At 25, Scott Alan Turner was, in his own words, a "money moron" who had gotten himself into more than $70,000 worth of debt.
By 35, Turner had transformed his finances to become a debt-free, self-made millionaire.
Looking back on the process, Turner, now 44, emphasizes that he didn't take any extreme measures to revamp his finances: He pared down his spending and belongings, started investing and transitioned into a new career he was passionate about.
He believes that just about anyone can turn their financial situation around if they're willing to start. "You start at negative net worth and then you get to zero and then you move up from there," he tells CNBC.
Turner's top money-saving tip speaks to that philosophy. His advice is simple, yet effective, and doable for most workers: Pack your lunch every day.
"My biggest [savings tip] I learned from my parents," he says. "My dad worked for the town his whole life. He packed a lunch every day and brought it to work. In our small town upbringing, we didn't have restaurants and we didn't go out to eat all the time; we might have gone out to eat once every couple of months. I carried that over into my own life."
Though he worked a corporate job for over 10 years, Turner only bought lunch out a handful of times. Instead, he prepared large batches of food on Sunday to eat throughout the week.
"Part of that was my lifestyle growing up and part of that was I like cooking a little bit, I like comfort food. There are things that I like to eat that I'll eat every day," he says. "That's saved me huge amounts of money."
Turner's advice isn't novel, but it it's one of the easiest steps anyone looking to save more money can take. Even eating out a few times a week can add up quickly. So the more food you can prepare at home in advance, the better off your food budget, and your bottom line, will be. Here are some useful tips to help you get started.
Don't miss: How one man dug himself out of $70,000 worth of debt to become a millionaire at 35
