Taking advantage of automaticity (where you set yourself up to do things without having to think about them) is the centrepiece of plenty of positive habit forming advice. For hard-ish asks like exercising first thing in the morning or eating healthy, this might involve something annoying like wearing your gym gear to sleep the night before, or never having chips in the house. But when it comes to saving money, there are now some truly thoughtless solutions (in the best possible way).
Automated savings transfers – which whisk part of your wages into a separate account before you can even touch them – are a common weapon of choice for personal finance advisers. These are great for big goals like getting out of debt, building a f-ck off fund, or saving for a major purchase; but there are also smaller ways to save.
