"Pay yourself first." I've been able to save a rather impressive amount of money by just diverting a portion of my paycheck to an investment account. I never

"Pay yourself first." I've been able to save a rather impressive amount of money by just diverting a portion of my paycheck to an investment account. I never see the money in my checking account, so I never have the money to spend. Paying yourself out of available funds is hard; there's always something else you could be spending the money on, and it requires a conscious choice and willpower. By contrast, paying yourself before the money even turns into available funds is easy because there's no choice involved except initial setup.