Automate Your Finances Before They Mess You Up!

By: Pauline Paquin

Have you ever summed up the time you spend writing and mailing checks every month? Been mad at yourself for forgetting to pay a bill, only to be charged a late fee? This means it’s time to automate your finances.

The process is fairly simple, and it will free up a few hours that you can put to much better use. Some companies will even offer you a discount if you pay your bills automatically since it saves them a bunch in processing fees.

Automation is the only way I can keep sane owning properties abroad. With my U.K. property, my tenants deposit rent automatically on the first of the month. Around the fifth, the mortgage, taxes, Homeowners Association fees, utilities, and broadband bills are debited automatically from my account. It only requires five minutes of my time every month to make sure everyone is paid and the bills are covered.

The only risk associated with automating your finances is the possibility of your account getting overdrawn by the charge.

Since you can pick the debit date, make sure it is shortly after payday so that this does not happen.

You can also ask your providers to charge your credit card and earn loyalty points. Just be sure to put your credit card on auto-pay so that the balance is paid in full each month.

In Guatemala, things are a little bit more complicated, as I need to log into my online banking and pay the bills manually. With a reference number, they look up my balance and debit my current account. Still much quicker than writing a check or having to go in person to pay the bills.

I also set up automated transfers to save and invest. My bank offers the option to automatically transfer any amount above a certain balance to a savings account. I send money to short-term savings — to cover things like travel and house maintenance — and to long-term savings, where I leave it until I need a big lump sum to buy a property or to invest. Last, some money is sent to an investing account, and the regular amounts are automatically invested in a few index funds, allowing for dollar-cost averaging.

It saves a lot of time, headaches, and spares me the nagging self-doubts that come with investing.

To finish reading this story and to read other stories about personal finance go to CentSai.com.