Americans have effectively taken a pay cut. 5 financial tools to make your dollars go further

Salaries haven’t kept up with rising costs, meaning many Americans have less spending power than they did a year ago.

Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% year over year in July, the slowest pace in five years, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics data. But inflation has outpaced that growth, increasing 3.4% over the same period, as the Iran war raises energy prices, according to the Consumer Price Index for July, which was released on Wednesday.

That comes as Americans are already feeling squeezed: Sixty-three percent of Americans reported living paycheck-to-paycheck, according to the CNBC and SurveyMonkey Quarterly Money Survey, released in July.

While you can’t control wage growth or inflation, there are ways to stretch your money and make it work harder for you. Here are some tools and strategies CNBC Select recommends.

If your entire paycheck isn’t immediately going to bills, a high-yield savings account can be an inflation-busting tool for your cash.Money in these accounts can earn up to 4.00% APY, meaning your money could grow faster than costs rise.

Here’s an example: If you put $100 in a traditional savings account — which typically has a 0.38% to 0.62% yield — in July 2025, the balance in your account would be between $100.38 and $100.62 by this year.

But if you put the same amount in a HYSA with an APY of 4.00%, the balance in your account would be $104.08 by July of this year.

Additionally, you can easily access the funds in an HYSA, unlike other savings accounts such asa Certificate of Deposit, where your money is tied up for a set period of time.

HappenBank Level Up Savings offers one of the highest APYs and easy withdrawals. You’ll get an ATM card that lets you access your funds whenever you need them, up to $4,000 per day. There is no minimum account balance, but you do need to deposit at least $250 to qualify for the highest APY.

We like the U.S. Bank Shield™ Visa® Card because it offers a long 21-month intro period. On top of that, it doesn’t have an annual fee.

Finally, make sure you’re not spending money on things you don’t use. One place to start: subscriptions. The average American spends about $21 per month on subscriptions they don’t use, according to a YouGov Plc survey commissioned by CNET.

Rocket Money can help you track your expenses and cancel unwanted subscriptions. While there is a free version of the app that lets users organize their accounts and track spending, the subscription cancellation feature is part of the premium version. Rocket allows users to pay what they think is fair for the service, and reported that it’s typically between $7 and $14 per month.

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 mortgage product review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of mortgage 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. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best mortgage products.

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