Saving money has been proven to be a difficult skill to master – and a skill not many practice, unfortunately. Luckily, in this article, we’ll discuss various ways one can more easily achieve and master this skill. Nowadays, there are many tools and tricks to make this very easy and almost completely automatic. What’s more, people are becoming more financially literate each day thanks to numerous software solutions, smarter banking options and other similar tools.
According to the industry expert, Andre Witzel, learning more about finances has never been easier than it is today. So, without further ado, let’s jump right in.
Must-have smart banking apps
Some see technology as a bad thing, others see it as a tool to make life easier. No matter which category you fall into, the simple truth is that modern technology brings forth numerous conveniences. It allows us to focus more on what really matters in life and helps us automate mundane, dangerous and other similar tasks. Of course, the same applies to finances.
That being said, here are some useful apps that are more than worth checking out.
Revolut
Revolut is a British financial technology company that offers banking services. Headquartered in London, it was founded in 2015 by Nikolay Storonsky and Vlad Yatsenko.
This app offers lots of functionality, which sets it apart from the rest of the banking apps. The app enables users to sign up for a new bank account, so it basically acts like your new IBAN bank account.
Revolut enables its users to manage everything, like currency exchange, budgeting and putting limits on their own cards, assigning vendors to certain categories etc. Also a built-in feature called “spare change savings” will round up card transactions and save the amount it rounded up. So, for instance, if you purchase something for $99, the app will automatically round up the charge to $100, and put that $1 towards savings. If you wish, you can even increase the amount it “rounds up” if you wish to boost your savings.
Over time this all gets put into these little savings accounts, called “vaults” from which you can withdraw money and make deposits within seconds. You will also receive some interest on this type of savings, but it won’t be as high as compared to the one you could be eligible for if you were to make an investment.
Starling Bank
Starling Bank is another good app that’s similar to Revolut, but a bit more traditional. Starling Bank is a digital challenger bank based in the United Kingdom, which focuses on current and business account products. Headquartered in London, Starling Bank is a licensed and regulated bank, founded by former Allied Irish Banks COO, Anne Boden, in January 2014. Starling Bank is known for making it very easy to budget expenses and assign limits to your spendings.
The main difference between the two is that Starling Bank is a bank that has physical chains you can visit, unlike Revolut which is hosted from the cloud. However, Revolut does have an HR department set up in London. If you find the jump to something like Revolut a little too radical and want to stay true to a traditional bank, sticking to Starling Bank may be a better option.
Set a budget and stick to it
Aside from choosing a good smart banking app, you will also need to take care of some things on your own. First and foremost, create a monthly budget and try to stick to it as much as possible. By staying on top of your incomes and spendings, you can pinpoint all the areas where you can cut back on costs and improve your savings. Of course, don’t expect this to be easy, but with just a bit of dedication and devotion, you’ll master it in no time.