The Science of Money Hacks

Your finances aren't broken.
Your system is.

7 evidence-based hacks to build financial control and wellbeing — with zero willpower required. Based on behavioral science research, not personal finance folklore.

7 Money hacks
3 Happiness hacks
0 Willpower needed
100% Evidence-based

The standard advice — spend less, make a budget, show more discipline — doesn't work. Not because you're lazy. Because information, motivation and willpower don't reliably change behavior. That's not an opinion. It's one of the most robust findings in behavioral science.

"Drunk. Tired. In love. Hungry. Your system needs to work anyway."

— Florien Cramwinckel, behavioral scientist

Set it up once. Then it runs.

Each hack makes good financial behavior easier, more automatic, or both. None require ongoing effort.

Money Hack #1

Split your income across 3 accounts

Fixed costs. Fun money. Future. One big pile gets spent — three accounts create structure. The one-pile problem disappears because there is no one pile.

Foundation
Money Hack #2

Automate the split on payday

The split happens the same day your salary arrives — not at the end of the month (there's never anything left then). Fun money: spend freely. When it's gone, it's gone until next month.

Automation
Money Hack #3

Use percentages, not euros

The ideal: 50–60% fixed costs / ~30% fun / ~20% future. Fixed costs above 60% is a documented financial stress risk. Start with 1% savings if needed. Direction matters more than speed.

Structure
Money Hack #4

Automate your fixed costs

Rent, insurance, utilities, subscriptions — all on direct debit. Set it up once. No decisions, no forgetting, no late fees. Every decision you automate is willpower saved for things that actually matter.

Automation
Money Hack #5

Pay for fun things manually

Fixed costs: automatic. Fun money: conscious. The behavioral mechanism is hedonic adaptation — when spending becomes invisible, we stop appreciating it. Active choice = more enjoyment per euro.

Awareness
Money Hack #6

Hide your savings from yourself

Friction is protection. Save at a different bank. Hide the balance. Delete the app from your phone. If you see a growing savings balance, your brain starts spending more freely without realizing it.

Friction
Money Hack #7

Keep a guilt-free fun money account — and spend it

Is this purchase okay? It's in the fun money account. The answer is yes. Spend it. That's what it's for. This eliminates the background anxiety of constant financial self-monitoring.

Permission

Money only works if you deploy it well.

The research is clear: money and happiness are linked — but not in the way most people think. Here's what the evidence actually says about spending for wellbeing.

01

Buy experiences, not things

A new jacket: invisible in your wardrobe within 3 months. A dinner with friends: you're still talking about it a year later. Experiences resist hedonic adaptation — they keep generating happiness.

Research: hedonic adaptation studies

02

Invest in your social life

The Harvard Study of Adult Development — 75+ years of data — found relationship quality is the strongest predictor of life satisfaction. Not wealth. Not status. Social bonds also add years to your life. Literally.

Harvard Study of Adult Development

03

Spend on others, not just yourself

Spending money on other people boosts wellbeing more reliably than spending the same amount on yourself. Treating someone, picking up the bill, organizing a shared experience — the happiness return is higher.

Dunn, Aknin & Norton; Whillans et al. (2017)

Now in pilot — individual track

Would you like to implement these hacks in your life — together?

You can start using these money hacks yourself, today. Some people prefer a personal approach.

In one-on-one sessions I help you design and implement your own behavioral strategy for wealth and wellbeing: a money system built around your life, your goals, and the way you handle money.

🔓 Access

A money system designed around your life, so the right financial behavior becomes the easy default.

🔁 Habits

Automated routines that build wealth over time, without relying on ongoing willpower.

👥 Social support

Guidance and accountability, because lasting change rarely sticks on your own.

Built on behavioral science. Not financial product advice. Not generic coaching.

"Actually doing all the steps together: hallelujah, that's what I want."

— Pilot participant

I'm opening a limited number of spots in 2026. Join the waitlist and you'll be the first to hear when it opens. No commitment.

    Dr. Florien Cramwinckel — Behavioral Scientist specialized in financial behavior

    About the speaker

    Dr. Florien Cramwinckel

    Behavioral Scientist specialized in financial behavior · Founder, The Behavioral Times

    Florien Cramwinckel (PhD) helps people and organizations turn financial behavior into financial wellbeing. As a behavioral scientist she translates research into systems that work in real life, so the right money behavior happens almost on its own. Her focus: not more willpower or more knowledge, but better systems, clear mechanisms, and measurable results.

    🏦

    Ex-Chief Psychologist at SNS Bank

    Led the behavioral approach to improving the financial wellbeing of young adults — designing interventions that help people build healthier money behavior from the start

    💶

    Financial behavior expert

    Specialized in the psychology of money: why good financial intentions fail, and how to design systems that make the right behavior automatic. The science behind every money hack

    🎯

    Individual guidance — wealth and wellbeing

    Helps people design and implement a personal money system, built around their life and goals. One-on-one behavioral strategy for financial and mental wellbeing

    🎙️

    Speaker & workshop facilitator

    Keynotes, lectures and workshops on money and behavior for organizations, teams and professional events

    📺

    Media

    NPO Radio 1 BNR Nieuwsradio Editie NL Kassa Trouw de Volkskrant Het Parool De Telegraaf

    Book this talk

    Bring Money Hacks to your organization

    Available as a keynote, lunch lecture, or workshop — for corporate teams, financial institutions, and professional events. Book a 15-minute call to discuss what fits your context.

    Schedule a 15-minute call →

    No commitment. Just a conversation about what you need.

    What participants say

    ★★★★★ ★★★★★

    4.6 / 5

    Rated by participants from a virtual session for The Fork — 129 of 132 stayed until the end (98%).

    “Loved the format and pace of this lecture — it was energising and I feel genuinely excited to try some of the hacks out.”

    Participant, TheFork

    “Learned good strategies, like the 50/30/20 method, and the idea of splitting income three ways.”

    Participant, TheFork