None of us becomes careless with money intentionally; in fact, it happens gradually—often without us even realising it—until eventually, we begin to neglect the matter entirely.
This is not a case of laziness or a lack of discipline; rather, it is simply how our brains are wired. Building wealth is one of the most difficult and complex tasks, because we naturally tend to choose immediate gratification over what is better for the future.
Photo by Luke Wass on Unsplash
Meet the two investors
Imagine two people. Same city, same age, different lives.
Marcus is 24. He earns $3,000 a month. He’s not a finance guy. He doesn’t read market reports or track earnings calls. But three years ago, a friend told him to automate $200 into an S&P 500 index fund on payday. He set it up in twenty minutes and hasn’t thought about it since.
Jordan is also 24 years old. He earns $9,000 a month. He is smart and ambitious, and genuinely interested in investing. He has downloaded seventeen finance-related podcasts but hasn’t listened to most of them. Jordan intends to invest every month, but life always has other plans—like car repairs, a vacation, or just the perfect excuse. He is still waiting for the right moment to get started properly.
Here is a hard truth: Marcus, who invests $200 every month and has no interest in finance, will almost certainly end up wealthier than Jordan.
This isn’t because he is smarter or luckier. Rather, it is because he made a smart decision once and then automated it, so he never had to make that decision.
Why willpower is the wrong tool for this job
Most financial advice emphasises saving more, spending less, and maintaining discipline.
While this is sound advice, it overlooks a crucial factor: the lack of willpower.
Most people are exhausted after a long, stressful day and struggle with financial constraints by the end of the month; in such a situation, they cannot even bring themselves to think about investing.
So, instead of relying on motivation or discipline, set up automatic investments so that your money gets invested automatically without you even having to think about it.
What’s actually happening when you automate your investments
In behavioural economics, there is a concept known as ‘loss aversion.’ It means that the pain of losing something is roughly twice as intense as the joy of gaining that same thing. This is why manually transferring money into an investment account often feels like a small sacrifice, even though you know it is the right thing to do.
Automation eliminates this problem.
When money is diverted elsewhere before it even reaches your account, you don’t feel any sense of deprivation or sacrifice. You don’t perceive the departure of those funds as a loss, because, in reality, that money was never meant for your spending in the first place.
You simply adjust your life to the remaining amount, while your investment quietly grows—unaffected by news headlines, market fluctuations, or even your mood that week.
I want to address an objection that I know is already crossing the minds of some of you.
“An extra $50 or $100 a month won’t change my life. So why bother?”
Because the real issue wasn’t the amount of money.
A person who consistently invests $100 every month possesses something far more valuable than that $100: they have built a relationship with the habit itself. And when their income rises—whether due to a salary hike, a promotion, or a better opportunity—they don’t need to start building a new habit from scratch. They simply increase the investment amount.
A person waiting to invest a “large sum” often ends up merely waiting or planning, while quietly letting their most valuable asset—time—slip away.
Investing $50 a month at age 25 is better than investing $500 a month at age 40. It might not always look that way on a spreadsheet, but that is how it plays out in real life, because the person who started at 25 kept investing and built wealth.
The only thing that matters this week
Open your brokerage or investment app right now (or download one if you don’t have it) and set up automatic, regular investments. It can be any amount. Choose any broad market index fund. Schedule it for the day you get your salary, so the investment happens before you even have a chance to think about it.
Then, close the app and get on with your life.
The best financial decision is the one you only have to make once.
Ali,
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