Money decisions trigger emotional responses that cloud judgment. Systems remove emotion from the equation.
The Automated Money System
Remove daily financial decisions entirely:
Income Allocation (Adjust percentages to your situation) - Fixed costs: 50-60% (auto-paid) - Savings: 20% (auto-transferred) - Investments: 10% (auto-invested) - Guilt-free spending: 10-20%
Once set up, no daily money decisions required.
The Purchase Decision Tree
For any non-routine purchase:
Under $50: Use guilt-free spending, no analysis $50-200: 24-hour cooling period $200-500: One week consideration + research $500+: Full framework analysis: - Do I need it or want it? - Cost per use calculation - What else could this money do? - Will this matter in one year?
Investment Decision Framework
Stop agonizing over perfect investments:
The Simple Portfolio - Emergency fund: 6 months expenses (high-yield savings) - Retirement: Age-based target fund or 3-fund portfolio - Medium-term: Balanced index fund - Speculation: Maximum 5% in anything risky
Review annually, adjust rarely.
The Debt Hierarchy Pay minimums on all, then attack in order: 1. Anything over 10% interest 2. Smallest balances (psychological wins) 3. Variable rate debt 4. Fixed rate under 5% (no rush)
No daily decisions needed—the framework decides.