Let’s face it: saving money is no cakewalk. Between bills, daily expenses, and the usual treat-yourself moments, making a future nest egg is usually the odd one out. But what if putting away money could be as easy as breathing? With technology at hand, it is! So many applications are designed for this very purpose: automating savings and letting you stash money aside without even giving it a thought. In this post, we shall explore some of the best applications that can help automate your savings, how they work, and how you can apply them to achieve your financial goals.
1. Acorns
Overview:
If you’ve ever wished you could save money without actively thinking about it, Acorns might be your new best friend. This app rounds up your everyday purchases to the nearest dollar and invests the spare change in a diversified portfolio. It’s like a digital piggy bank that also grows your money over time!
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available on Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Round-Ups: Acorns will round up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the spare change. For example, if you spend $3.50 on a coffee, Acorns will round that up to $4.00 and invest $0.50 of the difference.
- Recurring Investments: You can also make recurring deposits to accelerate your savings.
- Found Money: Acorns partners with brands to give you cashback on purchases, which it then invests for you.
Why It’s Great:
Acorns requires little stress to start investing. You will not need to invest much money, and the spare change approach makes investing just about painless. Plus, this app offers some educational resources to ensure you learn something along the way.
2. Digit
Overview:
Digit acts like your personal savings assistant, working in the background. Using AI, it learns how you spend money and automatically saves small amounts of cash from your checking account that you won’t even notice.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available on the Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Brilliant Transfers: Digit analyzes how much you can save from your spending pattern using algorithms and initiates small transfers every few days.
- Savings Goals: Savings goals range from anything like a vacation to an emergency fund.
- No Overdrafts: Digit is keen never to let its customers overdraft their accounts. That said, it will never transfer more than what you can afford.
Why It’s Great:
Digit makes it impossible to forget to save money. You will never have to decide the amount or date, as the AI assistant in Digit does all the hard work for you. It’s great for anyone who doesn’t save regularly or has unpredictable income.
3. Qapital
Overview:
Qapital takes a gamified approach to savings. Using Qapital, you can set up custom rules to save money automatically by rounding up your purchases or setting aside a few dollars every time you hit your daily step goal.
Operation Systems:
- iOS: App Store
- Android: Play Store
How it Works:
- Goal-Based Savings: Named savings goals—such as “New Laptop” or “Europe Trip”—and rules associated with each goal. IFTTT Integration: Qapital works with IFTTT, which lets users create fun savings triggers. Example: Save $5 every time you go to the gym.
- Round Ups and Recurring Deposits: Save automatically by rounding up purchases or via recurring deposits.
Why It’s Great:
Qapital is perfect for those who want to make saving money more fun and customized. It’s perfect for anyone who loves the idea of saving on habit—or even weather!
4. Chime
Chime is a straightforward mobile banking app because it makes savings easier with things like “Save When You Get Paid,” which automatically sets aside a portion of your paycheck. It also has “Save When You Spend,” a system that rounds up your transactions to the nearest dollar and saves the difference.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store
- Android: Available on Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Save When You Get Paid: It automatically transfers 10% of your direct deposit paycheck into your savings account.
- Round-Up Transactions: Round up your debit card purchases and save the spare change.
- Fee-Free Banking: There are No overdraft fees, monthly payments, or minimum balance requirements.
Why It’s Great:
Chime weaves savings into everyday banking, making saving ridiculously easy on autopilot. Plus, it’s fee-free, which is a big deal for many who scrape together any way they can to avoid extra charges.
5. Simple
Overview:
Simple is much more than a savings app. It’s an all-in-one budgeting tool that helps you manage your money and work toward your goals. It’s known for its “Safe-to-Spend” feature, which clearly shows how much money is left over to spend after accounting for bills and savings goals.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available on the Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Safe-to-Spend: The feature subtracts upcoming bills and savings goals from your available balance, so you always know how much you can safely spend.
- Goals and Envelopes: Allow you to set aside money for various goals or categories, such as “Rent,” “Groceries,” or “Vacation.”
- Automatic Savings: The ability to automatically transfer money from your main account into your savings goals based on your budget.
Why It’s Great:
Simple helps you manage your finances holistically while ensuring you save for the things that matter most. Of course, the “Safe to Spend” feature keeps you on track with your spending.
6. Twine
Overview:
Twine is a specially created savings app for couples or partners who save together. You can set a joint savings goal and contribute to it through separate accounts ideal for shared expenses such as vacations, weddings, or a new home.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: It is available on the Apple App Store.
- Note: Twine is currently not on Android.
How It Works:
- Joint Goals: Set joint savings goals and track progress together, contribution by contribution.
- Automated Contributions: Both partners can create automatic transfers toward your joint savings goals.
- Tracking Goal Progress: See, visually, how far you have come in attaining your goals.
Why It’s Great:
Twine is great for couples who want to start saving together but don’t need a joint bank account. It makes joint financial planning pretty smooth and uncomplicated.
7. Plum
Overview:
Plum is an AI-powered app that automatically saves and invests on your behalf. It learns from your spending habits and automatically transfers smaller chunks of money into a savings or investment account—an excellent tool for saving and growing one’s money.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available in the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available in the Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Automatic Savings: Plum analyzes spending to find the best time and money to save.
- Investment Options: You can invest your savings across a wide range of funds based on your preference for risk.
- Budgeting Tools: Offers insights into your spending habits to help you save more effectively.
Why It’s Great:
Plum’s combination of savings and investment features makes it a versatile tool for anyone looking to grow their money without much effort. Its AI-driven approach means it’s constantly working in the background to help you save.
8. Yotta
Overview:
Yotta makes saving bearable, even gamifying it, by offering weekly lottery-style prizes to depositors. You save money while getting a chance to win cash prizes and earn a competitive interest rate on your savings.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available on the Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Prize-Linked Savings: For every $25 deposit, you get one ticket to a weekly lottery drawing with cash prizes. The account allows automatic transfers, enabling regular savings easily and effortlessly.
- Competitive Interest Rates: Enjoy playing the lottery while earning interest on your savings.
Why It’s Great:
Yotta makes saving fun. It makes keeping a little more interesting because, on the other end, there’s an opportunity to win prizes in return for saving.
9. Tip Yourself
Overview:
Tip Yourself is based on rewarding your good habits. Every time you do something, accomplish a task, or hit a goal, you reward or “tip” yourself money into a separate savings account.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available on the Apple App Store.
- Android: Available on the Google Play Store.
How It Works:
- Manual Tips: Every time you feel you have earned a reward, it will remind you to move small amounts into your savings account manually.
- Goal Setting: You can set a savings goal and track it.
- Community Support: You can even share your goals and progress with a community for further motivation.
Why It’s Great:
Tip Yourself makes saving a positive, rewarding test of and for oneself. It is ideal for those who want to be highly involved in their saving processes.
10. Stash
Overview:
Stash is an investment app with some pretty robust savings features. It allows you to invest small amounts of money into fractional shares of stocks that are highly accessible to anyone, even those with little to start off with. You can also set up auto-save tools to help you boost your investment over time.
Operating Systems:
- iOS: Available at the App Store
- Android: Available on Play Store
How It Works:
- Fractional Investing: The chance to invest in stock or an ETF for as low as $5
- Auto-Stash: Set up automated saving and investing options.
- Educational Resources: Learn how to invest using the educational content published within the app.
Why It’s Great:
Stash is great if you want to explore investments while building your savings. It’s user-friendly and educational, perfect for beginners.
Automating your savings is one of the smartest moves to guarantee a secure financial future with no hassle in manual transfers or constant monitoring. From saving loose change to partnering with your loved ones and even investing your savings, the applications we have covered will definitely have something for everyone. Give one or a few a try and see how easy it can be to save more money and work toward your financial goals. Happy saving!
