In the anime world, characters may have all kinds of lifestyles and personalities that they express in their daily lives, from juvenile punks and troublemakers to highly responsible adults and everything in between. In fact, a lot can be revealed about a person based on how they handle their money, from their recreational spending to their credit scores and what they take out loans for.
In general, a reckless spender favors adventure and fun over long-term planning, and a smart or stingy spender is usually responsible and mature. Or, a stingy spender simply never had much money, and they learned good spending habits out of necessity. In any case, some anime characters stand out for their financial literacy.
10 Misaki Ayuzawa Is Careful With Every Yen (Maid-Sama!)
Misaki Ayuzawa is one of many financially literate anime characters who has sheer poverty to motivate her good spending habits. Money is tight for the Ayuzawas, so to keep things together, Misaki works part-time at a maid cafe, and she won't dare spend any money if she doesn't really have to.
Thus, Misaki sees everything in terms of yen, saved vs spent, and that guides most of her decisions. She might splurge just a bit for Takumi's or her little sister's birthdays, but otherwise, she watches her wallet like a hawk.
9 Nasa Yuzaki Is Self-Sufficient (TONIKAWA: Over The Moon For You)
The slice-of-life protagonist Nasa Yuzaki has always been smart with money, even if he's not particularly stingy about it. Since his boyhood, he's been determined to prove himself and reach for the stars to live up to his name, which resembles NASA. He can't blast off by being irresponsible.
So, Nasa has always been serious and disciplined about schoolwork, money, and running a household, and it paid off. He easily became independent of his parents in his late teens, and that meant he formed a perfectly stable, financially literate household for his new bride, Tsukasa.
8 Ochaco Uraraka Keeps Her Money Under Control (My Hero Academia)
Ochaco Uraraka, AKA Uravity, is another impoverished anime character who learned the value of money by never having much of it. Unlike her wealthy classmate Momo Yaoyorozu, Ochaco came from a household where every yen counts, and her parents can't always find work.
So, Ochaco is smart about money and is mature about it beyond her years. She never splurges or wastes money, and she plans to send all her paychecks as a pro her back to her parents to repay them for all they did for her. Izuku and Tenya were impressed when Ochaco explained this to them.
7 Griffith Manages An Army's Finances (Berserk)
For years, the scheming knight commander Griffith juggled the many logistics of running a mercenary army, and that incudes the finances. It costs serious coin to run a merc band of that size, and as Casca once explained to Guts, Griffith did whatever he could to fund the Band of the Hawk.
Not much is seen of this, but it's easy enough to infer. Griffith must have spent many hours carefully accounting for the Band's finances to allow it to grow, and he evidently avoided any foolish mistakes that would have bankrupted the Band of the Hawk, too.
6 Nadeshiko Kagamihara Patiently Saved Her Money (Laid-Back Camp)
Laid-Back Camp is a charming seinen anime series whose main characters are high school girls who love to go camping. They have to fund this hobby themselves, though, so Nadeshiko and her friends soon wised up about money.
Nadeshiko got a part-time job and patiently saved up all her money for the perfect camping gear, even though it was expensive. This immediately paid off, and Nadeshiko was rather proud of herself. If she needs a bigger tent or better sleeping bag, she could save up for that, too.
5 Miss Kobayashi Gives Her Friends Financial Advice (Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid)
Miss Kobayashi works as a programmer at her company rather than financial advisor, but even so, she is quite good with money. To begin with, it's implied that Kobayashi has a tight grip on her own financial life, and she is never seen falling behind on rent or utilities. She also never complains about being broke, either.
Kobayashi also gives solid financial advise to her dragon friends, including Elma, and she discourages reckless spending. She helped Elma in particular get a solid grasp on how finances work, making Elma a financially literate reverse-isekai character.
4 Naofumi Iwatani Saves His Money (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
Money isn't a common topic in The Rising of the Shield Hero. Naofumu won't save the world with a good credit score, but even so, he had to be careful with his money in the early episodes when he lacked support from the Kingdom of Melromarc's royal court.
In those days, Naofumi had to support himself, and that meant spending his money wisely and demanding payment from absolutely everyone whom he saved. It worked, and Naofumi was in good shape by the time queen Mirellia Melromarc started supporting him.
3 Tohru Honda Earns Her Own Paychecks (Fruits Basket)
Tohru Honda the shojo heroine is a lot like Ochaco and Misaki. That is, she doesn't have a lot of money, so she appreciates what little she has, and she knows better than to recklessly spend her money on things that she doesn't really need. Her mother would be proud.
Tohru works after school to support herself, much like Misaki, and she is determined to support herself now and for many years to come, no matter the hardship. Losing her parents has made Tohru wise and responsible beyond her years.
2 Futaro Uesugi Watches His Spending (The Quintessential Quintuplets)
Futaro Uesugi is the official tutor of the five Nakano sisters, and he was promised some serious cash for all his hard work. Futaro's household humble, so he has since learned to be smart and careful with his money. Misaki and Tohru would understand.
Futaro is a naturally cautious, detail-oriented, and level-headed boy who can always get the job done. Even if he didn't grow up in borderline poverty, he would still be pretty good with money, and it helps that he has a solid grasp on mathematics.
1 Miyuki Shirogane Doesn't Take Money For Granted (Kaguya-Sama)
Miyuki Shirogane is Shuchiin Academy's student council president, and he got there with sheer hard work, not by being born into money. That is what sets him apart from his lover Kaguya Shinomiya, though neither of them feels awkward about it. They don't often discuss money.
Miyuki, just like Futaro, grew up with little, so he doesn't take anything for granted. His father Papa only finds work here and there, so Miyuki often works to help out, and he won't spend any yen he doesn't have to. Unless Kaguya becomes his personal benefactor, Miyuki will continue this smart frugal lifestyle well into the future.