How to Save Money Without Thinking About It
One major goal for many people when it comes to their finances is to save more money. But, if you're like most people, you have good intentions about saving money but struggle to follow through consistently. We've heard the advice to save an emergency fund of 3-6 months of expenses. Our retirement accounts all could use a little extra money in them. Funding a kids 529 for college feels unreachable. The problem is that at the end of the month, there doesn’t seem to be any money left to send to savings.
But what if there was a way to accomplish these goals without even thinking about it? Here's the simple trick: Put your savings on autopilot.
Saving every payday
The easiest way to automate your savings is by having the money taken from your paycheck and placed in a savings account before it hits your checking account. By doing this, you'll never see that money in your checking account, be tempted to spend it, and then be frustrated that you got to the end of the month and didn't put money away for your kids college fund….again.
To set this up, contact your HR department and request to set up an automatic deduction, financial allotment, or something similar. You'll need a routing number and account number of the bank account or investment account you would like the money to go to. This will usually be a simple form or even done in a company online portal.
Start small if you're new to this - even $50 per paycheck or 5% of your income can make a meaningful difference over time. Fill in the amount you would like to save each check and you're done! Savings automated.
Auto bank transfers
Maybe your employer doesn't offer automatic deductions, or maybe you are self employed. In those cases, you can set up a transfer with your bank to automate your savings.
Simply log in to your bank, and look for a link or tab that says transfer (or something similar). You'll then select the account you want to transfer from, enter the account details of the account you want to transfer to. Select the amount, starting date, frequency, and amount. You are on your way to automatic savings.
Warning: These transfers will be done with no further input from you. Because this happens automatically, you will want to ensure that the transferring account has the necessary funds to complete the transfer.
My setup
As someone who's been using these strategies for years, I try to automate my savings every chance I get. My paycheck has my TSP (retirement), wife's IRA, Health Savings Account, 529s, and Indiana ABLE accounts all on auto deductions. This method has allowed us to consistently hit our savings targets rather than wondering what happened to our paychecks at the end of the month.
A recommendation
If you're looking for a reliable savings account to get started, I've had great experience with Ally Bank over the past 15+ years. Their rates are competitive and the website is simple to use. As of July 2025 they are offering $100 if you open a new account with them using this link: https://www.ally.com/referral (I don’t receive any compensation from this link)
Take action this week
Don't let this be just another piece of advice you read and forget. Challenge yourself to set up one automated savings transfer within the next 7 days. Whether it's $25 or $250, the amount matters less than building the habit. Your future self will thank you for taking this step toward financial peace of mind.