It doesn’t matter
How much you save. It matters
That you keep saving.

One of the most powerful ideas I’ve learned in my life is that the specifics of an action matter less than the consistency with which that action is applied.

Taking one step doesn’t matter. Consistently taking steps is walking. Consistently walking will take you from start to finish on the Appalachian Trail.

The prosperity equation could not be easier: No matter how much money you make, spend less than that, and save the difference.

So why are so many people deficient with their savings? Consistency is a big part of the answer.

Saving what you can whenever you can is not a system. Because it’s not a system, it actually requires more work. A person must carve out time to do some math every month, starting from scratch, finding out what was earned and what has already been spent. Then this person must submit a transfer request to a savings or investment account. If the funds go to an investment account, the person must then submit a trade request into an investment of his or her choice.

Every step in this process is a barrier between this person and their desired result. The more steps, the less likely it is that an average person will have the patience to get to the last step. Also, the odds of something going wrong increase with each step that gets added to the process.

A system is like a river. By simply flowing over the same ground every day it will eventually carve the Grand Canyon. Is the river trying to carve the Grand Canyon? It isn’t trying to do anything. It’s just being a river.

The same applies to saving money. Don’t save money. That’s a lot of work and takes up too much head space.

Instead, be a saver. A saver uses a system and doesn’t think about saving money. He or she just saves money.

Someone becomes a saver by automating the task. It doesn’t matter if it’s $5 a week. Schedule an automated transfer into an account that you don’t touch. Don’t think about it, and don’t look at the account.

You can supercharge your savings by scheduling not just automated savings but automated investments. 401(k) programs have been so impactful because they do exactly this, and they do it before any funds ever hit a person’s checking account.

What if someone could put $100 a month into an investment account earning a reasonable 7% average rate of return over 10 years? That person would have $17,308 in their account after 10 years.

Now imagine someone starting a job at age 14 and saving $100 per month every month from age 14 to age 64. If they earn that same 7%, by age 64 this person would have $544,807 in their account.

This is the financial equivalent of carving the Grand Canyon. The best part is, if the person automates this whole process, it will happen without them having to think about it happening.

The numbers don’t matter. Consistency matters. Time matters. Start, be consistent, and you will be amazed at what you achieve.