“Saving money can be difficult whatever your age. What are some savings tips that really work?”

It’s a bit Vyvyan from The Young Ones. “This calls for a very special mix of psychology … and extreme violence.”

And a bit of the old lightbulb joke. “How many psychologists does it take to change a lightbulb? None – the lightbulb has to want to change.”

The trick for Gen Xers is not so much the physical acts of saving but about realising that NOT saving will leave you old and poor.

Not exactly “extreme violence”, but “extreme fear”. Living off the government age pension! Aaaaargh!

George S Clason, in The Richest Man in Babylon, started the principle of “paying yourself first”. What that means is that your first priority should be putting something away for your future, then you pay bills, then what’s left over gets spent on enjoying today. The problem is too many people do it the reverse order.

Gen Xers are largely trying to save for a home or pay down their massive mortgage at this stage of their life.

What do I do? I “hide” money from myself. That is, I put money into the mortgage redraw account where I can’t really see it. It’s working for me at whatever my current home loan interest rate is. But we can’t see it to spend it. Out of sight, out of mind. It’s all mental.

Or work on your “greed” gene. “Greed … is good” said Gordon Gekko in Wall St. And what’s wrong with a little greed if it’s about improving your finances?

Bruce Brammall is the author of Debt Man Walking  and Mortgages Made Easy (www.brucebrammallfinancial.com.au) and a licensed financial adviser.