Trick yourself into saving money

Buying things when they’re on sale is a great way to avoid overspending.

But unless you are diligent to take the difference between the regular price and the sale price and actually deposit that into a savings account, are you really saving money?

Nope. You’re just spending less. And you can spend less right through your entire paycheck.

While being careful to keep spending under control is admirable, it’s easy to fool yourself into believing that you’re a money-saving genius when, in truth, you’re just spending all that you earn and wishing you made enough money to save some of it.

Getting started with actual savings can be difficult if you have a spending habit, a small budget or some of each. The way to remove the pain is to trick yourself into thinking you’re not really saving that much.

Check out these tricks, and get started today.

This may sound silly, but just go along here. Create a new monthly bill that you are obligated to pay, and call it Paying Myself First. Make it look like an invoice of $5 billed to you. Put this tiny bill at the top — ahead of the rent, food or phone bills. Your smallest bill will soon become your favorite.

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Make this your new personal rule - You do not spend €1 coins

• Call it a bill: Save all €1’s and €5’s:

or €5 notes. Ever. Just find a cool place to stash them and don’t look back. You are going to be amazed how quickly your savings will add up. Can’t do both denominations? Then start by saving €1 coins.

This could be an alternative or addition to saving paper currency. Think this couldn’t possibly turn into anything useful? Think again! Try it, but make sure you are diligent. The rule: Do not spend coins. Period.

• Save all coins: • Make payments to yourself:

Once you make that last car, credit card or other payment, celebrate lightly, and then just keep making the same payments every month. But instead of making them to the finance company or bank, make them to yourself — straight into your savings account. After all, you’re used to not having that money to spend, so don’t change anything. Tricky, no?

As you leave the supermarket so proud of yourself for all of your coupon savings, make a note of the exact amount you ‘‘saved’.’ Now really save it by depositing that exact amount into a savings envelope, drawer or account.

Provided you stick to any of these trick in no time you will have created a saving habit. And you’ll be well on your way to building a respectable emergency fund.

• Coupon savings: