The Smartest "Lazy" Money Wins to Set and Forget
27 June 2025
Looking to boost your finances without a ton of ongoing effort? I get it. The best financial moves are often the ones you set up once and then let them work their magic in the background. If you're aiming to automate more of your money life, I've got some powerful, low-effort strategies that can make a real difference.
The goal is to make smart decisions that pay you back over and over, saving you time, stress, and, most importantly, money. Here are my favorite "lazy" money wins you can implement right away.
Automate Everything: Your Secret to Effortless Savings
The single most powerful thing you can do for your finances is to automate them. Taking the emotion and effort out of managing your money is a game-changer. When your financial system runs on autopilot, you're less likely to overspend and more likely to hit your goals.
My advice is to set up a system where your pay is automatically split the moment it hits your account. Many modern banks offer features that let you pre-determine where your money goes. Here’s a simple structure I recommend:
Pay Splitting: Have your salary automatically divided and sent to different accounts or "digital envelopes." This way, money for bills, savings, investments, and spending is sorted before you can even think about it.
Dedicated Accounts: I personally use over ten accounts, including mortgage offsets. This might sound complex, but it's actually the opposite. Each account has a specific job: one for fixed bills (rent/mortgage, utilities), one for variable spending (groceries, fun), one for emergency savings, one for holidays, etc. When money for a specific purpose is in its own bucket, you never have to wonder if you can afford something.
Automatic Bill Pay: Set up auto-pay for all your recurring bills. This not only saves you time but also helps you avoid late fees. By having a dedicated "bills" account that funds these payments, you ensure the money is always there when needed.
This initial setup might take an afternoon, but the long-term benefit is that you barely have to think about your budget again.
The Annual Bill Review: Your 5-Minute Pay Rise
How often do you review your regular bills like insurance, internet, and electricity? If the answer is "never," you're likely leaving a lot of money on the table.
Here are a few quick wins:
Call Your Bank: I once made a five-minute phone call to my bank to ask for a rate review on my mortgage. The result? A 0.8% reduction in my interest rate. That single call saves me thousands over the life of the loan.
Switch and Save on Utilities: Don't stay loyal to your electricity, gas, or internet provider out of habit. Use government comparison websites. These unbiased tools use your actual usage data to find the best deals, and the switch is handled for you. I’ve seen people save over $1,000 a year just by doing this. A word of caution: be mindful of which providers you choose, as some may perform a "hard" credit check which can temporarily lower your credit score.
Review Your Insurance: I recently reviewed my car insurance. I had two cars insured under my name. By getting a new quote for one of the cars under my wife's name with the same company, the premium dropped from $880 to $580. It's always worth checking if you can get a better deal.
Effortless Wins Through Smart Habits
Beyond automation and bill reviews, there are other simple, set-and-forget strategies that can yield great returns.
Credit Card Churning: This one requires a bit of discipline, but the rewards can be incredible. The idea is to sign up for credit cards with large introductory bonus point offers, meet the minimum spend on things you would have bought anyway, and then use those points for flights or get cash back. I’ve personally scored business class tickets to Europe for just the cost of taxes. If you're new to this, websites like PointHacks are a great place to start. Just be sure to cancel the cards before the annual fee is due again.
Salary Sacrifice to Super: This is one of the easiest ways to build wealth for the future and get a tax benefit now. I've arranged for my employer to contribute more than the compulsory amount to my superannuation each payday. Because I'm so used to my take-home pay, I don't even miss the extra money, but my super balance is growing significantly faster.
Cashback on Everyday Spending: Why not get paid for the shopping you’re already doing? Some debit cards, like the one from HSBC, offer 2% cashback on tap-and-go purchases. It feels like free money that just accumulates over time without you having to do anything different.
What You Should Do Today
You don't have to do everything at once. Pick one or two of these "lazy" wins and implement them this week. Whether it's setting up automated transfers, calling your internet provider, or looking into a cashback card, the small effort you put in now will pay dividends for years to come. The best part is that once they're set up, you can sit back and enjoy the benefits without any more work. That's the beauty of a lazy money win.