July is the time we take a moment to celebrate America’s independence, and it’s a great time to declare your own financial independence.

Saving money every payday is the first step, and Direct Deposit is a great way to either get started or to ramp up. 

First, getting paid shouldn’t involve dealing with a paper paycheck. The ease of Direct Deposit eliminates the steps involved in picking up a check (and your employer having to issue one), depositing it, and waiting for it to clear.

For the 94% of American workers who are paid by Direct Deposit the money likely goes to one account, probably checking. But you might be surprised to learn that’s not a requirement. 

You can use Split Deposit to do exactly what it sounds like: split your Direct Deposit between accounts. You can earmark a percentage of your pay, or a specific dollar amount, to go to a savings or investment account every payday, with the rest to checking. 

And as recent history has shown, things can change in an instant—and you need to have reserves.

“So many Americans are not taking advantage of their opportunity to save successfully by splitting a portion of their pay into a savings account, directly and automatically, particularly for emergencies,” said George Barany, America Saves Director at the Consumer Federation of America. 

“Now is the time to set up the most effective way to save, even small amounts on a regular basis, to build up that emergency fund, as more unexpected expenses are always on the horizon.”

Split Deposit is easy to set up. Just ask your employer. They’ll need the account and routing numbers for the account you want to add, but once you provide that and complete the form, you’re done. Split Deposit will continue until you tell your employer otherwise.

With Split Deposit you’ll be well on the way to building a nest egg, be it for an emergency (because eventually the car will need repairs) or a dream vacation (because the world is opening up again) or whatever you like. And that’s a big step down the road toward financial independence.