Pay Yourself First: Just as a 401(k) plan puts money into your retirement plan directly out of your salary, you can set up an automaticinvestmentplan to move funds from your bank to an investment.
But remember, you need to be disciplined if you are going to forgo a 401(k) for an IRA--make sure you set up an automaticinvestmentplan for the Roth, something you can do through many mutual fund companies.