Rule 7 of 19 · Chapter II — Pay Yourself First
Automate the good decisions
Why this rule exists
Every good money habit that depends on remembering will eventually fail, because you are human and life is busy. Willpower is a terrible retirement plan. Automation moves the good decisions out of your hands and into a system that does not get tired, distracted, or tempted. Transfers that happen on their own, bills that pay themselves, contributions that rise on a schedule, each one is a decision you make once and then never have to make again. The best financial system is the one that runs whether or not you are paying attention.
In practice
Set up automatic transfers to savings and investments timed to the day after payday. Put predictable bills on autopay to avoid late fees, but keep a light eye on them so an error does not slip through. Where your plan allows, automate small annual increases to what you save, so your saving rate climbs without a yearly act of resolve. Then check the whole machine every few months. Automation is powerful precisely because it keeps running, which is also why a wrong setting can run for a long time unnoticed.
When it doesn't apply
Automation assumes a reliable cushion. If your balance runs close to zero, an automatic transfer can trigger overdraft fees that cost more than the habit saves, so build a small buffer first. And never automate so thoroughly that you stop looking. Set it, but do not forget it.