It means making your saving activities your first priority by paying yourself, or making contributions to your savings accounts

you pay

any other obligations.

One way to pay yourself first is to

have your savings contribution automatically withheld from your paycheck and directly deposited into your savings account.

make your savings contribution only if you have something left over after you pay all of your other bills.

The advantage of this saving strategy is that it

ensures that funds remaining after paying all bills and making impulse purchases will be saved.

ensures that funds will be saved$-$as opposed to saving only if sufficient funds remain after all other bills are paid and any impulse

purchases are made.

Therefore, paying yourself first imposes financial

on the act of saving.

It is recommended that one of the first goals of a savings program should be the accumulation of an emergency fund equal to three to six months'

worth of living expenses. Let's examine this savings objective further.

What is the purpose of an emergency living expense savings fund, and what other sources of funds are sometimes used to address

these needs?

This fund allows you to cover a household's

expenses incurred during vacations, holidays, and birthday celebrations.

living expenses in the event of a job layoff, illness, injury, or the premature death of an income$-$generating member of the household.