There are a boatload of things to juggle when you’re in the military. Your job, TDY’s, studying for promotion, PCSing, deployments and don’t forget to save money. It can be especially overwhelming if you aren’t a strong saver or know what you’re doing. That’s the point of this What the Heck, to give you a little help with saving money. Or this could be the kick in the pants you need to start saving money. So, what are the best savings apps for military to use? When you’re deciding what savings apps you use, they need to be in line with what your goals for savings are. Is it short-term or long-term savings. Are you saving for emergencies or your retirement? Knowing will help you decided which app to use.
Save What?—The Best Savings Apps for Military
Here are the Best Savings Apps for Military: Acorns This app is for new investors or for those who don’t have a large amount of money to invest (which is called Micro investing). It makes investing super easy by rounding up the money you spend and then invests your spare change. To set Acorns up, you link your spending accounts such as a checking account to your Acorns account. Once your spare change reaches $5, that amount is invested into your Acorns account. You can also make a one-time investment to give your account an extra boost. Recently, they’ve added Acorns Later which are Individual Retirement Accounts (IRA). Now you can automatically save money in a tax advantage retirement account. Be aware that it’s not free to use an Acorns account. The fee is $1/month for an Acorns account and $2/ month for Acorns + Acorns Later. Digit Digit is a simple automatic savings app. They have a fancy algorithm that analyzes your spending habits and then automatically saves money for you based on the results. To begin saving all you do is sign-up for Digit and link your bank account. The goal of Digit is to save money without you realizing it. It’s free for the first 100 days, but after that, it gets a little pricey at $2.99/month. Digit sends you text messages every day to let you know your bank account balance. Plus if you save three consecutive months, Digit will give you a 1% bonus on the balance of your account. Digit makes it easy to save, but you have to weigh that with the cost before making your decision.
Rize
Rize is another savings app, but they do not pick how much to save, you have to set your savings rate. Then after you are paid, Rize will automatically move that amount into your Rize account. They have a cool feature that I really dig. They help you save for your goals. In your account you can name your goal, the amount you want to save for that goal and they will let you know how long it will take to save for that goal. If you want to reach your savings goal by a certain date, they’ll show you have much per month you to save.
FYI. Rize doesn’t have a set fee. They ask for you to set a voluntary contribution amount unless you use Rize’s investments. Then the cost is $2 per month and a .25% annual management fee.
Stash
Stash is an app that allows you to save and invest money automatically starting with as little as $5. They’ll help you pick investment strategies and learn more about investing. As an added perk, you can invest in what “you love and believe in.”
Smart-save is a way to automate your saving. Turn on this feature within your account and Stash will save the perfect amount of money for your lifestyle. The cost to use this app is $1/month but when you have an account balance of $5,000 it will be .25% of your account balance each year.
Those are the best savings apps for military but remember, savings apps aren’t for everyone. Just like with budgeting, when you save money you have to find a way that works for you and savings apps are one way to save money. But if you have an allotment to your savings account and that works for you, then stick with it. Apps are just another tool to help you save money.
But if apps do work for you, they can make it easy and automatic to save money. When you are PCSing and have a million other things to remember, saving money won’t be forgotten because it’s set-up and running in the background.
I loved to hear what savings apps you’ve tried or are interested in. Please share them in comments below.
And if you have a question add it in the comments and I can answer it in future WTHW.
Thanks for being a part of this military community.
