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This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Mizzou chapter.

I have always struggled to save money since I started getting allowances in elementary school. If I have the money I instantly want to spend it, and my parents didn’t really teach me how to save money. As I have started getting jobs and making more dough, I would just spend more money and still save very little. You know what they say, old habits die hard.

It wasn’t until this year that I found the hack that has already helped me save so much money. 

The tip works best if you get paid via direct deposit. When I was setting it up I had my boss send 80% of my paycheck to my checking account and 20% to my savings account. That way the money doesn’t have a chance to go into my checking account so I don’t see it and can’t spend it. This way I don’t have to be active about putting money in my savings account. 

Before I did this trick I would have to actively decide how much I was going to save, and I often would  pull the money right out of savings in a couple days to spend it. Now, I don’t look at how much money goes in. It is money that I never had in my account to spend so I don’t really miss it. 

Now with all of that money in my savings account, I don’t need to feel bad taking any of it out if I need to. I still don’t like taking money out of my savings, because I would rather save that money for the future, but if I need a little extra monthly payments I can take it out and still have plenty left in savings.

This hack is very adaptable too, because you can make the percentage whatever you want to do. The biggest mistake with this hack is to be unreasonable with the amount going into your savings account. You do not need to spit your paycheck 50/50. Keep it low, and if you have more money you want to add to your savings account then you can easily add it in. It is a lot more simple and better to add more money to your savings account than repeatedly take money out. 

Out of all of the hacks I have used to try to save money this is the best one, because it is passive and doesn’t involve much thought. I recommend everyone to do this with their paycheck. You are saving so much money without even realizing.   

(she/her) Madison Thompson is a junior at The University of Missouri- Columbia and has direct admission into the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism School. She is an older sister and loves to read and write. In addition to Journalism, Madison loves creative writing. Madison has a self-published poetry book titled "The Journey". Her Poem Supermarket was a finalist in the 2019 KET writing contest.
Jordan Thornsberry is a student at the University of Missouri-Columbia, studying magazine journalism. In her free time, Jordan likes to travel, read and catch up on the latest celebrity drama. You can find more of her writing at jordantberry.com and on social media at @jordantberry.