Looking for save money tricks to improve your financial positions and to solve cash issues ? Spending less doesn’t mean you’ll have more. Saving is a good way to stabilize your finances, but you still need to invest. “Pretend there are two islands,” advises Aliche, who is also known as The Budgetnista: “Financially Stuck Island and Wealthy Island.” She says that your savings can be like a car—you can’t drive off Financially Stuck Island without a bridge. Investing is the bridge to financial success. “To get from one island to another, you need to get in your savings car and drive it over your investment bridge.”

Spend 1-3 Hours Per Week Reading About Finances and Investing: If you want to learn how to take control of your finances, you need to read. Doesn’t matter if this is books, blogs, or other well-known publications. Just a few hours a week can change your financial life. I got in this habit in late 2014 and continue this process today. You’ll be surprised at how much you learn in a short amount of time. Related: Looking for budgeting, investing, and money tools or apps? I’ve listed some of the best ones that will help you succeed with your personal finances. Check out my recommended list here. Find more details on Make Money.

One of my favorite subjects: budgeting. It’s not a four-letter word. How can you know where your money is going if you don’t budget? How can you set spending and saving goals if you don’t know where your money is going? You need a budget whether you make thousands or hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Credit card debt is the number one obstacle to getting ahead financially. Those little pieces of plastic are so easy to use, and it’s so easy to forget that it’s real money we’re dealing with when we whip them out to pay for a purchase, large or small. Despite our good resolves to pay the balance off quickly, the reality is that we often don’t, and end up paying far more for things than we would have paid if we had used cash.

Pay Yourself First: This personal finance tip is another common one that can have a huge impact on your finances. When you pay yourself first, you’re investing in your financial future; you’re investing in future you, and future you will thank present you for doing so. So, why not just pay yourself at the end of the month? That’s a lot easier, right? Well, the reason why paying yourself first works so well is that once that money is sent to a savings account, you’re a lot less likely to spend it. If you wait until the end of the month to pay yourself, you might not have any money left! Future you will be very sad with no money. Make future you happy by investing in yourself! PS. The best way to pay yourself first is to do it automatically. Set up an auto-deposit with WealthSimple and you’ll never have to think about saving money again – it will just happen. Visit: aspiretomoney.com.