Now that it’s the time of year when people usually make NewYear’s resolutions, one to plan on making is to increase how muchthey’re saving for retirement.

But, since many New Year’s resolutions tend to be broken beforethe hangover wears off on January 2, Charles Schwab has offered some suggestions toavoid that happening to a retirement savings resolution, includingsome mental tricks that can bolster your resolve.

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The first, and possibly most important, is to be sure you’reenrolled in your workplace’s 401(k) plan.

If not, you could be missing out on matching employerfunds—something you might be doing even if you’re enrolled butaren’t contributing at a high enough rate to take advantage ofit.

Those matching funds are so important that you should put themaximum contribution ahead of other financial goals, such as payingoff credit cards or loans.

That could be a hard sell, but the mental trick to convinceyourself to take this action, according to Catherine Golladay,Schwab’s senior vice president for 401(k) participant services andadministration, is in how you look at the return on thisinvestment.

“Think of it like this,” Golladay said in a statement: “a 50percent match from your company is like earning 50 percent on themoney you contribute. That kind of return certainly offsets eventhe highest credit card interest rate.”

Then there’s the matter of being sure you’re saving enough for acomfortable retirement.

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Since only 43 percent of workers even know how much that is—mostpeople have a better idea of what their blood pressure or creditscore should be—the odds are that you’re not saving enough.

So plan on boosting contributions. You can take baby steps, ifyou have to; add 1 percent every year, or every time you get araise or a promotion. But keep going, and if possible, get thatcontribution rate maxed out as soon as you can.

The government currently allows a maximum annual contribution of$18,000, plus an extra $6,000 in catch-up contributions if you’re50 or older—and that’s without employer matching funds.

While that sounds like a tall order, remember that this ispretax money, which means that it’s not going to affect yourtake-home pay all that much.

And it can really add up, too; Golladay pointed out, “[S]avingjust 2 percent more over a 35-year career could mean an extra$148,000 at retirement—but it would only reduce that biweeklypaycheck by $16.” Would you rather give that money to your futureself, or to the IRS?

Lastly, plan to automate your savings.

If your retirement plan allows you to automatically increaseyour contributions by a certain percentage at a certain time everyyear, go for it. If you “set it and forget it,” you won’t have toworry about whether your savings rate is rising.

And you’ll be really glad you did when you finally reachretirement.