One of the most popular resolutions when the clock strikes midnight kickstarting the new year is to be smarter with spending. If your goal is to save more money, make this the year that you actually stick to your resolution.
Since it’s 2017 and there’s an app for everything, we compiled a list of the best ones to help you save money automatically and become more aware of your spending habits.
Acorns
Acorns is an app about micro investing.
How it works: Connect the credit or debit cards you use most often and the app will round up each purchase to the nearest dollar. Your spare change adds up and you can either transfer it back into your bank account or have Acorns invest it in stocks and bonds on your behalf. You can also select an amount between $5 and $50,000 for a one-time investment, or set up daily, weekly or monthly investment amounts.
The benefit: Money you don’t even realize you’re spending is invested across 7,000 stocks and bonds, monitored by professionals to help reduce risk.
The cost: An Acorns membership costs just $1 per month.
Honey
Honey is a browser extension that searches for online coupons on your behalf.
How it works: When you’re shopping on a Honey-supported website, the Honey icon on your browser will turn orange. At checkout, you click said icon (found next to the web address bar). It searches for coupon codes and tests them, applying the one which will save you the most money. Honey works on thousands of websites and millions of products.
The benefit: Saving you time and frustration associated with searching Google for coupon codes and entering them only to find out that they won’t apply to your purchase.
The cost: Honey is a free service.
Level
Level is an app that helps you manage your money.
How it works: Level is connected to your bank account. You input your essential spending (think: rent and bills) and your target savings goal. Level takes this information into account and subtracts it from your total balance, thus only showing you the amount leftover to spend on things like groceries, dining out and clothes.
The benefit: You only see the amount of spending money you have for the month and the app tracks what you spend it on. Because it tracks your spending habits, you can make adjustments to your daily and monthly spending to help you beef up your savings account and prevent overdrafting.
The cost: Level is a free app.
Unsplurge
Unsplurge is an app to help you save for those big purchases you have in mind.
How it works: Let’s say you want to save for a European vacation, or you want to pay down your student loan debt. Both of these can have hefty price tags associated with them, which requires a lot of planning to save enough money to do so. Within the app, you set your saving goals and it tracks your progress. Other savers cheer you on as you make progress on achieving your saving goals.
The benefit: Unsplurge and its community motivate you to save your money and reach your goals by tracking your progression. Having a support system can help you stay on track with your goal.
The cost: Unsplurge is a free app.
Digit
Digit is an app that helps you save automatically.
How it works: Lots of people are bad at saving money. Digit is an app that connects to your checking account and studies your spending and income history to make predictions and check for savings opportunities. Each day, small amounts of money are set aside – if you can afford it – and added to your Digit account. These are small sums that won’t affect your day-to-day expenses, and each week, the app sends you a text message to inform you how much it helped you save. If you want any of that money back, you simply reply with a withdrawal amount.
The benefit: Money that you won’t notice is missing from your account is added to a savings account automatically. It makes saving easier because it requires no effort, thought or planning.
The cost: Digit is a free app.
Mint
Mint is a money management app.
How it works: Mint keeps all your financial information in one place, including your account balances, monthly bills, credit score and more. It allows you to see the money you have, the money you owe, to create a budget, track investments and get tips on better ways to save.
The benefit: Having all your information at the touch of a button makes it easy to know where you stand, stick to a budget and set yourself up for financial success.
The cost: Mint is a free app.
Spendee
Spendee is an app that tracks your expenses.
How it works: Much like other expense tracking apps, Spendee keeps tabs on your spending and allows you to create a budget. What makes it different is a feature which allows you to create as many different budgets and wallets as you like. The wallet feature can be shared with other individuals, such as family members or roommates so you all can be more conscious of spending.
The benefit: Spendee keeps you and everyone in your household aware of transactions and savings goals, and allows you to break out your budget into different categories, such as rent, car payments, groceries, etc.
The cost: Spendee is a free app with a premium membership for $1.99 per month.
Get Started
All of the apps listed help you become more aware of spending and save money with little-to-no effort. The key to a good New Year’s resolution is keeping it simple so it isn’t too difficult to stick with it. Save money without realizing you’re doing it? That’s a no-brainer. Cheers to becoming more financially responsible in 2017!
Shannon Ireland writes for Quotes.Safeco.com and HomeInsurance.com, an online resource for homeowners and drivers across the country. Offering automobile and home insurance quotes, consumers rely on HomeInsurance.com for competitive rates from top-rated insurance carriers. The HomeInsurance.com blog provides fresh tips and advice on a range of financial topics to help homeowners and homebuyers make educated decisions about their insurance purchases.
