We like to believe that we can rely on our motivation and willpower to save diligently, invest consistently, and stick to our budgets. We make grand promises to ourselves just ahead of payday.

But human willpower is a highly finite resource. By the end of a long, stressful day or week of making decisions at work and managing your personal responsibilities, your willpower can be sufficiently depleted.

That is exactly when our impulse purchases happen.

The emotionally intelligent choice is to admit that you are human, prone to fatigue, and easily distracted. Once you accept this, you stop relying on motivation and start leaning on systems and processes to help you stick to your plan.

By automating your savings and investments—setting your debit orders to go off the day after your salary clears—you remove the willpower fragility entirely.

You no longer have to actively "choose" to follow your investment plan every single month; it happens automatically.

You take the decision-making power away from your tired, stressed self and hand it over to a system that quietly builds your wealth in the background while you focus on living your life.