For short-term needs and emergency funds, a regular savings account is a perfectly reasonable place to park your cash. But the same features that make savings accounts “safe” also make them poor choices for long-term savings.

When you set up automatic transfers from your checking account to your savings account, you’re removing the weakest link in your money routine: your own willpower. Instead of relying on a random moment of financial discipline (usually around the 28th of the month when rent is due), automation quietly shifts money behind the scenes like…

One of the most powerful moves you can make for your savings is to set a specific goal.

As the golden years get closer, so does the moment when you’ll stop building your savings and start living off them.

If you’ve ever heard the saying, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago—the second best time is today,” well, investing works the same way. Sure, it would’ve been nice to buy Apple stock back when iPods were cool. But unless you’ve got a time machine, today is the next best thing.…

Life is just easier when you’ve got a little extra cash. Not because money buys happiness—but because it buys choices. One of those choices? Generosity.