how can i change my way of thinking to better the bank??

[~Kim~]

what about a term deposit? you can get varying times.

also many people find that allocating themselves some 'spending money' or play money each pay helps with the urge to spend.

[meow]

A fee free online savings account like ING for sure! I think you need to see the amount being saved as a seperate sum so its concrete and real.

On pay day I pay off all our bills for the fortnight and allocate some spending money to have available to withdraw as cash then I transfer the remainder to our savings. It becomes a challenge to see if next fortnight we can have our expenses down so I have more left over to add to savings. I get a boost from hitting new milestones with the savings- watching it creep to a new record is exciting and motivates me to save. I feel more excited by seeing the savings hit a new level than I do by realising we spent more than usual that fortnight and have less to save.

[Nettie]

or a Christmas Club account? But I'm not sure of the terms there...

[shellbell3]

I had an online banking saving account thru bankwest. It was linked to our normal account and the money got transferred to and from thru that. The money wasn't locked in so if we did need it it was there but what I did do was automatic payments so every fortnight when my pay went into my account $x amount would be transferred across. I never touched it til we bought a house.

[Floweryfields]

Try a christmas club account, the one I have only allows access from Dec 1 to Jan 31 each year - all the rest of the year you can deposit but not withdraw. You can get the funds if you have an emergency - but this closes the account and you have to start again.