Working for a Startup Bank Taught Me to Be ‘Agile’ with My Money.

Here’s how you can be, too — in 10 minutes.

Money advice is way too complex these days.

I mean, who’s got time to read about IRAs and 401ks or spend time looking up the best superannuation fund at the moment? Or how to set-up a SIPP?

(If you didn’t have to Google that last one, then good for you!).

I always found it hard to know what is considered good money etiquette these days, you know, treating your money good.

People need things to be broken down for them. Hell, I need things to be broken down for me, and I worked at a bank!

Talking of which, here’s a bit of context.

I spent several years working for one of the fastest-growing banks in the UK — a shiny new startup — which exploded onto the fintech scene a few years back. It caused ripples when it first arrived on mobile phones, and legacy banks (an inside term we used for older banks) couldn’t keep up.

They still struggle now.

It was young (no, seriously, it was literally run by youngsters), agile, dynamic, and poised to challenge and change how people banked in the 21st century.

The word agile popped up frequently in conversations — over Slack. It appeared in emails, weekly roundups, onboarding, meetings, and presentations.

As an insider at a startup, agile meant: move fast; innovate; be dynamic; build; break things; iterate; maintain, sustain, be flexible, and embrace change.

To an outsider, this doesn’t tell you a lot—just a bunch of words strung together that could mean anything. But inside the startup — this fast-moving bank — it meant a huge deal.

Being in the thick of it meant I was surrounded by money (figuratively speaking). I had first-hand experience in managing their finances (spoiler: people spend A LOT of money on coffee).

I saw the ugly side of money too.

The scams; the debts; the overspending; the ‘buyer’s remorse’ purchases, to the ‘night out-on-the-town splurges.

All of it.

As an insider, I was privy to a disruptor mindset. We eschewed the legacy bank mindset and instead fostered a culture of being:

• lean
• fearless
• flexible
• simple; and of course
• agile.

I, too wanted to become a disruptor — in how I used my money. To break things up a little. To solve the pain points in money management. To iterate my savings or investment goals and be flexible in what purchases, I said yes and no.

I viewed being ‘agile’ as a metaphor for managing the tug-of-war relationship I had with money more effectively.

Of all the insights I gained from working for a fintech startup, and there were many (maybe for another article), the one I find I come back to again and again is this one:

Our relationship with money is based, to an extent, on fear and uncertainty. A lot of people go through life not entirely sure if they’ll have the means to pay for the necessities.

This leads me to this.

If I were handing out financial advice to my younger dumb self — the 20-year-old who thought it was cool to say “whassup" to everyone I saw — this is what I’d tell him.

And you.

(If you too thought that was cool, then I’m sorry but, not cool).

A startup bank burns through a lot of money — like millions per month. Despite the crazy sums investors were willing to pump into the business, the goal was always to become profitable because the truth was, investors weren’t going to be around forever. The bank needed to be exciting which people loved, but it also needed to be something that would make a profit. Having a sustainable future determined the direction of the bank.

Advice: Let your future financial goals determine the decisions you make today — get into the habit of squirreling some money aside.

There are a lot of things you could be doing with your money. As a twenty-something, spending it is most likely, but stop. Hear (read) me out.

If you have no idea about financial planning, start with putting aside some cash regularly.

Why: Putting aside money is one of the simplest financial moves you can implement in your life, and the earlier you start, the better. This advice is all about creating a habit and building a healthy relationship with your finances. Whether you put aside £1 or $100, the idea is that you consistently squirrel away some money for a future where you have more financial certainty and freedom.

Here’s the caveat.

You won’t become rich with this method. Check out Tim Denning’s excellent article for a deeper dive on why.

But that’s not why I’m telling you to do it.

Remember, you’re doing this because you want more certainty with your finances, to build up good etiquette with your money, so you have more options as you get older. This is one of many ways to do just that.

If you’re still a student or only working part-time, still do it. There’s a process involved in becoming financially freer, and that process starts with small steps.

This is one of those steps.

How: Ever had the phrase ‘there’s an app for that’ thrown at you when you wanted or needed something done you couldn’t do yourself? Well, in the financial world, there’s an app for just about anything these days.

The best way to squirrel money aside regularly is to automate the process, and countless money apps can do it for you at the touch of a few clicks or taps.

Do a search online for ‘digital banks’, and there’s a good chance one of the shiny new banks has launched in your country. If they have, great because any one of those banks has an app that lets you put aside money seamlessly. You won’t even have to think about it because whatever amount you choose to set aside will automatically transfer to the savings feature of the app.

It really is that simple.

To get you started, here’s a useful list of ‘neobanks’ you can check out.

And if you want to be hip, you can turn on the feature that lets you round up your spending to the nearest whole number and forward this amount to your savings account.

Again, simplicity is the key here.

A bonus tip to saving money is to use the 80/20 rule, where you put aside 20% of whatever money you get and use the other 80% for your essentials. If you want to break this down even further, you could use the 50/30/20 rule, where 50% of your money goes to your essentials, 30% on your wants, and 20% on your squirreling.

Once you get into the habit of putting aside some money each week or month (and not dipping into it), you’re ready for the next advice.

Knowing which part of the business needed investment or re-investment (time and money), was crucial to staying fast and agile.

Advice: Now that you’ve built a habit of squirreling away some cash, you need to start (re)investing your money and create a long-term financial goal.

Why: There’s a ton of information online about what investing is and isn’t so I’ll leave you to do your homework here but in a nutshell, you should invest your money rather than leave it all in savings because of the potential growth you get from investing. Investing your money say stocks and shares, far outweighs the return you’d get if you left that money in a savings account.

I said potential because investing comes with a bit of risk.

Again, I’ll leave you to read up on what the risks are but all you need to remember is that that investment requires a long-term commitment. Think 5–10 years.

How: Yup, you guessed it, there’s an app for that. Here’s a list of investment apps if you’re based in the US. If you’re in the UK you can check this list out, and if you’re in Australia check this one out.

How much should you invest? This boils down to your circumstances but you could use the same principles outlined above to get you started and be flexible — or agile — as your goals shift or change.

One thing to consider when you start investing is that as you’ll be doing this for the long term, so you may want to consider keeping a little money as cash. Check out the next piece of advice on why.

The CEO of the bank once said, “if the shit hits the fan, we have enough reserves to last 12 months”.

Advice: If your shit hit the fan, would you have the money to last the next few months? If not, get yourself an emergency money pot.

Why: Shit happens. Things break down. That new phone you just bought will get lost or worse, get stolen. Your car will fail on you when you least expect it. The list goes on.

Whatever the situation, having some money set aside for some of these complications makes good financial sense. You’ll sleep better knowing that IF shit does hit the fan, you’ll be at least okay in the short-term.

How: A good place to start is to have money covering at least three months of the essentials: rent, bills, and medical insurance.

If you’re living with your folks, you should still aim to have an emergency pile. Just figure out what you’re currently paying for and how much you would need to cover those payments for the next 3–6 months.

As before, you need to get it automated. Set up another account or create a pot within your existing bank app and create a regular transfer.

Then forget about it.

Let it do its thing while you do your thing. Which is to check out the next piece of advice.

Smart businesses use Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely goals to get where they want to. The bank had lots of smart people using SMART goals.

Advice: Want to save money for a deposit on a house by the time you hit 35? Or how about some money in the bank to pay off debt? If so, then make specific financial goals (big or small) and set a timeframe for when you want to achieve them.

Why: Having specific financial goals gives you direction and gives you something to aim for. Be careful not to promise yourself

How: Don’t just write down a figure, get specific on the dates. Write down how much you’ll need per week/month to reach that target and the steps you’re going to take to get there. Once you have your goals set out, check back on them once in a while to see how you’re doing. Adjust them if you need to and move forward.

No man is an island — or so the saying goes. At the startup, there was a real sense of learning together. Of building trust together and realising goals together.

Advice: Get yourself a money pal

Why: You echo the habits of the people you spend the most time with. If you hang around people who share similar financial goals as you, there’s more chance you’ll stick to your goals.

Building the trust to talk about your money goals with people takes time. But once you have that trust why not use it to spur each other on?

Have the urge to dip into your savings to splash out on something big? Maybe your money pal(s) can channel your urges onto something else? Need a chat about where to invest your money? There’s a money pal for that :)

How: You’re going to have to do this one yourself. It might take time, but if you can find someone you can trust and who has similar financial goals to you, the benefits are great.

You and your money pal decide how the system works; how often you talk about your goals; what happens if one of you slips up (which will happen), and what direction you should be going.

Remember, you’re on this island together so why not use this to learn from each other and realize your goals together?

Key Takeaways

Financial planning is intimidating to a lot of people, but it doesn’t have to be. Nor does it have to be boring. Start with money goals that are fun, relevant, and attainable. Remember, the idea is to build a healthy relationship with your money. It’s a process that starts with small steps. Make those steps as enjoyable as possible.

If you’ve never saved before don’t go all out guns blazing. You may find you run out of steam before you hit that goal. Instead, pick an easy goal like saving for your emergency fund first. Once you’ve built up some steam, tackle the next one.

Creating specific financial goals should be a part of your money strategy. This means being smart about your goals. It’s better to have attainable and realistic goals alongside a timeframe you’ll stick to.

Putting aside money in a savings account will not make you a millionaire but it will afford (pun intended) you some flexibility. If you have money in the bank you can be agile and flexible about where you want to invest it — which should be on your list of things to do.

Having financial freedom could give you the confidence to tackle other areas of your life that may need a little work. Maybe you’ve neglected your health, or you keep promising to take a holiday but never do. If you’ve saved a little, why not use the money on yourself?

The whole point is to live an agile life right?

Got any more money tips? Share them in the comments.