By BankingMyWay Staff

When it comes to saving, it pays to be smart and persistant.

In his March 24 press conference, President Barack Obama said he plans to be persistent in terms of his administration’s efforts to turn around the U.S. economy.  The same kind of commitment is necessary when working towards your own financial goals, especially those that involve a savings strategy. Time and discipline are some of the key components of a successful savings strategy, along with working toward appropriate goals.

If you are considering setting up a savings strategy, here are a few tips to get you started:

1. Choose a goal. It's a lot easier to set aside money when you know that it's intended for a specific purpose. Whether you are saving for a vacation, a new car or three months' worth of expenses in an emergency fund, knowing what each saved dollar is going toward can make it easier to stick with your savings plan. And setting specific goals when money is tight can help you to set priorities for your savings dollars -- you might decide to forgo setting aside money for that new set of golf clubs in order to keep saving enough in your emergency fund.

2. Choose an account. Once you have a savings goal in mind, it's important to choose an account that is appropriate for your needs -- usually a savings account or a money market account. The main differences between these two accounts are accessibility and the interest you earn on the account.

For example, you might want to put money you're setting aside for your entertainment budget into a savings account from U.S. Bank (Stock Quote: USB). The account offers a low interest rate of just 0.1%, but allows free, unlimited ATM withdrawals. However, a money market account from Bank of America (Stock Quote: BAC) offering a 1.19% interest rate on balances over  $5,000 -- and a limit of six transactions per month -- might be better suited for saving towards a new Ford (Stock Quote: F) Fusion hybrid.

By setting up multiple accounts, you can separate your savings goals and ensure that each account meets your needs appropriately. (Check out account offers from institutions near you.)

3. Start now. Even with a decent interest rate, saving money takes time, so it's important to get started as soon as possible. To see how procrastination can affect your savings goals, check out this calculator from BankingMyWay.com. And because you already have specific goals for that money, your delays carry a specific cost -- the longer you put off saving, the longer it will be before you can take that vacation.

— For more ways to save, spend, invest and borrow, visit MainStreet.com.