When you hear the words “savings account,” your first response is probably a groan, right? You know that you need to save money, that you’ll need to retire one day, or that you’re one broken appliance or medical bill from a disaster, but the allure of that cup of coffee or avocado toast or a new toy is just too tempting! And just like that, your good intentions to stash money away for a rainy day are dashed. The good news is, you’re not alone; 70% of Americans have $1,000 in their savings account or less. The better news: technology has made it easier than ever to save money without it feeling like a sacrifice or a challenge. These apps can help you start or boost your savings with little to no effort on your part.
Mint
Cost: Free
Stashing some money in a savings account is great, but if you don’t have a handle on your overall financial health, then it can be ineffective, or worse, lead to overdraft fees. Mint is a fantastic budgeting app precisely because it is automated. The secure app automatically analyzes all your accounts and tracks, categorizes, and analyzes each of your transactions. With this information, Mint creates a budget unique to your situation. Mint also allows you to set goals and automatically have money transferred for those aims.
Qapital
Cost: Free
Qapital calls itself a “goal-based banking service.” You set up a series of rules; for instance, round credit/debit purchases to the nearest dollar, or deposit money into savings each time you rent a movie or set aside a certain amount each time you get paid. Then the app automatically moves the money into an FDIC-backed Qapital account. There are some big advantages to this approach. The first is that the money goes into a savings account separate from your other accounts, so you are more likely to forget that the money is there until you need it. Secondly, it lets you set up an automatic-savings plan unique to your situation. Some accounts even earn interest.
Ifttt
Cost: Free
Ifttt is not technically a savings app in and of itself. The app works by allowing you to set a series of conditional statements to adjust the behavior of everything from your phone to your Facebook account. That said, some of the apps that it connects to are banks or savings apps like Qapital. For instance, searching for Qapital shows pre-created rules like “save money when you hit your FitBit step goal,” or “save money when you don’t meet your FitBit goal,” and “save money every time it snows,” along with many other similar rules. It’s an easy and fun way to put aside a little extra money.
Acorns
Cost: $1 per month for balances under $5,000; 0.25% per month for balances over $5,000; free for four years for college students
Acorns is the only app on this list that isn’t technically free, but it pays for itself so quickly that it might as well be. Acorns is an automated savings app that rounds your purchases to the nearest dollar, like with Qapital or similar apps. However, unlike those, Acorns deposits the money into an investment portfolio comprised of Exchange Trading Funds. If your stocks rise, then like with any other investment account, you reap the reward. Even better: if you use your credit card with one of the partner apps, they’ll automatically deposit money into your investment account.
Saving money doesn’t have to be a hassle. With apps like there, there’s no reason it should be anymore. Why not try one of these apps today and watch your savings grow for a vacation, nest egg, retirement, or a chance to spoil yourself.