Establish the habit. Start a pattern of setting aside money on a consistent basis. Establish a regular pay roll deduction, set up an automatic payment to savings from your online checking account, or simply put all coins you collect in a jar and then regularly deposit the change into your savings account. If saving is a mental game for you, make a big deal out of each deposit. Sometimes you need the visual push that writing out the deposit slip and placing the cash on the counter provides. There is not a right or wrong method, starting the habit is the key.

Plan to increase slowly. Sometimes in our zeal to start saving, we overestimate how much we can save in a month. Plan to start small and work your way up. To ramp up over time, try the following strategies:

• When you receive a pay raise, put a portion into savings rather than increasing spending or expanding your lifestyle.
• When you receive a windfall such as a bonus, gift or inheritance, use some of it to increase your savings fast.
• Try analyzing your miscellaneous spending to see if you can find expenses you could cut to allow you to increase saving.
• Delay purchasing a new car when you pay off your old one. Instead save for a few months and build your savings.