<prompt> Human: Hi everyone, first time poster long time lurker of pf. I thought Id share a tip I havent seen mentioned that has been pivotal to us in managing our expenses, increasing our net worth, and paying off my wifes student loans in rapid time. Were in the UK but it should apply pretty much anywhere. So here it is:Pay yourself a salary.Basically, choose an annual salary for yourselfhousehold. We set on 18,600 gross per year, as it is the annual income requirement for UK residents to bring their spouse to the UK under the 2012 visa rules This works out at around 1,300 per month after tax. This works for us, but you should choose something suitable for yourarealifestyle ambitionsliving expenses.Everything you are paid above your salary goes to savingsinvestmentsdebt reduction. If you can, see if your employerHR department can split your payroll and have everything over your salary amount every month go to another account so you dont even see it. Get a windfall? Utility company refund? Sell something on eBay? Its not your money yet. Your salary is 1,300 or whatever you choose per month, so everything that comes in above that goes to savingsinvestmentsdebt reduction and gets left alone.Advantages1. This has really helped us smooth out the monthly pay cycle. Sometimes pay at both of our jobs can be relatively variable, so always having salary every month to work with takes away a lot of the complexity. Even if you usually, say, save 200 per month and spend the rest, or save 20 and spend the rest, your spending money is still variable. With your salary its always 1,300 - rentmortgage, bills, groceries, transport. Its a great source of calm for us to know that we always have the same amount to work with every month.2. Removes temptation. Want something? Save up for it out of your salary. As everything above 1,300 is not yet yours, you stop thinking about ways to fritter it away. You soon realise what your priorities are when you force yourself to work to a monetary ceiling.Disadvantages1. Sometimes things come up and you need to spend more than 1,300 in a month emergency travel, car repairs etc.. We get around this by having YNAB roll things over to next month and work at paying ourselves back over a period. In a year we will still spend 1,300 per month, just some months we might spend 1,600 and others 1,000. Annual expenses like car insurance are, as per Rule 2 broken down and accounted for in the monthly budget.NotesChoose something suitable for your area, income and lifestyle aspirations. We are very lucky in that housing at the moment is quite cheap for us, and can make the 1,300 work. Its very much a case of YMMV, but the principle works. If you want to go out to eat and drink a bit more and you earn you could easily make it higher. The key point is: decide what you want your salary to be and stick to it consistently.Hope this helps a few people, and hasnt been posted before and Ive just missed it.  <response>: I cant believe Ive never thought of this before. My ass is getting paid tomorrow! 