If you are trying to save money and reduce the amount of time you spend managing your finances automating certain tasks can help.

There are several benefits to automating your finances. Your bills will always be paid on time, which in turn eliminates late fees and protects your credit score. If you are not always consistent with saving money, you can automatically transfer a set amount per week or month to a savings and retirement account.

Set Up Direct Deposit

If you’re still receiving paper checks from your employer, set up direct deposit so your pay will be automatically deposited into your bank account eliminating the risk of losing a check and you will not have to visit the bank or use a mobile app to make a deposit.

Schedule Automatic Credit Card Payments

Credit cards are a great tool to build credit and earn cash back and reward points, but you must pay the bill on time and in full to avoid paying late fees and interest charges. You will still need to account for each charge and not overspend. Use your credit card like you would cash, if you don’t have the money to pay in full don’t charge it.

Use Automatic Bill Pay

Setup autopay on all your monthly bills, utilities, house payment, rent, car loans, streaming services, phone bills etc. All of this can be done online, and you can log into your accounts regularly to monitor them and make any changes. Sign up for paperless statements so that you no longer receive those in the mail but instead receive them digitally. This cuts down on paper clutter and helps to prevent identity theft. Theft from mailboxes is a problem so reducing the amount of mail you receive is a smart move.

Automate Savings

Automate savings so that you are putting money into an emergency account and other savings account each month, it can be tempting to skip a month or spend the money on something else. When it is automated that temptation is removed. This is also useful if you are saving money for a specific reason such as a vacation, Christmas fund, wedding or graduation party.

 Accelerate Debt Pay Off

If you are working to pay off debt, house, car, student loans, etc. you can speed up the process by making extra payments each month. For example, maybe you want to pay off your car loan early to save on interest, you can setup an automatic payment beyond your required monthly payment. When you commit to the automatic extra payment you won’t be tempted to skip it. This can be done by making an extra payment or just scheduling your normal payment to be larger than the minimal required amount.

Saving for Retirement

If your employer offers a retirement package be sure to participate, many offer a match which is free money. A percentage of your pay will be automatically deposited into the account. If your employer does not offer a retirement package open an individual retirement account (IRA) and transfer a percentage of your income into the account each month.

Set Up Alerts

To feel more in control after setting up autopay you can setup alerts so that your bank notifies you if your balance falls below a certain limit and opt in for reminders, so you know when an automatic payment is scheduled to take place. You can do this with your utility companies and others as well so that you are notified when a payment has been processed and when your account statements are available online.

Pre-Pay

Some bills can be pre-paid for the year, some insurance providers, mobile phone providers, Amazon Prime, streaming services, magazine and newspaper subscriptions, property taxes, and gym memberships offer discounts if paid in advance.