If there’s one thing that millionaires all do (and yes, I pretty much mean them ALL), it’s automation. You hear me talking about that a lot.
But, how does financial automation work?
Well, consider this. Do you know how autopilot works in an airplane?
Here’s the gist:
The human pilot manually brings the plane up to cruising altitude, then autopilot goes to work, keeping the plane on track toward its destination.
The human pilot takes over again on approach and landing.
That means the human pilots get to just sit there and relax when the plane is in the air, bolting toward its destination city.
They get to shoot the shit. Do whatever pilots do in the cockpit when they aren’t hands-on.
That’s exactly how financial automation works, too.
You get your finances up to cruising altitude by earning income, using your employer’s payroll system to fund your 401(k), use bank transfers to fund your brokerage accounts, build an e-fund, etc.
Then, you get to shoot the shit too.
Once set up, you’ll fly straight to your destination without having to lift a finger when it comes to saving and investing.
You’ll take over again when you want to sell or make any changes.
It’s great. Because I hate relying on ME to make sure money gets to where it needs to go. I’d rather systems do it for me.
Welcome to financial automation.
There are five primary ways to put your finances on auto-pilot.
👉 Use automatic bill pay: Automate bill payments for recurring expenses such as rent, utilities, and cell phone bills. Not only does this make it easy, but it also makes it virtually impossible to miss a payment and incur fees.
👉 Schedule automatic savings: Set up automatic transfers to your savings account each month or each paycheck to ensure you are saving consistently. I used this method a lot when I worked my full-time job.
👉 Use a budgeting app: Budgeting apps can help you track your spending and automate categorization of your expenses. Check out services like Personal Capital, Mint and You Need A Budget.
👉 Use payroll deductions: Use your employer’s payroll system to automatically invest in a 401(k) or Roth IRA every paycheck to make investing easy. Set it up once and never worry about it again.
👉 Use automatic tax filing: Some tax filing software can automatically import your tax forms and file your taxes for you, simplifying the process. I used to live on Turbo Tax until things got a little too complicated for it.
Just remember to always keep a close eye on your finances, and don’t rely solely on technology to manage your money.
For instance, always check your monthly statements (especially your credit card!). Companies make mistakes all the time and you don’t want to pay more just because you didn’t check your monthly statements!
When you automate finances, you eliminate the possibility of human error. This means that you won’t forget to make a payment or transfer funds.
Automating your finances also means that you won’t have to spend time manually making payments, transferring funds, or balancing your checkbook, which is something that my wife and I hate doing.
Like, ultra hardcore hate.
It ensures your bills are paid on-time, every time. And that will help improve your credit and save you money paying late fees.
