Although we have a mortgage and student loans, aside from those "expected" debts we are debt free (student loan only comes out of our paychecks, so I'm not paying atm, and mortgage is the same as renting price-wise). As for savings... we do have some. I put money into the savings every paycheck - even just a hundred quid a month. It makes a difference. OK so we do spend it: car insurance, getting new carpets for the house this summer... but it's there and we always have something for a rainy day.

If you can save just ten dollars a week, it may mean buying cheaper meat or not getting that CD you wanted, it suddenly doesn't seem a hardship and you must not spend this money because it doesn't exist. I actually save in two accounts, both joint, but DH doesn't know I'm squirrelling away cash into one of them. So we have a "spend and save" account (ie for rainy days and home improvements) and "secret squirrel" for saving up for moving. There's more in the account I can access easily because we do need that money at times, but the other one is growing slowly. I may try to do fifty quid a month starting in September (when I get paid a bit more!).