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.
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 scientistSet it up once. Then it runs.
Each hack makes good financial behavior easier, more automatic, or both. None require ongoing effort.
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.
FoundationAutomate 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.
AutomationUse 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.
StructureAutomate 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.
AutomationPay 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.
AwarenessHide 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.
FrictionKeep 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.
PermissionMoney 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.
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
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
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)
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 participantI'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.
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
Editie NL
Kassa
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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