All gain, no pain. . . .

I spent all day Saturday at the library, writing a paper and studying for a final exam (I'm on the quarter system, so our winter term finals are this week). As per usual, I spent a fair amount of time catching up on my magazine reading.

Money Magazine had a fairly good article concerning tips for increasing your savings rate. Now, generally, most 'savings' tips regurgitate the same old ideas over and over again. This article actually had some tips I hadn't seen before.

Put it on Autopilot: Of course, there was the tried and true suggestion that we should set up an automatic savings plan, whether that means sending part of our salary to a 401K, a Roth IRA, or to a savings or money market account. The idea being, of course, if you never 'had' the money in the first place, you'll be less likely to miss it when it's gone. We've all seen this before, many, many, times. Probably because it's such a great idea, I suppose. I myself do this, and plan to increase my auto savings rate when and if I ever get a raise (my faculty union is currently in negotiations with the university----almost a year after our contract ended).

Reward Yourself: Ooooooh, I like this one!!!! I'm all about the rewards. The idea behind this is to set a specific savings goal. For example, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to increase my emergency fund by $1,000, to $2,000. I know, I know, it's not much---but I'm still in debt repayment mode. Anyway, using this strategy, I would get to 'give' myself a reward when I've met my goal----maybe a new pair of shoes, or $100 to spend on whatever I want?

Wield a Stick: Money Magazine cited a website, Stickk.com on which you can enter your goals (whether it's saving money, losing weight, or exercising more). Then you can appoint 'referees' to help keep you honest by monitoring your check-ins. You can even 'put a contract on yourself', by wagering money against your goal: for example, if your goal is to save $100 a month for the next six months, you can create a contract in which you'll have to 'pay' money (say, another $100) if you don't meet your goal. You can choose to send your money to an individual, to a charity you like, or even a charity you don't like, if that acts as a great incentive.

Invest in a Roth: Okay, this is one I've heard before too, but since this is one of my goals after I've paid off my credit debt (later this year), I was glad to see it on the list. I just decreased my 403b contributions to 1% of my salary from 10%, so I can use the extra money to pay down my debt further and faster. Since I have a pension (of sorts) through the university where I work, I'd like to keep my 403b at 5% and then do 10% to a Roth when my finances allow for it.

All in all, this article was a mix of 'vintage' (but good) ideas as well as some newer, perhaps more controversial suggestions. In the end, I benefit from hearing the same savings tips over and over again anyway----the more times I read or hear it, the better chance I will follow the authors' advice and put some of these ideas to good use in my own life.