Direct Deposit, Auto Savings & Autopay - Why You Should Automate Your Finances

Let’s face it, life can get busy. When dealing the demands of school, work, family, friends, and your physical and mental health, there is very little time left for anything else. And sometimes important things fall through the cracks – like managing your finances. Fortunately, you can ensure nearly all your finances are taken care each month by automating them. This article explains how you can automate your finances and the benefits of doing so.

What does it mean to automate your finances?

Automating your finances means you set up your accounts so that all your bills, including your savings deposits, are paid each month without you having to do so manually.

Which aspects of your finances can you automate?

Nearly all aspects of your finances can be automated. First, you can have your paychecks direct deposited into your checking account. Then, you can set up automatic transfers directly to your savings and/or retirement accounts. After that, you can schedule recurring payments to pay your bills online. Some of the most common bills set to autopay include rent, utilities, credit cards, car loans, cell phones and insurance premiums. You can even set up automatic fraud alerts to notify you of any suspicious activity on your accounts.

What are the benefits of automating your finances?

There are many benefits to automating your finances:

It saves you time.
When you automate, there are no more trips to the bank to deposit your paycheck and you no longer need to put your payments in the mail. If you’re already used to managing your finances online, you benefit even more by automating your savings deposits and bill payments because you no longer need to enter them each month. You just schedule the recurring transaction and forget it.

It gives you peace of mind.
Do you ever wake up in the middle of the night wondering if you paid that bill on time? When you automate your finances, you will no longer lose sleep because you will know your bills are going to be paid on time, every month. When you set up automatic fraud alerts, you can rest easy knowing there is nothing suspicious going on with your accounts.

It protects your credit.
Late bill payments can negatively impact your credit score while bills paid on time can positively impact it. When you automate your bill payments, you help ensure that your bills will be paid on time, every month.

It encourages savings.
Being diligent about saving can be difficult. When you set up your accounts to automatically transfer money to your savings and/or retirement accounts each month, you make it easier. And, when funds are automatically deposited into your savings account, you are less tempted to spend them on something else.

How do you automate your finances?

While each bank has slightly different online services, you can generally automate your finances by following these simple steps:

1. Open a savings and checking account.
2. Sign up for direct deposit through your employer.
3. Set up a recurring automatic transfer to your savings account and/or retirement account.
4. Enroll in online banking/bill pay and set up your automatic payments online.
5. Set up fraud alerts on your account.

If you have questions about automating your finances or any of your banking needs, a Personal Banker from FNBO would be happy to answer them. Give us a call today.