It’s often recommended that you save at least twice your monthly income in a savings account. This is to help you in that moment where the unforeseen happens and you need backup. Maybe you have an unexpected car repair, the water heater broke, or the AC in your house needs repair. According to a Google Consumer Survey hosted by Go Banking Rates, 62% of American families have under $1,000 in savings. And to add to that, 25% don’t have a savings account at all.
At Dollar Loan Center, we know all too well that things happen. And we’re here to help with our signature loan when those things happen. But, we want to help you prepare for them as well. So, in that spirit, here are 7 apps that help you save more money. You might not get to that $1,000 savings very quickly, but with a little effort and a lot of budget awareness, you’ll get there.
1. Digit
Every few days, Digit checks your spending habits and removes a few dollars from your checking account if you can afford it. Your money is then held in a FDIC insured account with Digit. But, don’t worry. If that unexpected thing does happen, you can easily get your money back from Digit. Simply send them a text and your money is back in your account the next business day.
2. Mint
You can keep your spending habits in check by bringing all of your bank accounts and investment profiles together. The free Mint app will monitor your expenses using simple graphs and offers tips on how to build a budget suited to your lifestyle.
3. Qapital
Have you ever set up mail rules for receiving your email? Qapital works similar to that concept, but instead of setting up mail rules, you set up banking rules. For example, you can make a rule rounding up all of your change. Or you can set a rule to save money any time you spend on a guilty pleasure. You could also just set a rule to save a fixed amount daily, weekly, or monthly. When those actions are completed, that triggers Qapital to add cash to your savings.
4. BillTracker
We may have largely eliminated paper billing statements these days. But now we have tons of emails coming in and that’s not helping us stay any more organized or on top of paying our bills. BillTracker is the solution to the organizing problem by arranging your various monthly payments in one convenient location. After logging in the information of your various payees, BillTracker marks which statements are paid and ones that are incoming. The app also sets up reminders and alerts to help make sure you pay everything on time. Paying bills on time means saving on expensive late fees!
5. Tip Yourself
Much like Digit, that we previously discussed, Tip Yourself is an online savings account that saves money directly from your checking account. However, Tip Yourself allows you to save your own specific dollar amount and it’s designed to help you reach your goals using a financial incentive. For example, every time you work out, you can “tip yourself” in any amount you choose. Bonus points for being a healthy reward system, too!
6. PocketGuard
PocketGuard tracks your spending by organizing purchases into different categories, from groceries to clothing. By categorizing your spending, it makes it easier to isolate where you spend the most allowing you to balance your budget more effectively. PocketGuard can also be used to handle bills and subscriptions, using various alerts and reminders to keep you on top of payment plans.
7. Acorns
Acorns is designed to make investing less intimidating. After connecting to your bank account, Acorns rounds up the cost of your purchases and saves the difference in a separate Acorns account, where it eventually invests your money into low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs). You can also deposit and withdraw your money at any time.
And there you have it! We know that this is not a complete list. There are certainly other apps out there that can help you accomplish similar goals. However, these 7 apps offer you a wide variety of options for starting or boosting your current savings account. Also, be sure to check with your financial institution to see what kind of programs they have to offer. You never know what is available if you don’t ask.