Time to retwist money

Rakesh Naidu
Feb 26, 2020
3 min read

Updated: Feb 27, 2020

Most content you see on your social feed or news website is augmented by AI algorithms and often biased by what benefits certain stakeholders. So I started neo moola to talk about money but with a twist. Each week, we will cover 3 aspects - humans, money and fintech.

This week, we look at what truly makes humans happy, how lemons can make you money when life throws a curveball and we take a brief sneak peek at Hay (a new Aussie neo banco)

1. Human Happiness.

“If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody !” - Unknown

Research provides strong compelling that giving is a powerful pathway to personal growth and lasting happiness. Helping others may just be the secret to living a life that is not only happier but also more productive, more meaningful and wealthier.

While many of the mega-rich like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet have pledged billions of dollars of their wealth, we can individually do more.

For more happy handy insights and tips, have a read of this Time article

2. Life's a Curveball

“Make some lemonade and make some money when you get a curveball!”

Life is a journey - most times a roller coaster. Many ups and downs but we must deal with the highs and the lows of life.

Here's at least 3 things you can do:

Review your spending - for most people, their income is fixed week to week or pay to pay so the only thing you have to control is what you spend your money on.
Set up a budget (if you don't have one)- managing your money tightly is not a bad thing and no ones cares except you - it's your money. Having a budget means you are more in control where your money is going in and out with real-time push notifications and detailed spending including merchant logos, location on maps and spend category.
Cancel unwanted subscriptions - according to a REST Super study, Australians wasted $3.9 billion on unwanted subscriptions like Netflix, Spotify, and Stan.

Remember like most things managing your money is not a set and forget, it takes constant work but most times it is the simple things that make your money go further.

3. Hello Hay - new money keeper

Did you know Hay is slang for "small money".

Well then let's say hello to Hay, the neo banco looking to enter the ever-growing digital Aussie banking space.

Source: Hay

So what's special about Hay? Well, here are my views on what makes it different

Really good & clean UX - with well-thought-out design, colours and beautiful data visluations, the UX is pretty impressive
Money insights - showing where your money is going in and out with real-time push notifications and detailed spending including merchant logos, location on maps and spend category.
Automatic travel mode - this I think is a really cool feature - Hay claims the app will automatically switch to the overseas mode when you are outside Australia and will display balances in the Aussie dollar as well as the local currency.