Singapore has a close to 50% national savings rate that ranks among the top 10 in countries around the world according to investopedia

Despite this, many people also face the realities of increasing costs of living, maintaining their current lifestyles while saving up their nest eggs for the future

Here are some tricks that many would find useful to help start a healthy savings habit.

1. Plan for monthly budgets

At the start of every month (or rather, end of each month), plan for fixed expenses in the coming months and put your salary into separate accounts - one for savings and the other for expenditures. This helps you track and see what are required spendings for the month easier.

Any excess such as bonuses should also be separated in this manner, so that you do not overspend. If you have to dig into savings, always remember to put the amount back into the savings account the following month.

2. Restrict access to a special savings account 

One way is by signing up for a new savings account with limited facilities (such as no ATM) to make transactions so you can't withdraw money from your savings account easily. 

Remember to keep your ATM card at home too, so you don't get tempted to withdraw from the account.

A more extreme measure for the less disciplined people would be to put your money into fixed savings plans (or rather, fixed deposits) that imposes measures in place to lock up your money.

3. Use physical cash whenever possible

While using credit cards can give you access to miles, cashback and other rewards, it may not be worth it if one is unable to control his/her spending and pay for bills in full at the end of each month. 

As credit card debt racks up, this will outweigh the supposed rewards (from owning a one). 

Cash, on the other hand, helps you monitor your expenditures better. You can physically see how much cash you have left in your wallet and make better spending decisions. This way, you save better by sticking to your monthly budget and not overspending.

If you are bad at tracking credit card spending, yet must own a credit card, just stick to getting 1 or 2 cards instead of having many cards to account for. This reduces the risk of being charged the annual fee by banks also.

4. Be accountable to your spendings and savings

Are you sharing your savings goals with anyone? If you aren't, you probably should consider finding a buddy – whether your parent, spouse, child or trusted friend – as having an accountability partner, makes you more likely to succeed in your goals to build up savings and track expenditures.