How to Be a Saver

If you aren’t already a saver, then you probably have very little chance of developing a saver’s mentality.

There are always exceptions, of course, but you are either a "saver" or a "spender", and for most folks, no matter how hard they try, they’ll never be able to change.

And you know what? There’s nothing inherently wrong with either (unless you take it to extremes, of course). It has a lot to do with your God-given personality.

So, if you’re a spender, not a saver, accept the way you are. Acknowledge your weakness. Say, out loud:

“I am a spender, not a saver. I know I should save more. I will find a way to save more and plan for my future.”

Now, develop a plan to overcome your weakness, one that doesn’t involve changing who you are! (Because we both know that’ll never happen.)

Accept the fact you will have to do a couple things that may be unpleasant to you, for various reasons:

1. Figure out what you earn and what you spend
2. Adjust spending until you reach your desired savings amount
3. Decide how much you will save, and with what vehicle (401(k), Roth IRA, traditional IRA, high-yield savings account, brokerage account, etc.)

But wait! If you know there is no way you’ll ever do these things, then find someone who enjoys doing them, and hire them to do it for you. Problem solved! Now, all you have to do is turn over your information, and wait for the report.

Don’t be foolish, though. Before hiring help, make sure you find:

1. Someone you can trust with your personal financial data
2. Someone who charges on a fee basis only
3. Better yet, someone who might be willing to barter services with you

Now, decide on a reward you will give yourself when you have completed the your tasks (or hired someone else to). What will it be? A night at the movies? A bubble bath? A new CD? Make it something you really, really want.

All done? Good. Enjoyed your reward? Great.

Take the final step to guarantee you’ll be a saver forever:

Set up automatic withdrawals from your checking account to your savings vehicles for the amounts you need to save.

That’s it. That’s all there is to it.

You already know how much you can save. You know where you want to save it. Just set it up to run every week, paycheck, month, quarter…whatever works for you!

Go to the websites. Go to the Human Resources representative that can help you with paperwork. Pick up the phone. Just do it.

Now, plan your reward for completing this final, all-important task. Make it worthwhile.

Again, if you feel you’d never complete this task regardless of how much you want to save, hire someone to do it for you! They’ll know your user ID’s and passwords, so you may want to change those once the setup is complete.

The point is, what you’re doing now doesn’t work. Unless you completely change your tendencies, you’ll never do what you know you should—save some, or more, money. So you MUST do something different!

Why not try this?

Once your system is set up, you will have nothing left to do but spend whatever money is left over! Your savings are in place, and you’ll get used to not having that money, because you never see that money.

And when your statements arrive in the mail showing how much you’ve saved and/or invested, you’ll be thrilled!

Not everyone is a saver. But everyone can save!

Now go to it.