Working World

The electric company and cable provider get paid in full each month, but what about you? When was the last time you made a payment to your savings account?If you’re waiting until the end of the month and simply transferring whatever is left over in checking into savings, you’re doing it backwards. Here we offer three quick automated ways to pay yourself first, and make saving a painless habit.

> Just Clicks Away

With automatic transfers available for free at nearly any bank, there’s no excuse not to pay yourself first. Whether you’re transferring $1 a day or 50 percent of each paycheck, an automatic savings process automatic is the best way to make sure it gets done. Log on to your banking site, head to the transfers section, and type in an amount that should taken from your checking and put into a savings account each month. The entire process should only take a few minutes to handle, assuming you’re comfortable with banking online.

> No See, No Spend

If that seems too complicated, then ask the HR representatives at your company to help. Many businesses are offering automatic payroll deductions that can funnel a pre-set amount of each paycheck into the savings accounts or investment funds of their employees’ choosing.
Since the money never shows up in the check you bring home, you’ll be less likely to spend it before it gets transferred into savings.  

> Bank Your Tax Refund

Even the IRS is trying to make saving money easier for consumers. Since 2007, the agency has been encouraging taxpayers to use Form 8888 to have their tax refunds directly deposited into up to three separate bank accounts. The agency explains that the “refund splitting” is being done in an effort to promote saving during tax time, and so far it seems to be working.

According to D2D, a nonprofit group that works to expand access to financial services, filers who opted for refund splitting said they saved an average of 236 percent more — yes, you read that right — than they would have without the program.

Whether you transfer the money yourself or rely on another agency to do it for you, start paying yourself first right now!   

Stephanie Miles is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about personal finance and real estate since 2006. Find her online at stephaniemiles.com.