5 ways you can trick yourself into becoming a better saver

For many people, the biggest hurdle to saving is creating the habit.

While many financial advisers often recommend that clients take the work out of the process by having savings automatically deducted from each paycheck, plenty of people still struggle to get started. “We’re not seeing progress on the savings front,” said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst for Bankrate.com, which found in a survey that 22 percent of consumers have more debt than emergency savings. “And it’s desperately needed.” Without savings, he adds, some consumers may pile on more debt when emergencies happen.

Some people need a bigger incentive, say the pressure of knowing someone else is counting on you or the chance to win money, to finally kick-start the habit. It being America Saves Week, a campaign organized by nonprofit, government and private groups to encourage financial literacy, we rounded up some creative ways to boost your savings.

continue reading »