save an amount equal to the day’s high temperature. But also embracing new technology. 

Apps like Dub gamify investing, allowing you to copy portfolios of prominent politicians, while Quicken Simplifi’s Achievements give badges for reaching milestones, celebrating your progress and motivating you to go further.

9. Shop outside the US

International online stores like Temu, AliExpress, and Shein are able to offer what seems like just about everything — at prices lower than any US retailer. It all circles back to white-labeling, dupes, fast fashion, and technology.

But all you really need to know is that they can save you money. Want a bedroom that looks like you shelled out an entire paycheck at Anthropologie? You can get it for way less at Temu, if you’re willing to sacrifice a little on the details. 

Advice: take the “slow shopping” approach  to these stores. Add items to your cart, pause, leave them there for a while, and think carefully before coming back and checking out. Being mindful makes all the difference.

The kids are all right

If there’s one thing we come to know as we move through life, it’s that we can learn a lot of lessons from the generations before us. But it’s learning from the generations who come next and how they embrace new things that help us make the most of life, reminding us that we’re never “too old for that.” 

Gen Z has some fun secrets up their sleeves when it comes to innovative ways of saving. Try them out. You may love the results you get.