By definition, forced saving is actually a consumption reduction, bringing about depression of interest rates and increasing inflation. But in layman's terms, forced saving is really just participating in some type of habit that equals money being taken from your hands and put somewhere else that you will not choose to take from, if you actually even have access to the funds at all.

This type of behaviour can be invaluable to people who have a tough time putting savings aside, when it seems that money flies from their bank account - usually by the end of the month, there's nothing left to save, even with good intentions. Most people fit into this spectrum and if you polled the people you've known who are good "savers," you'd likely find that a lot of them were using a forced saving program.

Ways to incorporate forced savings are numerous - let's focus on the simple, day-to-day methods: piggy banks, treating your savings account like a bill and automatic transfers.

Piggy banks

Our children have piggy banks; some have bank accounts as well. We throw the odd coins into the ceramic hole and sometimes we even drop a few extra dollars or money that's come as a gift from relatives. And because the money in that bank account or piggy bank is our child's, the thought of removing it for any reason barring absolute emergency, tends to make us feel queasy and wrong.

So why not use those feelings to your own advantage? Start a piggy bank for yourself. Throw your change into it every time that your return home. If you live in Canada, you have the added bonus of $1 and $2 coins. Only empty the bank out when it's full, and deposit the coins directly into an account that you don't have regular, easy access to.

If you can, deposit the funds directly into some sort of investment that will temporarily lock them in. Because of compound interest's affect, regularly buying a mutual find, for example, could yield exponential interest income in comparison to a regular savings account. Talk to your bank representative to see what options are open for your financial means, plans and needs.

Your savings account is a bill

You pay your rent on the first of every month without fail, your bills by their due date, buy groceries and other necessities as the need arises and maybe you grab some take out food or a coffee here and there, since you're not completely broke. Then you get to the end of the month and though everything that NEEDS to be paid has been, you've nothing really to show for your entire month's income besides a roof over your head, heat, light and food - the boring stuff.

The problem you're having is that you're telling yourself that you will put whatever is left over into savings, at THE END of the month - but nothing really seems to be left over. What if you reversed that mentality and paid your bank account just as you would any other creditor?

If you pick a specific day of the month to "pay off the savings bill," you can rest assured that money is going into the bank before you have a chance to spend it. Put that into play with the piggy bank scenario and you'll see growth in an account over a short term, where there was NONE before.

Automatic transfers

This is where your banking institution can help you out with this saving plan you've had for a while, but not made much leeway on. Talk to your branch's representative and sign the necessary documents to have money transferred from one account to another automatically. Similar to treating your account like a bill, if your bank initiates a transfer every month, week or on your paydays, you'll find that the money has disappeared and within a short, probably not even miss it.

At first, it would sting to have the bank withdraw say, 10% of your paycheque every payday, but after a few months, you might find yourself forgetting what amount you were missing. Further down the road, you'll find that you would've forgotten about the transfer except that your bank is so good at doing their jobs, they keep sending you updated statements!

The beauty of this idea is that if your funds have already been transferred, say on the same day that your paycheque is deposited, you'll have to jump through some hoops to have the funds back in hand. If you want to cancel the routine, that will be a bit of a hassle too, since you'll need to write a letter, sign some forms and arrange for the account's balance to go somewhere.

Use this money in the same way I suggested when using a piggy bank for stray change - see if you can invest directly into something that will benefit you later on. RRSPs are a great idea because you will be buying shares at constantly varying prices - sometimes you'll get a great deal, others not but your income in the account will grow - plus the interest grows, tax free.

Want to be rich in the future?

We all do. Forced saving can be one of the main pillars to your later financial success. If you've the intestinal fortitude to leave the pennies in the piggy's tummy, that is.