Micro-savings apps are designed to help you passively save for a savings goal. Their concept typically involves taking small amounts of money from your checking account in a way that you barely notice. Many of these apps allow you to set savings goals or customize the way you save. Here is a list of the top 5 Micro-Saving Apps.
1. Qapital
Qapital is an app that offers customizable goals and rules such as the Round Up and Spend Less Features. With the Spend Less feature, it will save the difference if you spend a little less on your usual expenses. For example, if you regularly spend $5.95 at Starbucks, but suddenly spend $4.95, it will transfer $1 to your Qapital account. With the Round Up feature, it will save $0.05 from both of those Starbucks transactions after rounding up to the nearest dollar. They also have a 52 week saving feature where it will save $1 for the 1st week, then $2, $3, … until you reach 52 weeks where it will transfer $52 to your Qapital savings account.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| No Fees. It’s Free! | Deposits take 3 business days. |
| A fun way to save with 8 Customizable Rules! | Must open a bank account with Qapital. |
| You can earn an annual return of 5% by Investing your Savings. | It takes longer to setup and customize |
2. Dobot
An app by Fifth Third Bank, Dobot is a completely Free app that analyzes your spending habits to transfer a safe amount of money to your Dobot Savings account. They charge Zero fees. In fact, they will give you $5 just for signing up using my referral link: https://financethrottle.com/Dobot. Dobot has worked well saving me about $20 per week. I think it can help you save too.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| No Fees. It’s Free! | Your Savings do not earn interest |
| Saving is Automatic with a No Over-Draft Guarantee | |
| They give you $5 if you sign up here. |
3. Smarty Pig
Smarty Pig, by Sallie Mae Bank, is inspired by the piggy bank where you can stash your change and save. It is basically a high yield online piggy bank where you can set recurring contributions to save.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| No Fees. It’s Free! | You must deposit at least $10 as a recurring contribution |
| You can earn a High APY on your Savings. Up to 0.80% | Deposits not available for transfer until 5 business days have passed. |
Earnin recently purchased Tip Yourself and integrated them into the Earnin App. Tip yourself allows you to set savings goals and reward yourself when you hit certain milestones or goals such as hitting the gym or mowing the lawn.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| No Fees. It’s Free! | Your Savings do not earn interest |
| Reward’s-based Savings | Deposits take 3 business days. |
| The App Motivates You! | |
| Cash out up to $100/day of your pay as you earn it. No need to wait for payday with Earnin. |
5. Digit
Digit is a micro-saving app that analyzes your income and spending habits to determine what you can safely afford to save. Once it determines your save amount, it will transfer your money from your checking account to your Digit account.
| Pro’s | Con’s |
|---|---|
| Saving is Automatic with a No Over-Draft Guarantee | The app costs $2.99 per month after the first 100 days free |
| You can Earn Savings Bonuses | Your Savings do not earn interest |
In conclusion, it can be difficult budgeting money to save, but these 5 apps make it easy. Subscribe to FinanceThrottle for a follow up article on Micro-Investing apps, allowing you to easily get started in investing in a similar way to Micro-Saving apps.
Affiliate Link Notice: This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you decide to purchase or sign up for a product through my referral links. While you can sign up through any other means, it would help support the blog if you sign up through my links. Thanks.
