Pay yourself first. “Ya, ya. I’ve heard this a thousand times,” you’re saying. “But, I have expenses. I have bills. The money comes in and it’s already allocated, and then some…”

How do you implement a “pay yourself first” strategy when you’ve already established your lifestyle without it? You just do, that’s how – with a little bit of strategic planning mixed in. As soon as you receive your next amount of money from any source, get it deposited into your checking account. Then, immediately transfer 10% of the proceeds to your savings account. This will be an account you set up at the bank for emergencies or opportunities, but not for specific purposes like saving for a vacation. In the same transaction, withdraw the amount of cash you need for the expenses and giving components of your financial plans. Then, leave the rest to pay your bills with, “Ya, but…” – I know. You said all the money was already allocated for other expenses. That’s okay. You are going to be keeping good records and balancing your checkbook. You will know exactly how much money you need for your bills, and if you get to the end of the month (or pay period) and find you’re short, “Wow!! Look at how well I’ve managed my finances. I have some money in my savings account to help out.”

“What if you need all the money in your savings account?” That’s okay. You are keeping good records so you might find that for the first few months you need to transfer 100% of the money from your savings account to your checking account but eventually, you will find that you might only need to transfer 50% of the money, and one day, you will look at the balance in the savings account and be amazed to find that it’s a sizable amount of money. How do you pay yourself first? You just do!! And keep doing, and keep doing, and keep doing for always and always!!