whats the best way to pay yourself each month and not cheat by digging in savings?

There is no way.

Even if you do automatic 10 or 20% into a savings, you will still “dig” into your money.

You will find a way.

You need to cure the disease.

Have a budget so you know where every single little tiny itsy bitsy penny goes.

And force yourself to stop spending money on stupid stuff like coffee and fast food.

Carry a notebook daily with you if you have to. To write every penny down.

Worst thing you can do is use cash. Deposit that paycheck. Never cash it.

you have to set yourself a budget & stick to it.

I like the 60/40 plan aka the 60% solution.

you live on 60% of your take home pay: this is your rent, monthly bills, if you have credit card debt then this is where you minimum payments come from.

the remaining 40% is split this way:

1/4 is your fun money. this is for your clubbing, dvd rental, date night money etc. when it’s gone, then it’s gone. if you don’t use it up then you can roll it over into the next month.

1/4 is for emergency savings. start out by saving $10. ultimately, you’re going to save 6 months salary or 9 months expenses.

1/4 is for long term savings. like a car, a down payment on a house, a fantasy vacation.

1/4 is for retirment.

if you have debt then you keep 1/4 for emergency savings & 1/4 for your fun money but you then put 1/2 towards your debt. this is money above & beyond what you are paying on minimums.

now, if you discover you are unable to manage on 60% of your income then you need to see where you are able to cut back in what you spend. are you over paying for rent, are you over paying for phone service, are you over paying for food or eating out too often, etc.

once you’ve cut back all you can reasonably cut back, if you still aren’t able to live on 60% of your income then you have an income problem. & that is going to require a whole different set of advice to help you out.

You need a budget

Savings 15%

Housing’

Utilities

Food

transportation

clothing

medical

Only buy what you need and skip buying what you want. Keep a daily journal of every penny spent.