I automated my Christmas savings this year and have accumulated several hundred (600 by now) without even thinking about it. I doubt I will use that money for Christmas, but our brains are already used to the now normal amount we have in our checking each month, so we will continue the automatic plan. I will even increase is shortly to account for a bit more passive income coming in.

Out of sight, out of mind.

It's about the same with me.

My 401(k) is deducted automatically. I also have some money pulled into an online savings account each month. Nothing else at the moment.

I am the same as MBH. Money goes into an online savings on a monthly basis and 401(k) automatically. My bank gave me some sort of incentive for setting up a monthly transfer when I opened my accounts. (I am a HUGE Wells Fargo fan.)

My automated savings plan is extremely simple, probably due to the fact that I'm young, don't have a car, and have only one fixed expense: rent.

I have my Roth 401(k) contirbutions deducted automatically, as well as transportation costs for the metro subway. I have the rest of my paycheck directly deposited to my ING account, and from there, my student loan payment gets deducted and it automatically sends a payment to cover my credit card expenses. I send $300 to my savings account and $300 to my brokerage account. Also, I send about $100 to my Bank of America account because I use that card to take money out of the ATM.

All of my irregular expenses go on my credit card, and usually I have a few cash transactions and transfers to roommates for various expenses, and that all gets tracked in Mint.

I can't function without automating my savings and bill payments. I do as much as possible from my credit union's website -- it offers great protection if payments were ever to mysteriously go missing, but thankfully I've not had to deal with that. I don't miss the money I send to my bills after each payday because I never see it. I mean, I'd like to have more left in my spending pot, don't get me wrong, but this way is very pain-free for me.

I automate three kinds of savings:

Monthly emergency/diddle-it-away savings; self-escrow for property taxes, homeowner's insurance, and car insurance (my house is paid for and so I have to pony up taxes & insurance once a year); and the 403(b) savings, a required pre-tax hit on my gross income by my employer, who matches the contribution.

Of course, my employer soaks the 403(b) contribution out of my paycheck. The credit union collaborates on the others: once a month $404 goes into the emergency fund (a money-market savings account) and $300 goes into the taxes & insurance fund (a regular savings account). They go into separate accounts so I won't lose track and accidentally spend money intended to pay taxes.