diff --git a/.vimrc b/.vimrc
index e4d0fef..61a9855 100644
--- a/.vimrc
+++ b/.vimrc
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ set backspace=indent,eol,start
 if has("vms")
   set nobackup		" do not keep a backup file, use versions instead
 else
+  " Attempt to create ~/.vim/tmp and ~/.vim/undo
+  silent !mkdir -p ~/.vim/{tmp,undo} > /dev/null 2>&1 
   set dir=~/.vim/tmp    " Set the swapfile location elsewhere to reduce breadcrumbs.
   set backup		" keep a backup file (restore to previous version)
   set backupdir=~/.vim/tmp " keep backup (.swp) files in a specific directory instead of the same dir as the file being edited