How a money coach built $300K by 30 — and what it teaches about growing wealth in 2026

Parween Mander started side hustling while still working her 9-to-5 job, saved $100,000 by age 26, got laid off from her job in 2021 and eventually saved $300,000 by age 30. Now she's a money coach specializing in helping women and first-generation Americans build their own wealth.

While thinking of our financial resolutions as we look into the new year, CNBC Select spoke with Mander on her four tips for growing our money. Plus, some of our very own team members share how they are getting financially ahead.

If you have no idea where you financially stand, this will make it harder to find ways to save and invest. Your first task is to do an audit of the last three months' worth of credit and debit card statements, Mander recommends.

Compare how you're spending with what you're bringing in each month and note the month where your cash inflow and outflow had the biggest difference; what did your spending look like that month that you had more money left over?

To start growing your wealth, it helps to have a goal for your savings — and a plan for cutting costs to free up cash to get there.

Mander suggests clearing out subscriptions and memberships that you've forgotten about and don't use. Then, try to negotiate some bills with your utility providers. All of this can help you free up cash flow.

There are also some more meaningful savings to consider, like housing. "Can we shift housing costs by looking for a place with lower rent, getting a roommate or even potentially moving back home?" Mander asks.

When you can't cut anything else from your budget and still need to save more, it might be time to increase your income.

"Whether that's negotiating at work, taking a part-time job or doing a side gig," Mander says. "That's something I tell my clients to do if they want to change the reality of those numbers."

When you deposit money into a traditional savings account, you typically earn interest that's so low that your cash is literally losing its value to inflation over time. But using a high-yield savings account can combat that and help you grow your cash that's just sitting there.

Mander recommends a no-fee high-yield savings account.

And, of course, don't discount the power of investing your money. If you already have a workplace 401(k) account, you're already automatically doing this. But you can also invest outside of a company-sponsored retirement plan by contributing to a Roth IRA, traditional IRA or even a taxable brokerage account.

Below are some ways that CNBC Select staff plan to get financially ahead in the new year.

Regularly check net worth

As the saying goes, what doesn't get measured doesn't grow — and that applies doubly so for your money. One reporter on our team uses an expense tracker app to also track her net worth.

"It's just rewarding every time I see it go up a little more and more," she says. Many apps like Monarch and Empower have this capability built in.

Plan ahead

An editor on our team also suggests trying to get ahead of some big upcoming expenses like travel. You can budget better for these kinds of things if you try not to buy flights at the last minute (but, of course, we know that sometimes life happens and you have no choice but to buy that next-day flight back home). Plus, last-minute flights are often more expensive than ones you book in advance.

She plans to use this planner to get a bird's-eye view of her money in 2026 so she and her family can plan ahead as much as possible.

Work with a professional

One of our reporters has a pretty unique situation that he's turning to financial advisors to help with. It's another reminder that sometimes the best thing you can do for your money is to get help early. You'll minimize mistakes and take steps that actually move the needle on your goals.

Automate contributions

The "set it and forget it" approach lets you build wealth while barely lifting a finger. You can schedule recurring deposits into savings accounts or investment accounts, but you'll have to do some math to figure out how much you can reasonably automate without overdrafting.

Another reporter did this with her high-yield savings account this year. She automatically contributed $10 to $20 per week to save for home-related and pet-related expenses.

"When you have a little bit withdrawn periodically, it takes saving off your to-do list and it really does add up," she says. "I have a somewhat ambitious goal of trying to max my Roth IRA again next year. Each year, I take the annual contribution amount (in 2026, it's $7,500) and divide it by 52. That's $144 a week. Then I go automate that."

Side hustle

One team member swears by side hustles. Between teaching yoga classes part-time and pet sitting, she's made an extra $6,000 to $8,000 this year.

However, she also warns that side hustles like pet sitting require steady clientele to really make meaningful money. Picking up additional yoga classes to teach also helps but, overall, she says that you have to sometimes work hard to make sure your side hustles are consistent.

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every personal finance article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of personal finance products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

At CNBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. For this story, we interviewed Parween Mander, an Accredited Financial Counselor and money coach based in Canada.

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