If you’ve been saving money for years and still haven’t seen significant progress, you're not alone. Many people think that the traditional approach to saving money—putting aside a small portion of their paycheck into a savings account—is the right way to build wealth.

One of the best ways to ensure consistent savings is to make it automatic. If you leave it up to yourself to remember to save, you’ll likely find other expenses cropping up, and before you know it, your savings plan will fall by the wayside.

Saving money can feel like an uphill battle, especially when expenses seem to pile up each month. But what if there was a way to make saving effortless and effective?

One of the most powerful money-saving habits you can develop is creating—and most importantly, sticking to—a realistic budget.