Here are four golden rules for becoming a compulsive saver:

Do it now. If you wait to save until you get a raise or pay off your debts, you never will start. Nothing to save? Start cutting expenses, and save the difference. You can get started with any amount, even with as little as a dollar. Pull out that dollar bill and identify a place to stash your "savings," where you will regularly deposit more money.

Enter into an automatic savings program. Your bank will help you save by making automatic deposits from your checking account into your savings program. If you have a payroll savings plan where you work, sign up today! Determine the amount you will automatically transfer regularly to your savings. Now you won't have to try to remember to make manual deposits.

Pay yourself first. Ten percent of everything you make is yours to save before you pay your bills or spend your paycheck. If you can make this an unbending and nonnegotiable routine, you will be well on your way to becoming an addictive saver. If you wait until you pay everyone else, you'll come out on the short end of the stick; you never will get started, because there never will be anything left over to save.

Live with cash. If you can't afford to pay cash, you can't afford it. Make that your new motto for 2011. Living on credit, writing bad checks, and demanding to have it now and pay for it later will surely sabotage any plans you have to become a compulsive saver. Take just enough cash to cover your needs for the day and watch how your spending habits will change!

Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and can be e-mailed at mary@everydaycheapskate. com.