As Frederico Garcia Lorca once said, "besides black art, there is only automation and mechanization."  But how do you automate personal finances? 

Here are a few ideas Finny community members suggested:

• Budget and set it on auto-pilot.  The top apps our members like for this are Tiller and  YNAB. 

• Turn on the auto-pay option on your loans and credit card bills.  That way you'll never miss a payment. 

• Schedule regular, monthly contributions to your savings and investment accounts.  That way your savings and investments won't get neglected.

• Keep your retirement portfolio simple. If investing is not your forte, start with target-date funds, a simple and easy way to start saving for retirement.

• For your taxable investments, you may want to choose a robo-advisor that automatically rebalances your investments (e.g. Schwab Intelligent Portfolios or Betterment will do this for you).

The key here is to start with one or two of these ideas and keep adding as you get more comfortable.

What are your thoughts on automating your personal finances?  Join the discussion on Finny.

Simply put, alternative assets are any non-traditional assets that aren't cash, stocks, and bonds.  The alternatives industry is expected to grow nearly 60% by 2023 to reach $14 trillion in assets, according to alternative data provider Preqin.

Why do people care about alternative assets?  For one, alternatives tend to behave differently than typical stock and bond investments, providing broader diversification.  Because they carry higher risk profiles than their stock and bond counterparts, they may provide enhanced or more generous returns.  They also have direct exposure to investments that have a long track record of gains during inflationary periods. 

Alternatives include investments such as precious metals (ahem... gold teeth anyone?), hedge funds, private equity, cryptos, and even collectibles, like wine, vintage cars, or basketball cards to name a few.  Because they are unconventional and often times illiquid, it can be a challenge to place a value on an investor's alternative asset holdings.

Despite those risks, the "mainstreaming" of alternatives is well underway thanks to better transparency and easier access.  And there appears to be a fast-growing world of opportunity in alternatives. Here are some examples:

• Real estate crowdfunding, like Fundrise. They created a simple and low-cost platform for anyone to invest in the exclusive world of private real estate.

• Artwork.  Masterworks is democratizing access to investing in masterpieces of art. Want to say you own some Monet?

• Gold bars.  Vaulted is a mobile web app for investing in allocated and deliverable physical gold.

• Crypto-backed high-interest accounts, like MyConstant.

Saving amidst COVID-19 has been challenging for many people; however, there are some new ways to save more money. 

Some expenses have virtually disappeared (e.g., dining out) and others have gone up.  Did we mention childcare? 

As always, start with things and subscriptions you don't need or use.  If you're not on top of your bills and need help negotiating your subscriptions, there are services like Truebill that help you cut down your spending.

With home rental prices plummeting, it may be a good time to negotiate your rent.  Most people don't realize negotiating rent is an option. Just because you have to pay rent doesn't mean you can't negotiate a great deal and save some cash.  Research comparable rentals in your market, don’t forget to factor in amenities (like parking, pool), and time your negotiations. It's a renter's market right now. 

Insurance is another bucket that you should look into carefully.  In particular, car insurance—expect to pay less as you're driving less.  With home insurance, it's a mixed bag—prices are going up in some parts of the country due to natural hazards.

When your insurance is up for renewal, you can use auto and home comparison shopping services like Insurify (a Finny community favorite) to find the best possible price.  And feel free to chime in on the discussion thread below if you have any specific questions.