Weekly Update - Your Financial Partner

4 min Read ⏰

How I Structure My Money to Reduce Stress & Build Wealth

Money stress? Not something I have patience for. I’ve set up my finances so I don’t have to think about where my money is going each month. It’s all about reducing stress, covering costs, and automating the rest. This removes unnecessary decisions and keeps me consistent.

One of the major moves foundational to this, was combining all finances and accounts with my wife. Yes, some people will be allergic to this type of approach and think us crazy, but it works for us and has removed so much stress from the monthly routine. I would definitely recommend!

So , we have had a major overhaul of our financial habits over the last year and seen huge benefits. Here’s what we did and how you might take on some of these changes.

Step 1: Reduce & Cover Costs First

Before I even think about saving or investing, I make sure my essential expenses are low and covered. Rent, utilities, groceries, subscriptions—these are non-negotiables, and I want them out of the way first.

This starts with tracking. If you don’t know what your baseline number and fixed cost is each month, you’re flying blind. Once you know what you’re actually spending, cut the fat—whether that’s an unused subscription or an expensive habit that’s not worth it. If it ‘brings you joy’ then keep it.

Once I know my number, I make sure these bills are automatically paid every month—no manual transfers, no worrying about missing a due date. To achieve this, we actually now have a dedicated bank account, but more on that later…

Step 2: Automate Savings & Investments

After essentials are covered, I move money to savings and investments before I ever see it in my spending account. This is key. If you leave saving and investing until the end of the month, there’s a good chance you’ll spend more than you intended. Something I suffered from for years.

So, now I automate it:
✅ Fixed percentage / amount to long-term investments (stocks, ETFs)
✅ Fixed percentage / amount to higher-risk investments (crypto, startups)
✅ Fixed percentage / amount to cash savings (emergency fund, short-term needs)

Whatever’s left? That’s our spending money. Pretty simple eh? The key for me was setting up our accounts in a way that easily accommodates the automation and also fits how our own minds work. Which leads me to…

My Setup (might not work for you, but it works for us)

Here’s exactly how I’ve structured our accounts:

Main Account (for spending) → This is where the bulk of our money goes. From here we can pay for food, clothes, anything ad-hoc or fun during the month. We know this is what we have available to spend and budget accordingly. This gives us the clarity we need and as it is a joint account (yes, joint), we both have the same access and visibility at all times.
Secondary Account → A fixed amount each month gets automatically transferred here on pay day to match the fixed costs we have. Our mortgage, loans, subscriptions, gym membership etc. is all accounted for and paid out of this account. Truly ‘set it and forget it’, which has helped us massively and removed a large chunk of stress each month.
Personal Accounts → Yes, we still have these. Our approach here is flexible, but we will always have some money separate as fun money or to let us do things for each other without the other seeing the ‘dinner booking notification’ for example.
Investment Accounts → While our index fund buys are automated each month, my crypto buys are still manual to allow for some flexibility. Though a key rule here is that the amount is capped. In such a lawless place, it’s good to have some rules.

I don’t manually need to move money between these accounts every month - it’s all set up to happen automatically, so I stay on track without overthinking it.

And, I don’t want to make light of moving to joint accounts. I understand this won’t work for everyone but we have always treated our money as OUR money. So, it made sense for us and has made a huge improvement in our money management since making the switch. If nothing else, please do at least consider it.

Why This Works

💡 Less manual effort
💡 No more guessing if I can afford something
💡 Consistent investing over time offers real wealth growth

Your setup doesn’t have to look like mine. The key is making it automatic so you’re not making the same decisions over and over.

So, how do you structure your money? Do you automate, or are you still manually moving things around each month?

^{NOTE: I am not a financial advisor, planner or have any formal healthcare education. &Prosper is simply a way for me to share my own journey and offer resources I have found useful. With this, I am starting from near zero and I hope to show that anyone can significantly improve their health and financial wellbeing.}