Everyone knows the importance of setting aside savings. Whether it's for retirement, emergency funds or saving for the family vacation, it is something that we should all be doing. Yet sometimes this isn't as easy as we would like and at the end of the month our money is spent without setting anything aside. The financial services industry has become aware of this and has created tools to help us save. If you have difficulty saving, these tools may be your best way to ensure you have savings for whatever comes.

Direct Deposit

Of all the tools to help you save, direct deposit has been around the longest. Direct deposit is when your employer deposits your paycheck directly to your checking, savings, retirement or brokerage accounts. Many times an employer can deposit your check to more than one account. If this is the case, to help you with your savings, you could split your check up by how it will be used. Spending money could go into your checking account, investment money into your brokerage account, retirement into an IRA or 401(k) and a percentage into a savings account. This way you don't have to actually move the money into savings, investments or retirement yourself, it is done for you automatically at the beginning of the month. Setting up direct deposit is usually just a matter of completing a form at your workplace. For many people, money that goes directly into savings is forgotten and therefore less easily spent.

Automatic Investments

When direct deposit isn't an option or you just want another choice, automatic investments is a good way to help you save. With this, your paycheck goes into one account and then you setup times during the month when money is taken from this main account and put into other accounts such as IRA's, investment accounts and/or savings accounts. This is something you schedule in advance and takes place on a monthly basis. This way, you don't have to remind yourself to do it. This is very similar to direct deposit but where your bank or financial institution is doing the work for you instead of your employer.

This could also be used if your direct deposit limits you to one account or only allows you to split up your check by percentages. If this is the case, you can direct deposit your paycheck into the account where you have setup automatic investments and then have dollar amounts go into different savings accounts. This is helpful for depositing into accounts like IRA's where you can only invest a certain dollar amount each year and you don't want to go over your limit.

Tax Return Money

When tax season comes, consider saving your tax returns instead of spending them. This is an especially good idea for those who have a difficult time saving on their own. You can deposit your tax return directly into a savings account and start yourself a little nest egg. If you worry about your ability to keep it in that savings account, consider putting a lot of it into an account where you cannot get it out easily, such as an IRA, a CD or an investment with redemption fees when you take it out too quickly.

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