Automating finances may not be as challenging as you may think. Automation is a buzzword, but when it comes to finance, it isn’t as hot of a topic. However, if done right, you can achieve your goals and develop a plan that lasts a lifetime, and without effort.
The innovative automation tools available today can have a big impact on your finances. The same algorithms and AI supported technology that enabled the ideation of self-driving cars is accessible for automating finances, like Botkeeper.com for example.
Imagine a financial bot delivering powerful results that can significantly change how you manage your money. From vendor payments to making more informed decisions with more accurate analytics in hand, automating your finances is more efficient and cost-effective than ever before.
But before we get into the “How,” let’s look at the benefits for you, as well as your business.
- You’ll get a clear picture of risks. By having everything automated and easily accessible, you can foresee potential expenses (risks) and mitigate them. This is especially helpful if you are a budding entrepreneur looking to build capital for a future business endeavor.
- You can expand your worth. With a budget set and automatic, you are able to save and/or invest more money to increase your overall net worth. Whether saving for retirement, or building a portfolio, automating finances is a must.
- You’re able to free up time. With finances on autopilot, you can divert your attention to other tasks. This is important, since there already isn’t enough time in the day, week, or month to get all you need to get done finished.
The key benefits of automating your finances are pretty clear. If you’re a business owner, there are plenty more benefits, such as more accurate metrics, better business projections, expansion, and more. Enough about benefits, let’s jump into how to do it right.
Set Up Your Automated Finance System
Before you can get your finances automated and moving in the right direction, you first need to put a system in place. This means opening accounts to make streamlining financial goals possible. First stop is protecting your accounts from overdraft fees.
This is one of those risk mitigation tactics you’ll need to implement. Your overdraft account is normally a checking account with roughly 30 percent of the total sum of all your outgoing payments.
Next is opening credit card accounts that serve up rewards on purchases. These rewards can be air miles or cash back on daily charges. You can earn up to 5 percent on your purchases if you find the right credit card accounts.
To simplify the system, aim for a credit card dedicated to auto expenses (gas, oil changes, repairs), one for grocery shopping, and one for leisure (weekend fun).
Set Up Personal Payments First
Once you have automated technologyin place, it’s time to focus on money out (payments). But before you start thinking about paying anyone, pay yourself. This doesn’t mean actually paying yourself, but more of a setting yourself up for achieving your goals.
When you receive payments, like your salary or client invoices, divert funds to your retirement account (savings), emergency fund, financial portfolio, and whatever other accounts you have in place to achieve long-term goals.
After you pay yourself, then think about the rest. This ensures your personal wealth is covered, because you never know when the next business idea or expansion opportunity will present itself. Be positioned to make funding decisions when it counts.
Automate Bills and Other Expenses
Automation is all about setting it and forgetting it. When automating your finances, look into automatic bill pay for everything. From rent to credit card payments, make it as if it doesn’t even exist.
You may be slightly worried or anxious about missed payments, but don’t be. That’s why you have the overdraft protection account in place. If your system is set up correctly, overdrafts will normally not be your fault, and you can get them overturned.
Have automatic pay set up for all utilities, credit card bills, debt (student loans), mortgage payments, cable and internet, and even your monthly magazine and newspaper subscriptions. You can even find clever ways to automate your rent.
Ready To Automate Your Finances?
There are a number of ways to reach your financial goals via automation. The initial few hours of getting everything organized and set up is well worth the weight lifted from your shoulders down the road. You can even go paperless to further distance finances from your mind. What financial automation tricks worked for you?
