How I Automated My Finances to Save 20% More Each Month
- Èric Lluch
- Nov 1
- 4 min read
When I stopped managing money manually
During the first year with a job, I treated my finances like a complicated puzzle. Every month, I sat at my desk with a cup of tea, opened all my accounts, and tried to figure out what to do next.
Sometimes I transferred money to savings, sometimes I didn’t. A single impulse purchase or forgotten transfer could undo a whole month of good intentions.
Then I looked at how banks handle money. Banks never rely on discipline. They rely on systems. That simple idea changed everything. I decided to start behaving like a bank and create a system that worked on its own.
Step 1 – Understand where your money goes
Before you can automate anything, you need clarity. List all your accounts: checking, savings, credit cards, investments, crypto. Note the balance and the interest rate of each one.
When I did this, I realized that most of my cash was sitting in an account earning almost nothing, while inflation was slowly eating its value. In fact, I realized that almost everyone in my family was having an account that was not generating any interest.I was doing the same work as the bank but getting none of the benefits. That was the moment I stopped thinking of my accounts as containers and started thinking of them as tools in my own banking system.
From here, the journey started. I started searching for the best banks first, then the best exchanges with the lowest fees, and then even crypto, where I could manage everything myself. As of now, I have more than 35 banking apps in my phone and each of them serves one purpose to optimize my finances. Of course, you may not need 35, it could probably be fine with 3 or 4 apps that allow you to save, invest in safe products, and invest in more risky products.
Step 2 – Build your Safety Net
The first account in the BYOB system is your Safety Net. This is your emergency fund, the foundation that gives you peace of mind.
Start by calculating your monthly expenses and multiply that number by three. That is your first goal.Open a new account and move the first small amount there. Even if it is just a few euros, start today.
Label it “Safety Net,” not “Savings.” It is not for spending, and it is not for investing. It is protection.
As I wrote in Be Your Own Bank:
“Safety without growth is an illusion. Growth without safety is a gamble. Your Safety Net is the bridge between both.”
Step 3 – Automate like a bank
Banks never forget to move money. They set rules once and let the system handle the rest. You can do the same.
Set up three automatic transfers for the day after you get paid:
Safety Net contribution until you reach your target.
Investment contribution to your broker or ETF plan. This can be as low as 10€ per month. The point is to start allocating some of your money to investing. And the earlier you start, the earlier you will start earning interest that compounds over time.
Spending account refill for your bills and daily life.
When you pay yourself first, saving becomes automatic. You no longer depend on motivation or mood. The system works even when you are busy or tired.
Automation is not about laziness (even though it saves you time and you have less mental load as well). It is about reliability. It is basically like a habit that happens in the background.
Step 4 – Keep your investments simple
Once you chose your investment contribution, the best way to protect your investments is to diversify between types of assets. In the book, I describe three basic allocations anyone can start with:
Profile | Stocks (ETFs) | Bonds | Crypto | Cash |
Conservative | 40–60 % | 20–40 % | 0–5 % | 5–10 % |
Balanced | 50–70 % | 10–30 % | 5–15 % | 0–5 % |
Aggressive | 70–90 % | 0–20 % | 5–25 % | minimal |
Choose the one that fits your comfort level and set up an automatic monthly purchase. Once it is running, you only need to check it once every few months. Notice that the amount that is reserved for cash is not for spending but to acquire other assets that could be investment such as buying when there is a crisis or buying real estate for rental in the future.
Step 5 – Let compounding work for you
When you automate your investments, you allow compounding to do its job quietly.
For example, investing 200 euros a month at a 7 percent annual return grows to more than 48,000 euros in ten years, without ever changing your contribution. Time and consistency are your biggest friends in investment.
Step 6 – Review quarterly, not daily
I spend 15 minutes every three months reviewing my finances. That is enough.
During that review, I look at how much I invested, if my portfolio still matches my target, and whether I can increase my transfers by a few percent. I do not check daily prices or chase trends because checking daily prices can make you nervous and more emotional, which is a thing that can trigger fear and bad decisions.
If professional banks rebalance quarterly, I can too.
Results: The invisible 20 percent
After three months of automation, I was saving around 20 percent more each month. It did not feel like effort because the money was moved automatically before I even saw it.
My anxiety about money disappeared. I stopped thinking about what to cut or when to invest.
The system took care of that. The automation helped me have a piece of mind with less mental load. I was also able to track my gains at each platform and spend the time there instead of spending the time checking the prices of the market every day.
Key takeaways on how I automate my finances
Know where every euro goes.
Build your Safety Net before you invest.
Automate transfers and payments.
Review quarterly and adjust slowly.
Stay consistent. Small, regular actions win over time.
You do not need to earn more to save more. You need to design a system that saves for you.
Ready to build your own system?
Download the free BYOB Starter Kit and learn the 4-Week Foundation to create your personal bank, automate your savings, and start investing with confidence.
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