Many Americans struggle to save money, in fact a survey by BankRate in 2019 found that one in five aren’t saving anything at all. If you’re finding it a challenge too, whether you hope to save for a down payment to purchase one of the Calgary homes for sale, or for your retirement, consider downloading one of these apps that will help you make it happen.
My Budget Book
My Budget Book offers personal financial tracking and budgeting to help you keep an eye on your daily spending. It will even tell you what the impact of buying that $200 purse will have on your household budget, without those annoying ads asking you to spend more on extras. It includes the option to use an individual or recurring transaction feature, while allowing you to track and forecast balances, and visualize records by using graphs and charts.
Rize
Rize is an automatic savings app that can help you earn extra money on your savings for long-term goals like retirement or a down payment on a house, while providing a high APY on cash savings. It also gives you the option to earn more on those savings by investing the funds. You’ll set your goal amount and how often you want a specific amount of money taken from your account, then the app does all the rest. The money you save will earn interest on the cash savings, and if you decide to invest it, it will be put into exchange-traded funds. There’s no minimum amount to open an account, or any fees charged on cash savings. It does require contributing a minimum of $2 each month to your account along with an annual 0.25% management fee of invested assets.
Joy
If your budget is tight, you can use the Joy app to locate funds you didn’t think you had. It will analyze what you’re spending and what you’re earning, and then calculate how much you can save without causing you to go over budget. It doesn’t automatically make transfers for you, so you will have to open the app and decide if you want to save the money or not. If you do, the funds will be taken from the bank account you have linked and deposited into the Joy account, which is FDIC insured. You can choose to save less or more than what’s suggested, and move money into your Joy account at any time. When you need that money, you can transfer the funds to an external account.
Qapital
Qapital allows you to set the rules to automate savings. For example, you can choose to contribute a specific amount to your fund on a regular basis, or every time you spend, Qapital can round up the total to the nearest dollar and then move the amount into an FDIC-insured goal account. It requires membership of $3, $6 or $12 a month with higher amounts providing additional customization and educational resources.
Betterment
One of the most popular robo-adviser apps, Betterment offers professional managed portfolios using a selection of ETFs which are calibrated against your risk tolerance. If you want something safe, Betterment can find that for you, and if you’re willing to take more risk, it will locate a higher return, all at a much lower fee than what you’d pay for a traditional financial adviser. For a basic account, the fee is 0.25 percent, or $25 a year for every $10,000 you’ve invested. The app also allows you to set goals to invest for like retirement or a safety net.
Tip Yourself
If you want to save and reward yourself for positive behavior, be sure to download this app that will help you stay consistent with your personal goals while building good saving habits. Every time you accomplish a personal goal, like running 20 miles in a week or getting yourself to the office earlier, you’ll tip yourself whatever amount you think you deserve. You can set a savings goal for your next vacation, or anything else you want to save for. When you reach it, you’ll know the money you spend is your reward for keeping promises made to yourself.
