Of course, we all want to save more money.

Making more money can seem impossible, so the next best option is to make better use of the income you already have.

However, finding ways to save more can quickly seem ineffective or restricting.

This post will cover a simple method I use to push myself to save as much as possible while having a minimal effect on my lifestyle.

Methods I’ve Seen

I have seen people try and save in numerous ways; none of which have been as effective as the method, I’ll show you today.

I have seen people:

• Set aside what they feel they can from each paycheck

• Round up each purchase and save the difference

• Save up leftover funds in their checking account

• Set aside money whenever they think about it

Minimally Invasive

The key is to make the method of saving as minimally invasive as possible.

When most people try to start saving more, they usually:

• Manually set aside money

• Force themselves to spend less

• Tell themselves they have to trim back their expenses

The issue with all these methods is that they rely on the person’s continued effort to be effective.

For a savings method to be effective, we must minimize its effects on your daily life.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

Another issue with these methods of saving more is they leave all your money available to you but expect you to hold yourself back.

Any normal human being would see a higher number in their bank account and feel comfortable spending more, thus negating their savings.

Ideally, we want our savings to be kept out of sight so you’re not tempted to spend it.

The best place to keep your savings is in a high-yield savings account.

These accounts earn far higher returns than traditional savings accounts while keeping the same high liquidity that makes them better than CDs or Money Market funds.

But remember from the previous step that we want it to be minimally invasive.

So, we don’t want to manually set aside savings in a separate account to keep it out of sight.

Ideally, we need a mix of each.

The Method: Save Until It Hurts

This savings method will be hinged around automation.

For a deeper dive into automation and applying it to every other aspect of your finances, check out The Wealth Automation Playbook.

In this case, we want to automate our savings by automatically depositing savings into our separate savings accounts.

We want to gradually increase our automated savings rate until it “hurts”.

This method uses automation to make it as minimally invasive as possible (can’t get less invasive than complete automation).

Plus, it keeps your money out of sight, out of mind by keeping your savings in a separate account.

All the while, you’re gradually increasing your savings rate as high as it can go.

In addition, this method feels far less impactful to my life because I never feel like I’m missing out on my money.

If I saw the money first land in my checking account, I would feel entitled to spend it.

By immediately and automatically moving it away, I don’t even see the money I’m “missing out on”.

Bonus: Increase Even Further

So you’ve saved until it hurts?

That’s fantastic, but it isn’t quite the end.

How much you can save until it hurts increases with every bump in income.

So, with every bonus, raise side income boost, or any other increase in income, you should increase your savings rate alongside it.

Solid rules of thumb are to increase your savings rate by:

• 50% of your bonus

• 30% of your raise

• 100% of your side income

Continuing ot increase your savings over time will get you even closer to financial success.

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Before You Go…

General advice is excellent, but personalized advice is truly powerful.

To take your finances to the next level, you need individualized support.

Schedule a FREE 1-on-1 introductory coaching call wth me to take the next step on your financial journey.