Building wealth is really NOT about budgets and penny-pinching. Nor is it about willpower and self-discipline. Do you remember my 3 tips of the Wealth Triangle: dollars, time, and investment return? They all contribute to creating wealth, and the more you have of one, the less you need of the other two. So, you can get more "time," and this need to save less dollars, but using simple automation techniques to increase the amount of time you're saving - effortlessly. No budgets or willpower needed.

1. Direct deposit your paycheck into checking AND savings.

All employers have us direct deposit our paychecks into a checking account, but did you know you can direct deposit into more than one bank account? Have a portion of your paycheck direct deposited straight into your emergency savings account. No need to remember to move it from your checking each month (and it won't be there to spend either). 

2. Auto invest for retirement.

Of course, it goes without saying that your 401k savings is automatically deducted from your paycheck and goes to work, quietly building a nice nest egg for your retirement. But if you don't have access to a 401k (or you just want to save more money for retirement), you can always automate a monthly transfer into an IRA or Roth IRA and build wealth just as easily. (Watch the eligibility rules for IRA and Roth IRA contributions, of course).

3. Dollar-cost averaging is powerful.

By automatically investing regularly - at the same time each month, for example - you'll actually build more wealth over time than investing larger chunks of money more sporadically. Not only are you apt to invest MORE because it's being done automatically, but you'll be taking advantage of a fancy idea called "dollar-cost averaging," which simply says that you'll end up paying less to buy into the markets over time if you buy in at the same time each month, rather than randomly every so often. Basically, you'll catch stocks on sale more often that way. And who doesn't like a good bargain??

Want some more info?

• The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a great how-to article on automating your savings here.
• Here's some further information on dollar-cost averaging!

"Set it and forget it!" - Ron Popeil

Wishing you wealth and success, 

Yvonne 😊