{"id":3093,"date":"2016-05-12T06:00:28","date_gmt":"2016-05-12T06:00:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/raizinvest.com.au\/investors\/minus-the-minutia-the-power-of-automation\/"},"modified":"2021-02-08T05:03:14","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T05:03:14","slug":"minus-the-minutia-the-power-of-automation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raizinvest.com.au\/investors\/blog\/minus-the-minutia-the-power-of-automation\/","title":{"rendered":"Minus the Minutia: the Power of Automation"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"image\"<\/figure>\n

by\u00a0Clayton Daniel, Financial Commentator<\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Around twelve months ago I
\nsurveyed some 25 \u2013 40 year olds as to what they wanted out of life and what
\nthey wanted to avoid. I expected the results to reflect everything I had ever
\nread about Gen X and Y wanting to be rich, retire early on a passive income,
\nkick up the heels or go travelling around the world. The results however did
\nnot reflect that expectation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead of early retirement,
\npeople wanted\u00a0job satisfaction<\/b>. Instead of wanting more money,
\npeople wanted\u00a0more time<\/b>. Instead of perpetual travel, people
\nwanted\u00a0something to show for their hard work.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Baby boomers] were taught safety and security was
\npurchased with the ownership of assets\u2026..we have now seen the concept of
\nownership go from the domain of security, to the realm of responsibility\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

I was amazed at the findings. Had
\nI been lied to, or had no one simply done what I had done \u2013 gone to the
\ndemographic and asked? What I realised is that over the last twenty years, a
\nlot has changed. In fact, that is an understatement,\u00a0everything has
\nchanged.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The baby boomers grew up with
\nparents from a war torn era. They were taught safety and security was purchased
\nwith the ownership of assets. And that\u2019s what the baby boomers did. They
\nbought. From homes to cars to fancy appliances. Ownership guaranteed freedom.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOwnership takes time, it takes hard work, and it
\nremoves instant gratification\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Gen Y on the other hand have
\ngrown up in an economy of uninterrupted growth for the last 25 years. Add in
\nthe growth of technology, and the boom of the sharing economy, and we have seen
\nthe concept of ownership go from the domain of security, to the realm of
\nresponsibility. Why own a car when Uber can pick me up from anywhere and take
\nme to anywhere I want to go. I don\u2019t have to find parking, I don\u2019t have to own
\na depreciating asset, I don\u2019t even need to worry about sobriety. More
\nconvenience for a lower cost, where do I sign?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOur brain is not built to handle so many things
\ncompeting for our attention\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

This idea of access over
\nownership has been a massive shift in the way we interact with the world.
\nOwnership takes time, it takes hard work, and it removes instant gratification.<\/span><\/p>\n

And there is so much to be
\ninstantly gratified by these days. Whether you Tinder your way through the
\nweekend, Netflix binge your new favourite series, or stream a new album on
\nSpotify, whatever you want these days you can have it.\u00a0Immediately.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is, these new
\nservices comes with a time cost. And despite the amazing complexity of our neo
\ncortex to create fully functioning and (mostly) rational humans, we still
\nhaven\u2019t outpaced our 200,000 year history. Put simply, our brain is not built
\nto handle so many things competing for our attention.<\/span><\/p>\n

Even a couple of hundred years
\nago it was simply:<\/span><\/p>\n

a) Is there food?<\/span><\/p>\n

b) Is there water?<\/span><\/p>\n

c) Is there shelter?<\/span><\/p>\n

If all three are checked, you
\nwere good.<\/span><\/p>\n

These days our tick boxes are a
\nlot more complex. Does your boss like you, did you choose the right career
\npath, and is there kale in your green smoothie?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou adapt, and create shortcuts to get big results
\nfrom little changes. And my pro tip is automation\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Our brains are so exhausted by
\nthese open loop questions, when you add on the fact we are working longer than
\never, and filling every other second we aren\u2019t indulging our senses with a
\nsocial media hit, it\u2019s no wonder some of us are feeling under the pump.<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is modern day life, you
\ncan\u2019t avoid it. And saying \u2018let\u2019s go back to the old days when it was better\u2019
\nis redundant advice. Instead you adapt, and create shortcuts\u00a0to get big
\nresults from little changes<\/b>. And my pro tip is\u00a0automation.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we remove ourselves from needing to make
\nevery single financial decision, we can free our minds up to focus on what we
\nshould be giving attention to\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Research tells us all these
\ndistractions and interruptions require us to make decisions every day. And each
\nof these decisions saps you of your ability to make good decisions. It\u2019s called
\ndecision fatigue and explains why over the course of a day, your decisions get
\nworse. Judges make worse decisions in the afternoon compared to the morning,
\npeople buy useless extras at car dealerships, and we are susceptible to
\n\u2018impulse purchases\u2019 at the checkout. Therefore, the lower amount of decisions
\nyou make, the higher your ability to make good decisions.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the best things you can do with your money
\nis to set it all up on automation\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

So when the results of the survey
\nI conducted came back, I realised what people needed was a way to deal with
\nmodern life. With so many things competing for your attention, how is it
\npossible to make the best decisions? What I found was the more decisions were
\nset to automation in the background, the better the results were for every
\nother part of life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Once we remove ourselves from
\nneeding to make every single financial decision, we can free our minds up to
\nfocus on what we should be giving our attention to: performing better at our
\njobs, making time with family, and finding new experiences.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201c[Raiz] hits the spot on two fronts, access and
\nautomation\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

After implementing this theory
\nfor a few years and seeing the results, I am convinced;\u00a0one of the best
\nthings you can do with your money is to set it all up on automation.<\/b>\u00a0I
\ndon\u2019t know when my rent is paid, how much I have for my next holiday to New
\nYork in August, or whether my long term asset base is getting larger, all I
\nknow is it is. Why? I don\u2019t control it. It\u2019s all on automation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In no small way, this is why Raiz
\nhas been as successful as it has been. It hits the spot on two fronts, access
\nand automation. It\u2019s easy for me to see my investments as I can access them
\nright on my phone, and secondly I don\u2019t have to do anything, the money is
\ndeposited into my account with every purchase. For more information on Raiz fees, click here<\/span>.<\/a>For more information on Raiz fees, click here<\/span>.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Avoid decision fatigue and
\noutsource to automation. Go spend your time on things that matter.<\/span><\/p>\n

Clayton Daniel, Financial Commentator<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

You can start using Raiz at any time by clicking this link!<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Important Information<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The information on this website is general advice only. This means it does not consider any person\u2019s investment objectives, financial situation or investment needs. If you are an investor, you should consult your licensed adviser before acting on any information contained in this article to fully understand the benefits and risk associated with the Raiz product.<\/p>\n

The information in this website is confidential. It must not be reproduced, distributed or disclosed to any other person. The information is based on assumptions or market conditions which change without notice. This will impact the accuracy of the information.<\/p>\n

Under no circumstances is the information to be used by, or presented to, a person for the purposes of deciding about investing in Raiz.<\/p>\n

Past return performance of the Raiz product should not be relied on for deciding to invest in Raiz and is not a good predictor of future performance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0Clayton Daniel, Financial Commentator   Around twelve months ago I surveyed some 25 \u2013 40 year olds as to what they wanted out of life and what they wanted to avoid. I expected the results to reflect everything I had ever read about Gen X and Y wanting to be rich, retire early on a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[1294,1285,1297,1286,1283,1291,1287,1298,1293,1295,1296,3748,3746,3745,3747,1288,1292,1290,1289,1284]}