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Monthly credit card payments. So money flows from my employer to my checking account to my credit cards. Also of course to my 401K, IRA, Mortgage account, Savin

Monthly credit card payments. So money flows from my employer to my checking account to my credit cards. Also of course to my 401K, IRA, Mortgage account, Saving account etc. Which means I don't encounter money much and I like it this way (I generally make sure I live within my means and my money does flow into my investments). Downsides: -I'm not actively thinking about money and hence improved investments -I'm not monitoring credit card errors -Comcast gradually increased increased my bill from $44/mo to $103/mo without any resistance from my side

bubblebauble 8y ago
My credit card bill is paid every month by deducting from my checking, and the bank does this by default. I don't know why everyone wouldn't want this. Unless they're spending money they don't have. Interest is a sucker's game.
jedberg 8y ago
I do this for many years now. My one check is that when the credit bill comes (electronically) I sort it by size and check that at least all the big charges make sense. Also I have alerts on my cards for any charge over a few dollars.
ghaff 8y ago
Money-related matters are my primary automation as well. Especially with the fair bit of traveling I do, it largely eliminates something I'd have to keep an eye on and probably get a late fee from every now and then. Like you, it does mean I need to make mental notes to check into things every now and then so that there aren't charges I don't understand or investments that really seem out of whack. Pretty much the only other thing of note I do, besides have a lawn service, is some automated plant watering because of the aforementioned traveling. For this and other reasons my schedule is variable enough that none of the usual SmartHome stuff really does anything for me even if it solved problems I felt I had, which I don't other than some remote monitoring.
burkestar 8y ago
I started this right after college after reading "Automatic Millionaire" that advocates for "paying yourself first" and automating your finances. Money goes into checking then automated to online savings accounts, one account per purpose (xmas, vacation, kids college, kids sports, big ticket purchase), money goes to 401k/IRA, money goes to stock account. Only bill I need to remember to pay is credit card (although minimum payment is at least made so no late fees), everything else is automated. Only decisions I make are how to rebalance things if I overspend the money left over, which stocks to invest, and periodic rebalancing to make sure things are on track to reach long-term goals. The real savings is "saving me from myself" :)

bubblebauble 8y ago

My credit card bill is paid every month by deducting from my checking, and the bank does this by default. I don't know why everyone wouldn't want this. Unless they're spending money they don't have. Interest is a sucker's game.

jedberg 8y ago

I do this for many years now. My one check is that when the credit bill comes (electronically) I sort it by size and check that at least all the big charges make sense. Also I have alerts on my cards for any charge over a few dollars.

ghaff 8y ago

Money-related matters are my primary automation as well. Especially with the fair bit of traveling I do, it largely eliminates something I'd have to keep an eye on and probably get a late fee from every now and then. Like you, it does mean I need to make mental notes to check into things every now and then so that there aren't charges I don't understand or investments that really seem out of whack. Pretty much the only other thing of note I do, besides have a lawn service, is some automated plant watering because of the aforementioned traveling. For this and other reasons my schedule is variable enough that none of the usual SmartHome stuff really does anything for me even if it solved problems I felt I had, which I don't other than some remote monitoring.

burkestar 8y ago

I started this right after college after reading "Automatic Millionaire" that advocates for "paying yourself first" and automating your finances. Money goes into checking then automated to online savings accounts, one account per purpose (xmas, vacation, kids college, kids sports, big ticket purchase), money goes to 401k/IRA, money goes to stock account. Only bill I need to remember to pay is credit card (although minimum payment is at least made so no late fees), everything else is automated. Only decisions I make are how to rebalance things if I overspend the money left over, which stocks to invest, and periodic rebalancing to make sure things are on track to reach long-term goals. The real savings is "saving me from myself" :)