Still living from pay to pay? Or envying those great wealth accumulators and wondering how they did it? Every month you make a resolution of saving some dollars from your paycheck, but only end up breaking it. Looking for some magic formula for saving money?

Well, there’s no magic formula—only some simple rules to be followed with determination and persistence.

Have you ever taken consumer credit—the credit used for personal finance? If not, then that’s where you’re lacking. Those wealth grabbers, who are the subject of your envy, have smartly used the borrowed money and became rich. They didn’t hesitate in taking credit, and considered it as a valuable financial asset.

Credit is not something bad. On the contrary, it makes your life convenient and prevents you from falling in a tight spot. Yes, I know that your goal is to be a financially secure individual. We all have the same goal, don’t we? Despite harboring such strong goals, many of us are scraping every month, with no money left to fall back up on at the end.

I don’t intend to entangle you in the intricacies of finance, but want to present before you, some simple rules that would help in saving some dough. But promise me that you’ll put them to practice regularly. Though it takes some time—years maybe—to get the full results, yet the trick lies in perseverance.

Spruce your knowledge—get smart! I’m not telling you to glue your eyes to the television watching the stock market or enrolling for a finance degree. What I want you to do is arm yourself with the basics of the market so that you don’t make wrong decisions that cost you money. Intelligent decisions are the key towards a flourishing business.

Patience pays! Unless you win a lottery, don’t think of getting rich overnight. But with time you can certainly think of owning bundles of those crispy dollars. So start saving your money as soon as possible. Let compounding interest bestow you with its benefits. I hope you know about compound interest—it is the reinvestment of your already invested earnings. However, don’t lose heart when you find your first reinvested earnings to be a petty amount. Initially, they are small, but over the years you’ll watch them magnify.

Set a flexible goal Don’t be a ship without anchor. Set some financial goals in life so that you know your target. This will boost your confidence and you’ll be able to visualize yourself better in the future years. I would suggest having flexibility in your goals. This is because situations are never the same, they keep on changing and you’ll have to change with them too. Hence, you can’t be rigid in your ways. Keep reviewing your goals and—better still—select a good financial advisor that would assist you in achieving your goals.

Get rid of large debts Want to know a wise way? Start paying off all your debts that have double-digit interest rates. If you don’t do so, you’ll remain chained to these hefty debts for years and end up paying a lofty amount on interest rates.

Once you get habitualized about keeping aside a small chunk of your income every month and updating yourself with the business happenings, you’ll lay a strong foundation to build the castle of wealth. The most important thing is to keep on marching towards your goal persistently.

Now that you’re loaded with the money-saving tips, I hope to see you going around in a sparkling new car after some years!

James Marriott is a finance writer with more than 15 years of experience in writing financial content, including those related to credit cards, mortgages, stocks, investments, and funds. He has been with RNCOS, a premier financial writing services company, for 2 years as head of financial writing. He is also a regular financial columnist with renowned business journals. For your comments on the article and further financial assistance, please contact our staff writer at info@rncos.com.