"Tricks to help you save" first appeared on iafrica.com on 17 March 2010. It is the 17th most read "Financial fitness" article of the past year. Liked it? Get your finances in shape in 2011 - bookmark http://personalfinance.iafrica.com/.

There was a time when I found it damn near impossible to arrive on time for anything. I tried getting up earlier, experimented with different routes and bought large clocks that I would strategically place all around the house. Nothing changed. I remained late for just about everything.

This continued until an irate colleague suggested I trick myself by setting my watch, cell phone and all the clocks I see during the day ten minutes fast. The plan worked! To me I still seemed late, but now I was always on time.

Most South Africans, whether rich or poor, find saving money a daunting task that takes a lot of effort. Don't sweat: as I dupe myself into being on time, it's also possible to fool yourself into saving.

Here are 12 tricks to help you save:

Trick 1: Keep visual reminders of your goals

Keeping visual reminders of your saving goals will almost certainly influence your spending patterns.

For example, if you're saving for trip to China a picture of The Great Wall in your wallet might inspire you to keep that R100 in there rather than buying whatever you were going to waste it on.

Saving for your child's education? Tape her picture on your debit card. Trying to scrape together enough for a deposit on a home? Tie a picture of your dream house to your credit card.

Trick 2: Make a 'cooling off' rule for large purchases

Most of us know all to well what buyer's remorse feels like. Why not make a rule where you have to wait before you can buy expensive items or services?

There are a few variations of this trick. For example, force yourself to wait 30 days before you're allowed to buy anything above a predetermined amount. You could also make a rule that you have to wait a day for, say, every R500 you plan to spend.

These rules will help separate what you really need from what you just impulsively want.

Trick 3: Round up all your purchases and save the difference

Trick 4: Put it on ice

Withdraw the amount of cash you need for a predetermined time, then freeze your debit card in a block of ice and leave it at home. If you can't stick to your budget you'll have to wait for the ice to melt before you can use you card, giving you time to mull over the wisdom of what you're doing. Do the same with your credit card.

You'll destroy your cards if you use the microwave to defrost them, so you'll have to wait, by which time some doubts might start to surface.

Eight more tricks to help you save on page two, three and four...

Got some tricks up your sleeve? Leave a comment below!