I’m proud and honored to be part of Women’s Money Week, a week that’s all about “encouraging women to speak up about money, take control of their finances, and reshape their financial futures.” Each day this week, I’ll be writing about a specific topic that relates to women & finances. Today’s topic is Saving and Investing.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of “rules” surrounding personal finance and the effective use of one’s money. From ‘invest this way’ to ‘create this type of budget,’ it’s pretty easy to get confused and lost in the shuffle of information. Let me save you time (and money!) by boiling it down to one, simple step that surely is the Golden Rule of Personal Finance: PAY YOURSELF FIRST.

Pay Yourself First Definition 
According to Investopedia, the definition of Pay Yourself First is “A phrase commonly used in personal finance and retirement planning literature that means to automatically route your specified savings contribution from each paycheck at the time it is received.” In general, this means that you should be setting aside a portion of every single paycheck before making any other financial decisions–you shouldn’t pay your rent first, buy groceries, or even put gas in your care until after putting something in savings.

Don’t make excuses
Given the tumultuous economic environment we live in today, it’s easy to discount the power of saving when you feel as if there’s nothing available to save. If you’re constantly ending the month with little to nothing left in your checking account on top of not saving anything, you’re doing yourself an incredible injustice. If saving has become an afterthought, here are a few reasons why you need to change this pattern of thinking/behavior now:

• There will always be unplanned purchases or emergencies. How many times have you set your plan to save $X at the beginning of the month once you’ve “paid the bills” only to find yourself with no money left at the end of the month because a few surprises ate up the budget? Water heaters break, children get sick,  you need a vacation. What if you had a savings account you could access when these surprises occur? Imagine if you didn’t need to rely on credit to get you through tough times. It’s an option when you pay yourself first!
• Paying yourself first allows you to set a strong financial foundation for your future. Before you can rationalize multiple ways/reasons for spending your money, save just a bit. Then keep saving just a bit. Pretty soon, those small bits will add up to a larger bit. The more you save, the more you enforce the habit of doing so. By establishing the habit of saving and viewing it as a priority, you’re paving the way for a lifetime of great financial habits & choices.
• Paying yourself first breeds financial motivation. Consider this: Every single time you make an automated savings deposit or manually add more to your account, you are reinforcing that YOU are the most important financial priority in your life. How’s that for an incredible dose of motivation?!

Pay Yourself First; Now.