WEBVTT - Automating Your Finances FTW #161 0:00:00.040 --> 0:00:02.160 Welcome to How the Money. I'm Joel and I and 0:00:02.240 --> 0:00:26.720 Matt and today we're discussing automating your finances for the win. Automation, man, 0:00:26.760 --> 0:00:28.840 that's what we're talking about today. We're talking about how 0:00:29.160 --> 0:00:31.680 you can automate your money. But there are some downsides 0:00:31.720 --> 0:00:34.000 to that. There's obviously some benefits, but if you don't 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.040 do it the right way, there's gonna be some downside. 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:37.960 So we're gonna talk about how you can automate your 0:00:37.960 --> 0:00:41.199 money the right way. You don't want to automate improperly, man, 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:43.120 that would be a bad movie. Yeah, but you you 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:45.160 do want to automate to at least a certain extent 0:00:45.240 --> 0:00:47.599 because it's gonna help your finances out in the long run. 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:50.720 I want to say we recently talked about gamification and 0:00:50.880 --> 0:00:54.240 gamification and automation. It sounds like maybe they're a little similar, 0:00:54.600 --> 0:00:57.120 but there are some big differences, right, Like, Gamification is 0:00:57.120 --> 0:00:59.640 one thing. It's about making personal finance a little more fun, 0:01:00.040 --> 0:01:01.680 treating it a little more game like in order to 0:01:01.720 --> 0:01:04.520 get ahead. Automation is kind of the steps that you 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.479 take in order to get yourself out of the way 0:01:06.680 --> 0:01:08.360 so that you have to make fewer decisions. And you 0:01:08.400 --> 0:01:10.840 can still set yourself up for financial success and make 0:01:10.880 --> 0:01:13.040 it automatic. It's like a little it's like your thermostat 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:14.720 and you set out on auto. I don't go in 0:01:14.720 --> 0:01:16.640 there and change it. It does the work for me. 0:01:16.920 --> 0:01:20.120 I just know I wanted at a certain temperature. Yeah, yeah, exactly, Matt. 0:01:20.200 --> 0:01:22.520 Before we get to that topic, though, I wanted to 0:01:22.560 --> 0:01:25.320 get your opinion as a professional photographer. What's this note 0:01:25.360 --> 0:01:27.760 on here about like d I Y engagement shoot? So 0:01:27.840 --> 0:01:30.760 my friend Faith recently posted she got engaged, So congrats 0:01:30.840 --> 0:01:33.720 to Faith. Oh is this a business opportunity? I'm going 0:01:33.800 --> 0:01:35.320 to put that to you right here on the air. 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:37.240 Would you like to shoot her wedding? And will you 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.800 give her a discount? Thanks buddy. So I don't think 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:42.800 she's gonna hire you man, based on what she's done already. 0:01:42.840 --> 0:01:46.200 So she posted photos of her fiance and her on 0:01:46.360 --> 0:01:48.000 her Instagram the other day and she said that they 0:01:48.040 --> 0:01:51.120 did a d I Y engagement shoot session. So they 0:01:51.160 --> 0:01:54.440 set up her smartphone on a tripod, they pressed the 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:56.840 button ten seconds and then you know, they pose and 0:01:56.880 --> 0:01:59.040 they take the picture and the pictures turned out pretty good. 0:01:59.560 --> 0:02:01.680 So I just kind of wanted to get your take 0:02:02.080 --> 0:02:04.960 on whether people should be doing their own engagement photo shoots. 0:02:05.440 --> 0:02:07.160 What are your thoughts on that? First, Yeah, you probably 0:02:07.160 --> 0:02:08.800 think it's a great idea because you see that as 0:02:08.800 --> 0:02:10.320 a way to save money, right. I do think it's 0:02:10.320 --> 0:02:12.360 a great idea. I think it's a great idea. And 0:02:12.400 --> 0:02:15.280 I will say, when Emily and I got married got engaged, 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:17.560 my friend Tim's a photographer and I like him so 0:02:17.639 --> 0:02:19.040 much more than you, and that's why I had him 0:02:19.080 --> 0:02:20.960 take the pictures. Now, I'm just kidding. We we didn't 0:02:20.960 --> 0:02:22.320 really know each other about We didn't know each other 0:02:22.360 --> 0:02:24.720 at all, so but I know Tim and we've worked together, 0:02:25.160 --> 0:02:28.280 and Tim took a great some great engagement pictures for us, 0:02:28.360 --> 0:02:30.320 and because he's a friend, you know, it was all 0:02:30.480 --> 0:02:32.400 kind of included in this package whatever. But I think 0:02:32.440 --> 0:02:35.440 if you're shopping him out separately, an engagement session can 0:02:35.480 --> 0:02:40.760 cost hundreds of dollars and I think to be exact, okay, 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:43.480 at least for me, good to know. And yeah, if 0:02:43.760 --> 0:02:46.280 someone wants to say five bucks by doing it themselves, 0:02:46.480 --> 0:02:49.400 I mean, really, when I look back, I'm really glad 0:02:49.440 --> 0:02:52.960 that we paid good money for professional pictures for our wedding, 0:02:53.240 --> 0:02:56.880 But then engagement photo session those pictures just don't hold 0:02:56.960 --> 0:02:59.079 quite the same sentimental value to me. So I think 0:02:59.080 --> 0:03:01.560 it would have been okay just d I ying that 0:03:01.760 --> 0:03:04.040 and saving money. Like, I think that's a decent move 0:03:04.080 --> 0:03:05.919 for a lot of people to consider. So I will 0:03:05.919 --> 0:03:08.760 agree with you if you're somebody and you know that 0:03:08.880 --> 0:03:10.880 you just have a certain application of mind, right, Like 0:03:10.919 --> 0:03:12.680 if you know you just want a couple of solid 0:03:12.720 --> 0:03:15.640 shots for your wedding website, because of course you need 0:03:15.680 --> 0:03:17.359 you want to have some cute pictures of yourselves where 0:03:17.360 --> 0:03:20.160 you're not like at a brewery. Yeah, that's my life 0:03:20.160 --> 0:03:22.800 at least. So if you if you have the end 0:03:22.800 --> 0:03:23.959 in mind and you know that you just want a 0:03:23.960 --> 0:03:26.560 few shots, then I think that's perfectly fine. Here is 0:03:26.600 --> 0:03:29.240 the argument, you know, and this is me representing the 0:03:29.280 --> 0:03:33.400 wedding photography industry a little bit, but a lot of times, 0:03:33.520 --> 0:03:35.520 what you're doing when you have an engagement session is 0:03:35.520 --> 0:03:39.600 that you're actually practicing having your photos taken. So most 0:03:39.600 --> 0:03:42.400 people they're not used to having their pictures taken professionally, 0:03:42.720 --> 0:03:44.920 and so when you have an engagement shoot, you're basically 0:03:44.960 --> 0:03:46.680 getting a feel for what it's like being in front 0:03:46.720 --> 0:03:49.680 of the camera, and that's really important. Because if you 0:03:49.680 --> 0:03:51.040 have that out of the way, then on the wedding 0:03:51.120 --> 0:03:53.720 day you can be yourself and you're relaxed and you're 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.800 having fun, and then the photographer can take really good pictures. 0:03:57.360 --> 0:04:00.520 So that's the reason. I mean, that's an argument for it. Personally, 0:04:01.360 --> 0:04:03.320 Like I don't ever try to upsell any of my 0:04:03.360 --> 0:04:06.400 clients to get engagement photos done because I make less 0:04:07.360 --> 0:04:10.200 because like you know, yeah it's five bucks, but even still, 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.080 when you take into account all the time that goes 0:04:12.120 --> 0:04:15.480 into it, like emailing back and forth about outfits, locations, 0:04:15.920 --> 0:04:17.560 the time it takes to shoot, the time it takes 0:04:17.560 --> 0:04:19.919 to edit, there's still some bare minimums that you that 0:04:19.960 --> 0:04:21.880 you have to do whether you're shooting for seven hours 0:04:21.920 --> 0:04:24.120 or whether you're shooting just for an hour two hours 0:04:24.120 --> 0:04:27.560 for an engagement shoot, and I actually make significantly less 0:04:28.120 --> 0:04:31.359 on my engagement is hourly rate is way less on 0:04:31.400 --> 0:04:33.560 engagement sessions, and so I don't try to upsell my 0:04:33.600 --> 0:04:37.040 clients at all, but obviously if they're you know, they 0:04:37.040 --> 0:04:39.120 show any interest in that, I'm more than happy to 0:04:39.160 --> 0:04:40.839 do that because it's a great way for us to 0:04:41.240 --> 0:04:43.720 get to know each other prior to the wedding. So 0:04:44.279 --> 0:04:45.640 if you know, you just want a couple of great 0:04:45.640 --> 0:04:48.919 shots for something specific, like like a site or maybe 0:04:48.920 --> 0:04:50.280 for a save of the day. I think it's great. 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:54.000 I think what it comes down to is that engagement 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:55.960 shoots have become kind of this normal thing, and I 0:04:56.000 --> 0:04:57.560 don't know that they were normal back in the day. 0:04:57.560 --> 0:04:58.960 I don't think they were. I think they've kind of 0:04:59.000 --> 0:05:01.240 become normal, and I think it's important for all of 0:05:01.279 --> 0:05:05.120 us to question would have become quote unquote normal expenses 0:05:05.480 --> 0:05:08.440 things that everyone around he does without thinking about it. Well, 0:05:08.520 --> 0:05:10.680 you know what, it's stuff that we can think about 0:05:10.920 --> 0:05:13.920 and we can make a different decision. And the things 0:05:13.920 --> 0:05:15.960 that everyone around us is doing, we don't have to 0:05:16.520 --> 0:05:18.520 take the bait. We don't have to go in that direction. 0:05:18.880 --> 0:05:21.400 It was refreshing, I think to see her post, to 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:23.680 see that they took these cute pictures on their own 0:05:24.040 --> 0:05:25.680 and it didn't have to be this big thing and 0:05:25.720 --> 0:05:28.040 it didn't have to cost five bucks. And you know what. 0:05:28.160 --> 0:05:31.119 The interesting thing too, the stats bear out that people 0:05:31.160 --> 0:05:35.039 that spend less on their wedding actually typically stay together longer. 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:37.800 So sometimes the more you spend, the bigger a production 0:05:37.839 --> 0:05:40.680 your wedding is, the more likely the relationship is to suffer. 0:05:40.720 --> 0:05:42.880 So I don't know what that says about people, but 0:05:43.080 --> 0:05:45.480 I think questioning these normal expenses, making sure that we're 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:47.279 kind of marching to our own beat and not just 0:05:47.360 --> 0:05:50.080 going in the direction that most of society is going, 0:05:50.120 --> 0:05:51.800 I think that's just that's just a good thing to 0:05:51.800 --> 0:05:54.200 think about, right, It's always good to not be a 0:05:54.200 --> 0:05:58.080 mindless drone. So, and I will say too, if you 0:05:58.120 --> 0:06:01.000 don't have a professional engagement shoot, you can still have 0:06:01.040 --> 0:06:03.440 amazing wedding photos. Like I'm not saying that you must 0:06:03.480 --> 0:06:06.960 do that in order to have amazing, true, honest, emotion 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.480 filled wedding photos, but it does help a little bit. 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.800 So all right, I'm on the fence there because I can. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.479 I'm totally with you from on like the frugal, you know, 0:06:15.720 --> 0:06:18.359 cost saving standpoint, because that's totally something that Kate and 0:06:18.360 --> 0:06:20.039 I did but way back in the day as well. 0:06:20.360 --> 0:06:21.840 But then obviously on my side of it, as a 0:06:21.839 --> 0:06:23.880 professional photographer, I see that side of it as well. 0:06:23.920 --> 0:06:25.480 So yeah, all right, well I had to get your 0:06:25.640 --> 0:06:28.320 little torn here and had to get your opinion on it. 0:06:28.360 --> 0:06:29.760 All right, let's mention the beer we're having on the 0:06:29.760 --> 0:06:32.599 show today, Matt. Today we're drinking a Legion day Glow 0:06:32.720 --> 0:06:35.360 I p A and this was generously donated to us 0:06:35.360 --> 0:06:37.800 by listener Joe Man. First off, I'll say this is 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:41.000 one rad can and look forward to sharing this one 0:06:41.000 --> 0:06:42.960 with you, and we'll talk about it at the end 0:06:43.000 --> 0:06:45.279 of this episode. But let's go ahead and get to 0:06:45.279 --> 0:06:47.560 the topic at hand. I beat you to your line, 0:06:48.040 --> 0:06:51.040 automating your finances for the win. Let's talk about it, Matt, 0:06:51.279 --> 0:06:53.440 all right. And when I first started thinking about this topic, 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:55.920 I've really excited to tackle it. It made me think 0:06:55.920 --> 0:06:59.080 of Henry Ford and he started manufacturing cars at a 0:06:59.200 --> 0:07:02.960 rapid pace because he pretty much invented the assembly line, 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.960 and that completely changed the game when it came to 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:09.000 car manufacturing. Before he did that, it took twelve hours 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:11.400 to make a car and afterwards just two and a half. 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:14.480 And now our good pal Elon musk Man, he's changing 0:07:14.520 --> 0:07:17.880 the game even more. Yeah, first name based friends, Yeah, 0:07:18.040 --> 0:07:22.119 his first name, that's what I call him, right of course. 0:07:22.400 --> 0:07:25.920 And he's nearing his goal of a fully autonomated assembly 0:07:25.920 --> 0:07:29.200 line process. I think on the Model three, the assembly 0:07:29.200 --> 0:07:32.280 line is completely automated, no humans involved in the process 0:07:32.280 --> 0:07:34.800 of creating the car at all. That is actually pretty awesome. Yeah, 0:07:34.800 --> 0:07:37.600 and it's gonna be interesting to see how that continues 0:07:37.600 --> 0:07:41.480 to progress. But automation can aid speed, it can lower costs, 0:07:41.640 --> 0:07:44.600 and it can create more reliable systems in general, So 0:07:44.960 --> 0:07:48.640 automating your finances can have a similar effect. Getting good 0:07:48.680 --> 0:07:51.160 at handling your money won't magically happen. You have to 0:07:51.200 --> 0:07:55.080 take action and repeatedly making smart money moves. Well, that's 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:57.560 kind of hard for all of us. It's easy for 0:07:57.640 --> 0:07:59.520 us to forget or just get playing lazy when it 0:07:59.520 --> 0:08:02.040 comes to doing the right thing with our funds. And 0:08:02.080 --> 0:08:04.160 that's really where automation comes in, right man. I mean 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:07.120 it helps us to engineer money success instead of just 0:08:07.320 --> 0:08:10.360 kind of hoping and praying that will happen to us 0:08:10.720 --> 0:08:12.960 or that will continually be able to muster the willpower 0:08:13.160 --> 0:08:15.240 to make it happen on our own. Yeah. Well, you 0:08:15.240 --> 0:08:17.320 know you said engineering, and that I think that's the 0:08:17.520 --> 0:08:20.360 perfect term, right, because what we're doing is we're planning, 0:08:20.360 --> 0:08:23.240 we're creating, and we're like managing these money systems, and 0:08:23.280 --> 0:08:25.760 that's part of what automation is all about. But the 0:08:25.800 --> 0:08:28.360 reason for automation and the reason that it's so helpful 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.400 is because we live ever increasingly busy in complex lives, right, 0:08:32.440 --> 0:08:35.360 and our money. It's no different between the different bank 0:08:35.400 --> 0:08:38.400 accounts that we have, multiple credit cards, the different debt 0:08:38.440 --> 0:08:42.120 obligations we have, and even just new payment platforms I'm 0:08:42.120 --> 0:08:44.120 thinking of like Venmo and cash app, just keeping up 0:08:44.160 --> 0:08:46.439 with your money and there as well, and who owes 0:08:46.480 --> 0:08:49.040 you what for what drinks and what restaurant? Right, all 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.000 these things combined, it can be difficult for us to 0:08:51.040 --> 0:08:53.360 take action on a consistent basis that will have a 0:08:53.400 --> 0:08:56.840 long lasting effect on our personal finances. And the keyword 0:08:56.880 --> 0:08:59.839 here is consistent, right, Because at the beginning of the year, 0:09:00.040 --> 0:09:02.680 with the different resolutions we've made, it might be a 0:09:02.720 --> 0:09:05.120 bit easier to stock away a little more money towards 0:09:05.120 --> 0:09:08.720 our savings, towards investing. But guess what, come April or May, 0:09:08.880 --> 0:09:11.480 a lot of us have lost that enthusiasm and so 0:09:11.559 --> 0:09:15.000 that consistent action has gone out the window. Automation it's 0:09:15.160 --> 0:09:17.839 majorly helpful when we lack that motivation. I don't know 0:09:17.840 --> 0:09:19.560 if you ever thought this map, but sometimes I'll hear 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:21.240 like a motivational speaker or something like that, and like, 0:09:21.240 --> 0:09:23.400 where do they get this energy? They might they always 0:09:23.440 --> 0:09:25.600 like that, right exactly and I know that they're not 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:27.400 because none of us can be like, none of us 0:09:27.440 --> 0:09:30.600 can be that pumped up, forn like going through our 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:32.560 lives that pumped up, and so all of us are 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:34.440 going to lack the motivation at one time or another. 0:09:34.640 --> 0:09:36.520 And that's where automation kicks in, right, and it has 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:40.200 a really big benefit. But automation also has some downsides. 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:42.480 And so before we kind of get into the benefits 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:44.960 and then how you should kind of go about implementing 0:09:45.000 --> 0:09:48.679 automation into your personal finances so that you can succeed 0:09:48.760 --> 0:09:50.880 with money this year, well we need to at least 0:09:50.960 --> 0:09:54.000 cover some of those downsides first. It's really it's just 0:09:54.080 --> 0:09:56.240 not a magic pill. It's not a cure all. So, 0:09:56.280 --> 0:09:57.960 like a lot of different things we talked about on 0:09:58.000 --> 0:10:00.800 the podcast, automation is this tool that we want to 0:10:00.840 --> 0:10:03.640 implement and use in a way that will benefit our money. 0:10:03.640 --> 0:10:07.360 But but the biggest benefit of automation is actually also 0:10:07.480 --> 0:10:10.840 its biggest downfall. When we automate our personal finances, we 0:10:10.880 --> 0:10:13.440 tend not to think about those things anymore, and putting 0:10:13.480 --> 0:10:16.600 that distance between our mind and our money can be 0:10:16.640 --> 0:10:19.559 a bad thing because we've essentially removed it from our 0:10:19.559 --> 0:10:22.720 minds would we automate. We tend to say that's done, 0:10:23.040 --> 0:10:25.440 and I don't have to even worry about it anymore. 0:10:25.480 --> 0:10:27.440 And that's just not the case right there. There's still 0:10:27.480 --> 0:10:29.480 a lot of intentionality and thought that needs to go 0:10:29.559 --> 0:10:32.120 into how we handle our money, even if we're doing 0:10:32.120 --> 0:10:34.559 well at automating. Yeah, exactly, I mean, well, that's exactly 0:10:34.640 --> 0:10:37.360 what happens. Like when you automate something, you don't think 0:10:37.360 --> 0:10:39.880 about it nearly as much. That makes me think of 0:10:40.080 --> 0:10:42.440 the cruise control, like setting the cruise control on your car. 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:44.880 You set it and you forget it, Like it's not 0:10:44.960 --> 0:10:47.000 something I continually think about how fast am I going? 0:10:47.040 --> 0:10:48.800 Because I know I can trust the cruise control that 0:10:48.840 --> 0:10:51.000 allows me to listen to podcasts or talk to my wife. 0:10:51.400 --> 0:10:53.400 Your speed is not gonna change. You can count on 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:56.559 your cruise control. But the same thing isn't exactly true 0:10:56.720 --> 0:10:58.920 when we automate our money. When it comes to our 0:10:58.920 --> 0:11:02.280 personal finances, auto nation doesn't mean ignoring it right, not 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:05.280 looking at your bills and statements. Some people treat automation 0:11:05.320 --> 0:11:08.720 this way. But automation won't keep you from these recurring 0:11:08.720 --> 0:11:11.000 monthly expenses in your credit card. You still need to 0:11:11.000 --> 0:11:13.280 look at your statements, or you need to check mint 0:11:13.559 --> 0:11:16.240 so that you can keep tabs on where your finances 0:11:16.240 --> 0:11:20.240 are and slash spending where it's needed. Especially considering this 0:11:20.320 --> 0:11:21.840 day and age that we live in, with I D 0:11:21.920 --> 0:11:24.280 theft and with your credit card numbers floating out there, 0:11:24.360 --> 0:11:26.360 you need to know what your expenses are. You need 0:11:26.400 --> 0:11:28.360 to be able to keep tabs on your incoming and 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.720 outgoing money. Yeah, just because you've got your credit card 0:11:31.760 --> 0:11:33.760 set up on auto pay, you know, for for the 0:11:33.800 --> 0:11:35.719 full balance, Well, that doesn't mean that you don't have 0:11:35.800 --> 0:11:37.920 to pay attention to what you're putting on that credit card, 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:41.040 right to the spending that you're actually making. And automation 0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.760 can be really big for in particular saving and investing. 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.319 But let's talk about our expenses. Do we really want 0:11:47.320 --> 0:11:49.560 our expenses to be automated? And we'll get into more 0:11:49.640 --> 0:11:51.640 of this a little bit later in the show too, 0:11:51.880 --> 0:11:54.520 but I just want to pull this example out, Matt. 0:11:54.640 --> 0:11:57.920 My utility bills every single month, I'm really intentional about 0:11:58.000 --> 0:12:00.560 opening up the email with how much I've spent on 0:12:00.720 --> 0:12:04.640 water usage or natural gas usage or electricity usage. I 0:12:04.679 --> 0:12:06.800 want to know exactly how much I'm spending every month, 0:12:07.120 --> 0:12:09.240 I like to look those utility bills in the face 0:12:09.679 --> 0:12:12.760 and then I pay that bill. I think it's okay 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.080 to automate some of these bill payments, but it doesn't 0:12:15.120 --> 0:12:17.720 mean you shouldn't look at them before you pay. I 0:12:17.720 --> 0:12:19.400 think looking at your bills in the face is a 0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:22.640 powerful thing that can actually be a challenge for us 0:12:22.720 --> 0:12:26.000 to use less or to spend less. And and I 0:12:26.040 --> 0:12:29.480 think sometimes when we automate, like you said, it feels 0:12:29.480 --> 0:12:31.920 like hitting the cruise control button and we decide not 0:12:32.000 --> 0:12:34.000 to pay attention in the way that we used to. 0:12:34.280 --> 0:12:36.520 But I think we still have to pay particular attention 0:12:36.600 --> 0:12:38.840 to our expenditures and how much the bills are that 0:12:38.880 --> 0:12:41.000 are coming in every month, because that can help us 0:12:41.040 --> 0:12:43.920 make necessary changes to be able to save more and 0:12:43.960 --> 0:12:47.880 automate more of that money away towards our investments and savings. Yeah, man, 0:12:47.920 --> 0:12:50.480 well so far right. We're talking about expenses and and 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.959 bill pay things like that. But you just mentioned being 0:12:52.960 --> 0:12:55.720 able to save more money, and that's so true, because 0:12:55.880 --> 0:12:58.240 that's something we need to consider saving and investing. I 0:12:58.240 --> 0:13:00.800 think when it comes to automation that it also cause 0:13:00.920 --> 0:13:03.480 you to forget to increase your four oh one K 0:13:03.679 --> 0:13:05.960 contribution when it comes to the amount of money that 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:08.640 you're investing in your retirement. Right, just like with our 0:13:08.880 --> 0:13:11.680 other with our different monthly utility bills, when we set 0:13:11.679 --> 0:13:14.440 it and forget it, we might fail to challenge ourselves 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:17.320 to do better to increase the amount that we're setting. Aside, Joel, 0:13:17.360 --> 0:13:19.800 you recently talked about with gamification, when you go in 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:22.200 there and you increase that percentage, the confetti flies, the 0:13:22.200 --> 0:13:24.880 banner goes across the screen. Not only are you missing 0:13:24.920 --> 0:13:28.280 out on that little, small, tangible reward, but but we're 0:13:28.280 --> 0:13:30.319 missing out on lots of money down the road when 0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:31.839 we fail to sit down and look at our money 0:13:31.960 --> 0:13:34.040 and to see what kind of shape our personal finances 0:13:34.080 --> 0:13:36.040 are in. Well, I will say a beautiful thing. More 0:13:36.040 --> 0:13:38.800 and more employers are offering four oh one K accounts 0:13:38.840 --> 0:13:42.960 that automatically increase your contribution level every year when you 0:13:42.960 --> 0:13:45.360 get a raised and so I think that's really really nice. 0:13:45.520 --> 0:13:47.400 That's another thing that we don't have to think about. 0:13:47.440 --> 0:13:49.840 But it is happening, right. But if your employer isn't 0:13:49.880 --> 0:13:53.600 doing that, I agree your automation maybe setting it and 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:56.600 forgetting it, getting that employer match you're putting in six 0:13:56.640 --> 0:13:58.760 and your employers putting in three you know, whatever your 0:13:58.800 --> 0:14:01.880 employer matches. If you're hitting that, you might just forget 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:04.679 every year to add a little bit more So having 0:14:04.720 --> 0:14:07.760 that automated six percent withdraw from your paycheck, that's great, 0:14:08.040 --> 0:14:09.920 but you do want to challenge yourself to step that 0:14:10.000 --> 0:14:13.160 up over the years, and automation can actually be that 0:14:13.280 --> 0:14:15.880 kind of detractor because you're not thinking about it. So 0:14:15.920 --> 0:14:18.839 I think the key to not letting automation turn into 0:14:19.040 --> 0:14:23.200 something like apathy is to help set calendar reminders. For instance, 0:14:23.240 --> 0:14:25.000 like maybe twice a year, you can look at the 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:28.120 automation choices you've made and you can see if those 0:14:28.160 --> 0:14:31.240 allocations need to change or improof. If you find that 0:14:31.320 --> 0:14:34.040 you have this tendency to set it and forget it, well, 0:14:34.080 --> 0:14:36.440 now is a great time to kind of populate a 0:14:36.440 --> 0:14:39.640 couple of these times in your calendar for you know, 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.400 the next twelve months where you are going to revisit 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.800 the savings and investing choices that you have currently automated 0:14:46.120 --> 0:14:48.360 so that you can potentially increase or improve you know, 0:14:48.400 --> 0:14:50.800 those financial choices that you're making. All right, man, so 0:14:50.800 --> 0:14:52.960 so far, it sounds like we're kind of down on automation, 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:54.840 but we're not, but we're not exactly, and we're gonna 0:14:54.880 --> 0:14:56.880 get to that right after the break. We're gonna talk 0:14:56.920 --> 0:14:59.680 about some of the actual benefits of automation, some of 0:14:59.680 --> 0:15:01.600 the mob us but some of them not so obvious. 0:15:11.440 --> 0:15:13.040 All right, Matt, we're back from the break. We're talking 0:15:13.040 --> 0:15:16.040 about automation, how it can be a big win for 0:15:16.080 --> 0:15:19.880 your finances and especially you know New Year resolutions, you 0:15:19.920 --> 0:15:24.080 know what, are resolved to increase your automation skills and 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:26.280 to make it we'll make it a whole lot easier 0:15:26.320 --> 0:15:28.600 for you to save money for the future. Right, and 0:15:28.640 --> 0:15:30.640 so let's talk about some of those benefits. Because we 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:32.880 were not down on automation, we really love it. The 0:15:32.920 --> 0:15:35.920 biggest benefits that you're going to receive from automating your 0:15:36.240 --> 0:15:40.720 finances our behavioral in nature. Automation's main goal is in 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.760 getting us out of our own way. So if we 0:15:43.800 --> 0:15:46.720 see money hanging out in our account, it's really easy 0:15:46.760 --> 0:15:49.000 for us to spend it, and automation can be one 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:51.600 of the main keys to help prevent us from messing 0:15:51.600 --> 0:15:54.880 ourselves up. Right, Matt, Dude, we're not perfect, right like you. 0:15:54.880 --> 0:15:57.040 You're talking about the motivational speaker there earlier how they 0:15:57.080 --> 0:16:00.680 have like boundless energy. I think sometimes folks my falsely 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:03.200 think that we make all the perfect decisions when it 0:16:03.240 --> 0:16:06.120 comes to our money. But like you said, sometimes when 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:07.880 I see money in my account, I want to spend 0:16:07.880 --> 0:16:10.640 it because, like, I worked hard for that money, and 0:16:10.760 --> 0:16:13.400 I think I deserve something completely man easy to justify. 0:16:13.440 --> 0:16:15.520 I have those treat myself days that where I think 0:16:15.640 --> 0:16:18.240 I deserve something and sometimes I act. And that's why 0:16:18.320 --> 0:16:21.080 I need automation in my life to help me make 0:16:21.120 --> 0:16:23.880 sure I'm funneling money in the proper directions for my 0:16:23.920 --> 0:16:27.440 greater goals exactly so because of that, automation can be fantastic. 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.920 One of the biggest benefits that I think everybody can 0:16:29.960 --> 0:16:32.560 easily relate to is the fact that automation will say 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:36.000 of us time, right, like, who likes spending nights and 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:39.880 weekends budgeting? Not this guy? Sometimes I do, though I'm 0:16:39.880 --> 0:16:43.520 going to confess I am I am, I love excel 0:16:43.600 --> 0:16:45.280 I like I like to see that zero at the 0:16:45.360 --> 0:16:47.680 end where it's all balanced out. But we have to 0:16:47.720 --> 0:16:50.080 spend some time working on our money and deciding where 0:16:50.080 --> 0:16:52.040 it goes. But the more that we and I'll you know, 0:16:52.080 --> 0:16:55.040 I'll say I as well that I can automatically funnel 0:16:55.040 --> 0:16:57.720 that money into the desired places. The more time we'll 0:16:57.720 --> 0:17:00.120 have to do other more fun things like more are 0:17:00.200 --> 0:17:03.040 meaningful things as well. You're talking about discolf, right yeah, 0:17:03.160 --> 0:17:05.480 or like more admirable things that was on the podcast, 0:17:05.480 --> 0:17:08.320 like spend with my family. I'm gonna go with discolf 0:17:08.680 --> 0:17:11.320 do it for the kids, so yeah, I think. Yeah, 0:17:11.359 --> 0:17:14.480 automating that's one of the biggest benefits, right, more time 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:16.520 to do the things that you actually want to do, 0:17:16.880 --> 0:17:19.280 like spend time with your family or play discoff And 0:17:19.320 --> 0:17:23.679 then another thing. Automation truly does help increase your mental bandwidth. 0:17:24.000 --> 0:17:27.280 We live these complicated lives right and in general and 0:17:27.359 --> 0:17:29.520 just overall, and then financially too. I feel like our 0:17:29.560 --> 0:17:33.000 financial system has gotten so complex, there's so much intricacy 0:17:33.040 --> 0:17:36.000 to it. And not only does automating save you that time, 0:17:36.000 --> 0:17:38.640 but it means that less of your mental faculties are 0:17:38.720 --> 0:17:42.200 tied up thinking about money on the leg, so crushing 0:17:42.240 --> 0:17:45.160 your money game while thinking about it less that's say, 0:17:45.200 --> 0:17:47.080 plus that's what you want. You don't want that your 0:17:47.119 --> 0:17:50.120 brain resources tied up, you know, thinking about money all 0:17:50.119 --> 0:17:53.159 the time in the background, sucking up that energy. Do 0:17:53.160 --> 0:17:54.800 you want to know that you've made the right choices 0:17:54.840 --> 0:17:57.520 and you've automated them so that you can spend less 0:17:57.560 --> 0:18:00.240 of your mental resources thinking about where that money has 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:02.160 to go. Yeah, it makes me think of so our 0:18:02.320 --> 0:18:05.320 interview recently with Vincent right, he talked about how when 0:18:05.320 --> 0:18:08.760 you have money freedom, you have mental freedom. And when 0:18:08.800 --> 0:18:10.479 you have mental freedom and you have a little bit 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:13.240 of space for your mind to like daydream and wander 0:18:13.240 --> 0:18:15.760 a little bit, like, that's when we get creative. And 0:18:15.800 --> 0:18:18.000 sometimes that's when we have the best money saving or 0:18:18.040 --> 0:18:21.600 even the money making ideas. And if all that mental 0:18:21.640 --> 0:18:24.200