LeBron James – now worth an estimated $1 billion – learned this simple lesson about saving money at an early age. Experts say many of us need to learn it too.

“My uncles always taught me — they taught me how to have a savings account,” James said in a podcast interview. (Good news if you’re also thinking of saving more, as some savings accounts are paying interest up to 3% — See some of the best savings account rates you can get right here.) He continued: “They’ll give me a dollar and they’ll say, ‘Listen, grandson, spend 35 cents of it and keep the other 65.’ Or, if they gave me two dollars, they would say, ‘Go ahead and spend a dollar of it, but hide the other dollar.

James notes that he also doesn’t buy everything he wants, explaining that growing up in a situation where “the bottom was always creeping in my head, and in the end I just said, ‘I don’t need it’… I just can’t. Anything else I can give myself will make me happier.”

Experts say that James’ uncles taught him a very useful habit — although they argue about what percentage of money a person should save. “This is a great example for all young children to learn about money, spending, banking and more,” said Rob Riedl, certified financial planner at Endowment Wealth Management.

For his part, certified financial planner Joe Favorito at Landmark Wealth Management said he agrees with this saving premise, even though the spending-to-savings ratio isn’t the same for everyone because ” It is clear that we need to spend some of the money we earn to cover it. our essential expenses. “Ideally, we all want to enjoy life to some degree, so there should be some discretionary spending,” says Favorito.

See some of the best savings account rates you can get right here.

A rule of thumb for our non-billionaire celebs is to be frugal at least 10% of our gross income goes to retirement goals and other savings. You also want to build up at least three months’ worth of emergency funds, and if you have unpaid high-interest debts, pay them off quickly before allocating the entire 10% into retirement savings. your mind.

Then set a goal of 10% and “if you can save more, even better. Employer-based retirement plans like a 401(k) often offer the best tax benefits to doing this, and any additional savings should be goal-based, such as savings. buy a home, as well as build an emergency fund of at least six months. cost,” said Favorito.

Unfortunately, too few Americans have as much savings as they should. Indeed, altogether 56% of Americans can’t afford the unexpected $1,000 bill with savings, according to a survey this year of more than 1,000 adults conducted by Bankrate. (Here A recent MarketWatch Picks article details exactly how much Americans have in savings, compared to how much they should have.)

One way to make saving easier is to automate your savings so you pay yourself up front. “It’s easy to make excuses month after month about what happened that keeps you from saving what you want,” says Favorito. If you automate your savings right out of your paycheck, you’ll usually be fine with what you have left and hopefully keep your spending habits under control.

See some of the best savings account rates you can get right here.

Riedl says that saving is the first good habit and investing the second. “Average Dollar Costs [an investment strategy of investing roughly equal amounts of money at regular intervals] a certain amount each month into the financial markets through a diversified low-cost portfolio. Get started with a 401(k) or IRA plan to save on taxes and hit all the right companies. Then open a personal account and do the same. The power of compounding will be your lifelong friend, and a minimum annual portfolio rebalancing is a must, says Riedl.