The trick to saving money

This could be a complex lesson, but I am going to boil it down as far as it can be boiled. We as humans often KNOW how we SHOULD behave, but we sometimes DO something different. This is especially the case when we have to pay the price now, but will not receive the reward until later (i.e. saving for retirement, exercising, giving).

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. Rom13.14

Why do you think the government takes the taxes out of your paycheck rather than having you pay it yourself? I would like to think that they do it to make it more convenient for us as citizens, but the truth is they figured out that they have a much better chance getting our tax dollars if they take it before we can touch it.

One of the secrets to success in life is to find someone who did what you want to do and learn what they did to get that result. Well, tax withholding is the trick the government used to make sure they got paid. So, lets use the same tactic on ourselves.

Direct Deposit can be your best ally to help you make this happen. Many empoyers allow multiple direct deposit accounts. You can have $50 per paycheck get directly deposited in your Roth IRA, and have the remainder go to your checking account.

Amazingly, most people who used every dollar from each paycheck will find that they don’t even notice that they received $50 less. This was the trick that finally got me saving for retirement, years after I KNEW what I should have been doing, but was still not DOING it.