When you listen to financial gurus, a lot of them will tell you to make sure that you pay yourself first.  But for many people, this is not as easy as it sounds as they have bills to pay and other financial commitments.  By the time the bills are paid, housing is paid for and everyone is fed and clothed, there may not be a lot left.  But with a bit of creativity, it is possible to still pay yourself first and start building a safety net.

The most important thing I can recommend is to set it up so that when you get paid, funds automatically transfer to another bank account that is harder for you to access.  Maybe this is an account that is online only or that you can only withdraw funds by going in person.  Even if you can only afford to put in $5 dollars per paycheck, it is a good start.  Once you have more money in there, you can move it into an investment type account where you will make a bit of interest on your money.

A great way to increase this amount is that when you get a raise, take the extra funds that you receive and move them to the savings account.  This is a way that you can use to get started if you cannot afford to lose even 5 dollars from your paycheck to savings.  By the same token, if you end up working some overtime or you end up with a bit more money on a paycheck due to fewer deductions, those funds could be moved into the saving account.

The best reason to move your money right off your paycheck is if you do not see it, you will forget about and not try to spend it. You could see if your work can deposit funds into a second bank account for you so you do not even have to setup the transfer.