Automate Your Finances

Life can be complicated. Even with the best of intentions, we become busy and sometimes things slip. When it comes to your finances, letting things slip can be costly.

To prevent late fees, interest, etc. automate as much as you can. Many times you can use a free online bill pay system from your bank. Many companies allow you to register a credit card to charge the balance to (just make sure you pay off that credit card every month). Variable expenses, like the electric bill, can be automated by figuring out what the average over the last year is, round it up to the nearest $5 and then automate paying that (wait until the bill is less than the average to start paying the average).

You can also automate your savings. Many banks have free, regular transfers. Set up an account for a rainy day and have it automatically pull money from your checking account each month (right after payday). Set one up for college funds, new car, etc. Whatever you know you are going to have to save up for.

Make life simpler and automate everything you can. What else have you found to automate?