What’s the Best Financial Advice You’ve Ever Received?

I just got tagged by FFB from Free From Broke regarding a new topic of conversation floating around. Help me keep the conversation going…

What’s the best financial advice you’ve ever received?

That’s a tough one. I guess I’d have to say, “making savings automatic.“ That’s been a big one for me. I’m a disciplined guy to some degree, but in my early to mid 20s I wasn’t saving enough. For the most part I took what was left over at the end of the year and threw it towards a traditional IRA. I guess that’s better than nothing though. Still, I wasn’t contributing to a 401K, and I wasn’t building up a decent emergency fund.

The problem was that I was trying to rely too much on my on discipline to spend less, then take the leftovers and dump it into savings.

Sometime in my late 20s I started catching on to the idea of automating my savings contributions by direct depositing a percentage of my check into a separate account before I had a chance to spend it.

Who can I credit for kick-starting me on the road to automated savings? My Dad sure did tell me a lot about paying yourself first and dollar-cost averaging back in the day: two concepts that automation builds upon. David Bach’s Automatic Millionaire also really took the concept to the next level for me, I think.

Since that time, my savings, both short and long-term has really taken off. I now contribute automatically to a 401K, a savings account for my property taxes, and, as of yesterday, a separate savings account for our baby we’re expecting in March. My goals are being met by making savings automatic.