The Seven Parachute Colouring Habits of Highly Effective Cheese Movers

In my last career as a librarian I spent a lot of my time shelving books and over the decade I must have read (in short, one/two-pages-at-a-time bursts) all the self help money books. From "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" to "What Colour Is Your Parachute?" to "Who Moved My Cheese", I have gleaned useful tidbits here and there and have tried to incorporate them into all areas of my life.

The most important financial point I have ever discovered is "Pay Yourself First".

We all have bills and more bills and even more bills and our income, no matter how big it may be, always seems to be too damn low. Most paydays we pay all the bills and then, if we have anything left, we promise to save the rest.

Nope, wrong. This is the worst way to save money.

You have to pay yourself first! Even if you have debt you need to put away something BEFORE you pay bills. Even if that is only a dollar a week.. put it away. When you can afford more save more. It doesn't matter where it goes as long as it is placed there first before you can spend it on life's endless parade of expenditure.

If you put away what every you can afford at the start of your pay-cycle you will be amazed how much you will have saved by the end of the financial year. The best part is if you take the money out as soon as you are paid you never miss the money.

I will never be a rich man in the way that people think of rich. I was a librarian in my last career and a teacher in my new career and neither of these vocations are the fast track to crazy wealth. Yet, by Paying Myself First I always seem to have enough money to travel (which I love) and do the things I want to do.

So what do you think?

Is this a viable way to save in your opinion?

Do you do something similar?

Is it effective?

...

Would the person that keeps moving my cheese please stop!