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Pay yourself first system that automatically arranged for them to save upwards of 10 percent of their income, month in and month out for more than thirty years. This does not means they started at 10 percent. At the very beginning, they paid themselves only 4 percent of their income. Then they bumped it up to 5 percent. After another year went by they increased it to 7 percent. It took them four years to get to 10 percent. A few years later, they decided to really go for it and so they increase the amount to 15 percent.
What made all this possible was the fact that they never had to write any checks themselves. Because their plan was automatic, it did not take any discipline on their part. I did not take time. It did not even take a lot to thinking. In fact, the only decision they had to make was how big a percentage of their paychecks they wanted to pay themselves first. They did it once. The rest was automatic.
When I first hear about this concept I was doing what most people do trying to budget, beating up on myself for failing and then rambling at the end of the year to find some money to put n my retirement and savings accounts, only to find another year had come and gone and I had not make my financial progress.
I actually started by paying myself first just 1 percent. I was in my mid-twenties and I wanted to make sure it did not hurt. Within three months, I realized that 1 percent was easy, so I increased the amount to 3 percent.
I am sharing it because if you are not paying yourself first now that is probably because you think you cannot afford to and I know just how that feels. I used to feel that way myself. But I can tell you from personal experience that once you decide to pay yourself first and then make it automatic. It is done and within the first three months, you totally forget about it. You had be amazed how effortlessly you can learn to live on a little less. And it becomes easier as you go alone. Why? Because before you know it, you have thousands and thousands of dollars in savings. What makes this possible is very simple. You cannot spend what you do not have in your pocket.
If you think the most you could part with right now is just 1 percent of your gross income that is okay, go ahead and get started. This one little step will change your habits and make saying automatic. And that will put you on a path that ultimately will make you rich.
