Best Money-Saving Apps – 7 Top Downloads

Saving money is getting increasingly difficult these days. Firstly, household expenses keep increasing, and it appears the average individual has to whip out their debit cards several times a day. Furthermore, a lot of folks lack the discipline and commitment needed to save money. Mobile banking has even made it a lot more tedious as people can go shopping online, spending tons from their savings account or checking account, without even being aware of it. However, this reality notwithstanding, there is an imperative to develop a savings culture in our times. How can you nonetheless save even with these challenges? Start small. Putting away spare change from a random grocery run may not seem like a big deal till you gauge how much you get in a given month. This is where money-saving apps come in.

A money-saving app automates the process of saving for you. It is like an online piggy bank where you stash away money for a given period till you need them. Most of these apps get integrated directly with your bank account. Hence, there is a direct deposit from your account to the online platform, eliminating the need to transfer money from one end to the other. Some also function as an investing app. They open an investment account for you when they save your money. Investment accounts here earn you interest as you save.

There are paid money-saving apps as well as free services. However, on the whole, most apps save you from paying unnecessary fees that are often the case with banks. Finally, you may be wondering, are money-saving apps safe? Yes, they are. Most use encryption technology to safeguard the funds on its their platforms, keeping your money safe from tampering.

In this guide, we’ll give you a list of the best money-saving apps so you can start downloading and saving now!

Why Should You Use A Money-Saving App?

Most folks understand the need to save money. However, there may be questions about how a money savings app can help. Here are three strong reasons you may want to use a money-saving app.

Financial Discipline

One of the biggest attractions for these apps is financial discipline. It goes without saying that saving money periodically is a smart financial strategy to employ. However, a lot of folks find it hard to do so. Thus, if you have terrible income and spending habits, that is, you spend before you save and sometimes do not get to save at all, you should consider money-saving apps. Bear in mind that you need not have a terrible investing habit before you use these savings apps.

Early Start for Young People

Young people who are tech-savvy might not like to go to physical banks to make deposits and withdrawals. Thus, using a mobile app to save any spare money they get is one way to meet their financial goals.  If you are a young person, money-saving apps afford you the means to raise crucial personal capital, especially when you may not have the standing to obtain loans and grants.

Financial Protection

Finally, one of the best reasons for using a money-saving app is for financial stability/security. If you have a savings goal, you will need a system that keeps you accountable. You may be unable to channel your funds to your savings account or checking account without some sort of help. The typical financial institution can only do so much. Using a money-saving app gives you the push you need to consistently reach your goals and stay financially secure.

Best Money-Saving Apps

Now that you know the benefits of saving money using personal finance apps, the next step is identifying the best money-saving apps to use. There are quite many of them in the market, each with specific peculiarities, perks and drawbacks. The best ones ensure automatic savings, invest your funds into specific investment projects and also give you returns while at it. Here are our best recommendations for the best money-saving apps.

Acorns

Acorns is one of the money savings apps that also double as a micro-investing app. So, beyond saving money, Acorns invests the saved funds and earns you returns. We particularly love Acorns because of its easy setup and use mechanism. It is the best app for beginners.

Acorns rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar. It then adds the difference to an investment account in your name. This begins to build your investment portfolio. As more money is added to the interest, and benefits that accrue to you continue to rise, too. You can connect your savings account and your existing checking account to your Acorns account.

Acorns invests your money into stocks, bonds, and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). ETFs refer to stocks of various companies pooled together. When you use Acorns, you can choose either the conservative trading option or even the aggressive one. If you use your Acorns’ linked debit card to purchase an item from an Acorns partner company such as Apple or Walmart, you earn some bonuses.

The monthly fee for an Acorns account is  $1. However, if you increase your payment to about $3, you will get a checking account and a retirement account in addition.

Qapital

Qapital is one of the best online money-saving app that you can use. It is effective and has an intuitive user interface, perfect for beginners. Qapital has a slew of features and can even set up your retirement account for you as well as link your online accounts with your regular bank accounts.

Qapital has some savings tools and saving rules that help users meet their savings target on time. For instance, there is the roundup rule that rounds up your purchases to the nearest dollar. The spare change is directly sent to your account. Furthermore, you also find the spend less rule, which kicks in when you spend less on purchases than you intended to. The difference between what you budgeted and what you actually spent is then sent to your account on Qapital.

YNAB

You Need A Budget (YNAB) is a money app that also doubles as a budgeting app. It ensures that users meet their periodic budgeting goals, whether or not they are interested in doing so. This is important because it is almost impossible for an individual to hit their savings goals or even to have something set aside in an emergency fund without an effective budgeting system.

YNAB has four important rules. The first is: Give every dollar a job. Here, once any money enters your savings account, you decide what you want to use it for. The second is: Embrace your true expenses. This is where you break down your monthly inevitable expenses into manageable lumps you can offset monthly. Rule three is: Roll with the Punches. This reminds you to make adjustments for unforeseen expenses. The last is: Age with your money. The goal here is to spend money that is at least 30 days old.

You can try YNAB for free for 34 days. Afterward, you can choose the monthly subscription option with monthly fees of $11.99 per month and $84 per annum. You can link all your accounts to your YNAB account for a better budgeting experience.

Tiller Money

Tiller Money is the money-saving app for the financially savvy. It is a savings tool that tracks all of your money transactions and transfers them to a Google sheet. Tiller updates the sheet every day, sending you an email regarding the state of your account, which also then lets you know the areas you need to improve upon.

Tiller Money is much more than a savings tool. While you cannot automatically invest with it, you can potentially pay off debts and personal loans using its snowball method. This in turn improves your credit score, making you eligible for future loans and grants.

The app is available for iOS and Android users. You will need a Google (Gmail) account to get started.

Digit

Digit is one of the most intuitive money-saving apps on our list. First, you download and install the app and link it to your bank account. Thereafter, Digit runs a check to determine your financial health and how much you will be able to save within a given period. Then, it transfers this identified sum to a Digit account that is insured by the FDIC.

Apart from helping you to save money, Digit also earns you some extra money along the way. Account-holders earn interest of 0.1 percent on their savings. You get to withdraw money generated this way every three months.

However, you need to be very careful to monitor the activities in your Digit account. This is because your personal finance could be in jeopardy if Digit transfers money out of your account to the point that there is an overdraft. Digit, however, agrees to pay at least two overdrafts caused by the way its app works. However, that could be insufficient.

You get to use the Digit app for free for 30 days before you can then jump on the $5 per month subscription.

Stash

Stash is another money-saving app that not only helps you reach your savings goals but also shows you where to invest your money. It is also relatively affordable as you get to pay as low as $1 per month as subscription. While you are at it, you get a $20 sign-up bonus when you use the service.

Getting a subscription entitles you to a Stash online account and a debit card. You can then link your savings account to your regular Stash account to automate the investment process.  Remarkably, Stash offers the option of buying fractional shares, which are like fractions of a regular share. How much money you make in interests will be proportional to the amount of shares you purchase.

Stash recently rolled out the smart stash feature. This analyzes when users have some spare change and helps them invest it. Stash is a wonderful option for anyone looking to same and invest at the same time.

Clarity Money

Clarity Money is a free app that makes its way to our list of the best money savings apps to use. Like YNAB, Clarity Money doubles as a budgeting app and is available for iOS and Android devices. You can utilize its features to save for crucial projects like college tuition or house rent.

It transfers money from areas where you are wasteful to crucial segments where the money will come in useful. For instance, it identifies and cuts off subscription plans that you do not use often. Furthermore, it can help you negotiate your bills to get better offers. Finally, it also helps save money by alerting you when you are going above your stipulated spending limit. All of these it does for free because, as already mentioned, it is a free app.