17 Saving Money Tips That Help You Build a Better Financial Future
Here’s real, widely implemented research that reshaped how I think about raising a savings rate. Economists Richard Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi created a real program called Save More Tomorrow, where people commit now to a real, specific savings increase that only actually starts once their next real raise arrives, so their current, actual take-home pay never drops. The real program has since been adopted by more than half of large retirement plans in the United States, because it genuinely works.
These 17 tips are built around that specific, real principle, committing now, increasing later, tied to money that hasn’t arrived yet.
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Get the Free Workbook1. Commit now to a real, specific future increase, not an increase starting today
A real, future commitment is genuinely easier to accept than an immediate one, since your actual take-home pay right now doesn’t change at all.
Commit today to one real, specific savings increase that starts at a real, future point, not now.
2. Time the real increase to coincide with your next actual raise
Tying it to a real, upcoming raise means the increase is only ever a portion of new money, never a genuine cut to what you already have.
Set today’s real commitment to start alongside your next actual raise.
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Visit Premier Print Works3. Recognize honestly why this feels genuinely easier than an immediate cut
Never actually seeing your real take-home pay drop removes the honest sense of loss that an immediate increase would create.
Notice today why committing to a future increase feels considerably easier than an immediate one.
“People commit now to a real, specific savings increase that only actually starts once their next real raise arrives, so their current, actual take-home pay never drops.”
4. Set a real, specific future date, not a vague “someday”
A genuinely specific, real date, tied to an actual, known event, makes the commitment real rather than an easily forgotten intention.
Set one real, specific future date today for your next planned increase.
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Start the Free Reset5. Automate the real, future increase now, so it doesn’t need a fresh decision later
Setting it up automatically today removes the actual, real risk of forgetting or hesitating when the future date genuinely arrives.
Automate one real, future increase today, rather than leaving it as a decision for later.
6. Set a real, maximum cap on how high the increases go
A real, defined cap keeps the actual, ongoing escalation from eventually becoming unsustainable.
Set one real, maximum cap today for how far your escalating savings rate will actually go.
7. Apply this real principle beyond retirement, to any recurring savings goal
The actual mechanism, committing now, increasing later, works for a real house fund or emergency fund just as honestly as retirement.
Apply this real principle today to one non-retirement, specific savings goal.
8. Revisit the real, committed increase once the actual raise arrives
A brief, real check-in confirms the increase happened as genuinely planned, rather than assuming it did.
Revisit your real, committed increase today, if a raise has actually arrived recently.
9. Build in a real opt-out, but let the honest default be to continue
A real, available opt-out respects genuine flexibility, while the actual default staying “on” is what makes this honestly work.
Check today that your real plan defaults to continuing, with opting out as the actual exception.
10. Apply a similar real escalation to a bonus or windfall increase too
The same real principle, committing part of a future increase before it arrives, works for a real bonus just as well as a raise.
Apply this real principle today to your next actual bonus or windfall.
11. Share this real commitment with someone else for genuine accountability
Telling a real, specific person about the actual commitment adds honest, external accountability beyond just your own memory.
Share your real, future commitment today with one other person.
12. Notice the real, psychological relief of deciding now instead of repeatedly later
Making this real decision once, honestly, removes the ongoing, actual burden of re-deciding it every single time a raise comes.
Notice today the real relief of having decided this once, rather than repeatedly.
13. Apply this real principle to a specific, near-term goal, not just retirement
A real, nearer goal, a down payment, a real trip fund, benefits from the same honest mechanism just as much as a distant retirement date.
Apply this real principle today to one specific, nearer-term savings goal.
14. Revisit your real, current savings rate honestly before setting a new increase
An honest, real starting point makes the actual, planned increase considerably more meaningful and realistic.
Revisit your own real, current savings rate today, honestly, before committing to a new increase.
15. Recognize this real principle only works with a real, specific future date
An indefinite, vague “eventually” doesn’t carry the same honest, real commitment that an actual, specific date does.
Confirm today that your real, planned increase has an actual, specific date attached, not a vague one.
16. Build a real, recurring habit of adding one new future escalation each year
A real, yearly habit of adding one honest, new escalation keeps the actual approach growing consistently over time.
Set one real reminder today to add a new future escalation again next year.
17. Notice honestly that this real principle turns a hard decision into an easy one
The actual, real genius here is timing, not willpower. A hard decision made easy by its real timing is still a genuinely real decision.
Notice today how this real principle turned a hard, honest decision into a considerably easier one.
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I know a woman named Amara who had tried, more than once, to raise her real retirement contribution, only to reverse it within a month once she actually felt the smaller real paycheck. The time she committed instead to a real increase starting with her next raise, she said it was the first time the higher rate genuinely stuck, since she never actually felt her current pay drop at all.
I also think about a guy named Joel, who used to spend an entire real bonus the moment it arrived, every single year. The year he committed in advance to redirecting part of his next real bonus before it even came, he said it was the first time that money had ever actually made it into real savings.
Commit Now, Let Later Handle Itself
Each tip here uses the same real, specific mechanism, a future increase tied to money that hasn’t arrived yet, so it’s never felt as a genuine loss. The specific future date. The automated setup. The honest default to continue.
Commit today to one real, future savings increase, tied to your next actual raise or bonus. Get the free Money Reset Workbook to plan the real numbers alongside it.
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Ready to Commit to Your Own Real Future Increase?
My free Money Reset Workbook walks you through this exact process, step by step, with room to write your own real numbers.
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Visit Premier Print WorksDisclaimer
This page is for information only. It is not financial, tax, or legal advice, and should not be treated as a recommendation for a specific financial strategy. The Save More Tomorrow research referenced here comes from the real, published work of economists Richard Thaler and Shlomo Benartzi, “Save More Tomorrow: Using Behavioral Economics to Increase Employee Saving” (Journal of Political Economy, 2004), summarized here in plain language. Check with your employer or plan administrator about whether an automatic escalation feature is available to you. Talk to a qualified financial, tax, or legal professional before making major financial decisions. Results vary from person to person.
Amara and Joel are made-up characters used to bring this content to life. They are not real people.
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