One of the most practical and behaviorally smart rules in personal budgeting is the concept called “pay yourself first.” It’s a simple-sounding idea with outsized impact: instead of waiting to save what’s left over at the end of the month (which often becomes nothing), you arrange your cash flow so that savings and high-priority allocations happen automatically as soon as income arrives. This was popularized by personal finance writers who observed that humans are poor at saving if it requires an active, repeated decision. Over decades the strategy has evolved from physically moving cash into envelopes to automated transfers and payroll-dedicated retirement contributions. When automated, the tactic dovetails with mental-accounting — treating savings as a non-negotiable bill — and reduces temptation to spend. There are variations: some people “pay themselves first” into retirement accounts, others into emergency or sinking funds, and many split funds across short- and long-term goals. The technique also pairs well with direct-deposit splitting so different accounts receive different percentages, or with apps that round up transactions into a savings bucket. The underlying behavioral insight is that the easiest path to build reserves is to make saving the default, not the last-minute option. The next question checks whether you recognize the core action described by this rule.