Did you know you’re more likely to save a windfall than a small amount consistently over time? Hack that psychology by saving your bonuses, raises, and tax refunds.

My parents were hard-working first-generation Americans who were born during the Depression. My mother was a nurse and my father a businessman, and they were loving and supportive parents, but they were extremely frugal with money. “You’re only as rich as the money you have in the bank,” my mother used to say. “If you save nothing, you have nothing.” When we were young, my brother, three sisters and I were expected to work, and save half of everything we earned.