You know you need to save, you want to save, but you don't. That's exactly why you need an account that makes automatic savings transfer easy.
Pay yourself first. It's one of the most frequent -- and best -- pieces of financial advice we can give. And one of the most ignored.
Fortunately, several new apps and bank accounts are making automatic savings transfers easier than ever.
Automatic savings plans have made it less of a hassle to save money and keep it saved. Setting up automatic savings transfers each month helps get rid of the worry and excuses we all make to avoid saving.
Here are some of the best accounts that offer automatic savings transfers to help you get started.
Digit
We've recommended Digit in the past because it's easy to use and a trusted way to save.
Just link your checking account to Digit (which takes about five to ten minutes) and confirm your account via text message and you're ready to go. Digit then begins analyzing your spending habits and checking account balance from day-to-day. When it's ready, Digit will start to make periodic savings transfers from your checking account into your Digit account. These transfers are small (often a few dollars at a time) and will happen at times that don't interfere with your bill payments.
Don't be concerned if nothing happens for the first few days, this is to be expected.
You can stop or withdraw these payments at any time.
Pros: Digit is a tried and true automatic savings plan, and it's free. It analyzes your account so it should only be taking savings from the places you can afford to pull from.
Cons: Like all automatic savings accounts, there are a limited number of banks that participate. If you're linking from a checking account at a large bank, you're probably good to go, but there are some credit unions that don't participate with Digit.
Another drawback is that Digit currently does not pay interest on your savings account like some other savings plans.
Bank of America's Keep The Change Program
Are you a Bank of America customer?
If so, they offer one of the easiest savings plans around.
Cleverly titled, Keep the Change, the plan rounds each of your purchases you make with your Bank of America card to the nearest dollar. For example, if you buy a coffee that costs you $4.25, your total would round up to five dollars and that 75 cents is put into your Keep the Change account.
Instead of using the weekly or monthly method, Bank of America transfers these small amounts daily.
Pros: You're constantly saving small amounts of money instead of larger portions.
The account is linked to your bank, so all your accounts are in one place that's easy to access. Plus, you've got more physical branches (rather than online customer service) you can visit if you have any issues.
Cons: If you aren't a Bank of America member (with a checking account, savings account, and debit card), or aren't interested in becoming one, you'll need to find another savings plan.
Capital One 360 offers a free online savings account with the option to set up automatic savings. It's been named one of the simplest, most-foolproof savings accounts around.
If you want, you can also open a linked free, interest-bearing Capital One 360 checking account that includes mobile check deposit, a Mastercard debit card and thousands of free ATMs nationwide.
The biggest perk with the Capital One 360 saving account is the ability to create up to 25 separate accounts for your various savings goals all under one login.
Pros: There are no fees, and Capital One offers a competitive interest rate of 0.75 percent APY (effective March 3, 2017 -- this rate may change with time) with no minimum balance. With the amount, you can withdraw funds just as quickly as you would from other bank accounts instead of waiting the typical 2-3 days with online savings accounts.
Cons: Capital One doesn't have the high interest rate you can find on an online savings account (compare today's top savings rates here), but does offer a Money Market account that pays more on balances over 10,000.
Dobot
Dobot is similar to Digit. You start by creating a free account where you'll set up a savings goal. Dobot then analyzes the transactions from your bank account and finds places you can save. Every few days Dobot transfers small amounts of money into your account.
Pros: Offers the same savings plan as Digit, but with a friendlier interface and the ability to connect your bank manually if there's no automatic option.
Cons: Like Digit, Dobot doesn't pay interest on your savings accounts.
The free app lets you set up goals and link each to a checking account. You can set up automatic payments or add money whenever you're able.
Pros: Money Clouds offer the most banks for linking accounts. With 18,000 bank partnerships, chances are they have yours. If not, getting yours linked is simple. Just email customer service and they'll do it manually.
Money Clouds is especially designed with iPhones in mind, so the interface is colorful and appealing, as well as easy to use.
Cons: The biggest drawback with Money Clouds is that it can only be used with an iOS device. So, if you've got an android, you'll need to use a different automatic savings plan.
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