Self-made millionaires develop the habit of regular saving and investment from an
early age. As the multimillionaire W. Clement Stone once wrote, “If you cannot
save money, the seeds of greatness are not in you.”George Classon, in his best seller, The Richest Man In Babylon, wrote that the key to financial success is to “pay yourself first.” He recommends that you save at least 10% of your income, off the top, before any other expenditure, for the entirety of your working life.

Human beings are creatures of habit. We very quickly adapt to almost any external condition or circumstance. If you save 10% off the top of your paycheck, and discipline yourself to live on the other 90%, you will soon adjust your lifestyle downward slightly so that you are quite comfortable on the lesser amount. In no time at all, living at this level becomes a habit and you stop thinking about it.

Many people are deeply in debt and the idea of saving 10% of their income, off the
top of each paycheck, is too difficult for them even to consider.

In this case, which is quite common, Brian Tracy recommend a gradual process where you begin by saving 1% of your income and living on the other 99%. For example, if you are earning $2000 per month, make a decision today to save $20 per month, or 67 cents per day. You can then live on the other $1,980.

Go down to the bank and open up a separate account, your “financial independence” account. Money that goes into this account only flows only one way- inward. Once you put money into this savings/investment account, you never, ever take it out or spend it for any reason.

It has only one purpose: to enable you to achieve financial independence as soon as possible.

Once you have become comfortable living on 99% of your income, increase your
monthly savings rate to 2% off the top. Within one year, you will find yourself
living quite comfortably on 10% of your current income.

Continue this process until you are saving 15% and then 20% of your income, off the top. You will not even notice the difference in your standard of living because it will be so gradual.

But the difference in your financial life will be absolutely extraordinary!

I’d love to hear from you, in the comments below.

Please, tell me your way of saving money? Did you start this way?

When did you start counting your pennies?

Thank you, for contributing so generously here!

With love,
Yasen