Do you ever feel like you really should save but are just, like… no? For some of us, money just slips through our hands.

If saving makes you feel like you have to give up everything you hold dear to you (outrageously priced eye shadow, I’m looking at you), don’t freak out. It doesn’t have to be hard if you’re smart about it.

Getting started with saving is all about baby steps. Here are some small places to start.

#1 Direct Debit

If you always avoid looking at your bank account (because only bad things live there), then it’s worth setting up an automatic direct debit. Start with something like $50 a week and put it straight into a savings account you can’t even see. That way you won’t be tempted to draw it out whenever you feel like it.

#2 Pile Up Your Loose Change

A few gold coins here and there can turn into a couple hunge really quick. Get a money box from the two dollar store and within six months, I guarantee the amount will be pretty impressive.

If you’re thinking, “What is wrong with you, ancient person? No one uses cash anymore!” then please get off my back. I was JUST about to tell you about Acorns. Yeesh. Acorns is a great micro-investing app that rounds up all your purchases to put into a investment portfolio. So if you spend $3.50 on a latte, Acorns will take 50c and invest it for you. It’s exactly like a moneybox, if a moneybox was purely electronic and also made money on its own.

#3 Cash Only

If you take $150 with you on a night out without your debit card, you’ve got no choice but to stick to that amount. (And no, you can’t cheat by getting out cardless cash.) Make use of happy hours, drink house wine instead of spirits, pre-game like a champ – there’s heaps of ways to reduce the cost of a night out and still have a great time.

Using cash will also help you to shift your thinking around money and get thinking about the physical dollar. Plus, stacks of cash means you can make it rain.

#4 Eat Leftovers

I know, I know. This is a really tired suggestion but it helps SO MUCH. Even if it’s two or three days a week, taking last night’s dinner to work or uni will make a huge difference. And if you make really delicious dinner (Burritos! Pasta! Fried chicken!), you’ll be stoked eating it again the next day. Then on every other day you can buy food whenever you like. Deal?

#5 Block Your Fav Online Shopping Sites

You can’t spend money if you have nowhere to spend it, right? Use plugins like BlockSite or StayFocusd to stop you from browsing through online stores when you’re bored.

See? Putting some money aside is pretty easy if you get smart about it.

(Lead image: New Girl/FOX)