I readily admit that I have messed up my finances. I'm almost 32 years old, and I have NOTHING. Like I say, I'm an expert in what DOESN'T work! In my quest to remedy that situation, I'm doing a lot of learning and changing. My most recent change involves saving money, something that I'm proud to say I no longer fail to do. Here is what I've done.

Your bank probably offers you a tool that will solve all of your problems when it comes to setting aside money. Mine does.

In my scouring of the Internet and various other sources to find a way to build a little wealth for myself, I came across a brilliant little piece of advice. Actually, I came across two of them, from different sources, the most notable of which is famous self-help guru Tony Robbins.

I had heard the first part of this advice before, save 10% of your income, many times. I wanted to do it, but I never did. There were two things holding me back:

1. Fear. What if I can't afford that? What if I need that money for something else? What if I lose my job and can't save that money anymore?
2. Failure to follow through. I'd tell myself I was going to set money aside, but I never seemed to take the time. Worse, I'd forget about it.

It wasn't until I heard the second part of the advice that it all came together: tell your bank to take that money out of your account before you ever see it. I logged into my bank account and discovered I could set up an automatic transaction each week to take 10% of my weekly check and dump it into my savings account. Of course I can! I'm willing to bet you can, too!

And there's plenty of reason why you should:

1. No fear. If you have unforseen financial problems and you find yourself no longer able to contribute that amount, you can lower the amount or temporarily stop the transactions all together. Better yet, you will actually have saved some money to help you out with those problems! Until that day comes, you will not miss that money. I don't, and I don't make that much in the first place.
   
2. No excuses. You don't have to worry about forgetting or procrastinating. Come hell or high water, every week (or however often you get paid) that money is gone. All you have to do is take the time to set up that transaction one time. Or get the bank people to do that for you. They live for that stuff, you know!

This is stress-relieving for me. All I have to worry about now is not spending more than I earn. The savings part of the equation is taken care of for me. No more guilt about not putting money aside.

Next: Look for my next financial adventure when I talk to my broker about my investments. I've neglected those, too, you know. Oughta be a riot!