💰 Pay Yourself First
A 4,000-year-old trick your paycheck already knows how to use.
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💰 The Move
The Oldest Money Advice That Still Works
In 1926, a pamphlet called The Richest Man in Babylon told the story of a man who got rich with one rule: “a part of all I earn is mine to keep.” He paid himself — his own savings — before paying anyone else. Nearly a hundred years later, it's still the single most effective piece of money advice anyone gives.
🔁 Researchers Brigitte Madrian and Dennis Shea found that simply switching 401(k) enrollment from opt-in to opt-out — with no change to the actual benefit — made participation jump from around 40% to over 90%.
Nothing about the math changed. Only the default did. Removing the decision removed the excuse.
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💰 Build Your Own Default
- Automate it before you see it. Set a transfer for the day after payday, not “whenever there's extra.”
- Start absurdly small if you have to. 1% is still a default working in your favor. You can raise it later.
- Name the account something you won't touch. “Emergency Fund” gets left alone more often than “Savings.”
- Never manually opt in twice. If you have to decide every month, you're not using the trick — you're relying on willpower instead.
👉 Try This Today
The richest man in Babylon didn't have a 401(k). He just never gave himself the chance to skip it. 💰