If you think you don’t have money to save because your current cash flow is tight, you can still develop the habit of saving and giving first.  When any money comes in, immediately set aside 10% into a savings account for you.  If you are short at the end of the month, you can transfer the required money out of your savings.  If you consistently develop this habit, you will find that over time you will not require the full amount of the money transferred into savings and it will begin to accumulate.  This is the concept of pay yourself first.  You did and you needed the money so you used it.  You need to start small to develop the habits that will produce big results over time.

When do you start this process? Don’t wait until you have money.  Don’t wait until you have the appropriate accounts set up or until something has happened.  Start now and start young.  This is a perfect skill to implement with children as soon as they are old enough to understand that money has value.  For many kids, this is at about age 4 or 5.  They don’t need to know the different values just that it has some value. They will learn that when money comes in, you put some into different places for different things – simple.