Best Money Saving Apps Of 2022

Saving money used to feel like more trouble than it was worth. Meticulously recording expenses? Balancing checkbooks? Who has time for that? Thankfully, apps and other software have taken away much of the pain and made saving money—dare we say—fun.

If you want to squirrel money away for holiday presents, your next car, or even retirement while watching your money grow, technology can help get you there easier and faster. Here we dive into the five must-see money-saving apps to consider, whether these types of apps are safe, and more.

What Is a Money-Saving App?

Money-saving apps are a type of software that helps you save money. They’re typically available on your mobile device, though many also have a desktop platform for you to check, manage, and update your account.

There are various types of money-saving apps, such as ones that find discounts when you’re shopping online or in-store for products and services (RetailMeNot, Groupon) or those that earn money while you shop (Ibotta, Rakuten).

We’re focusing on a different category of apps for our list of top money-saving apps—those that put money in the bank while helping you reach specific financial goals.

Are Money-Saving Apps Safe?

Popular money-saving apps tend to be safe, often including multi-layer security to keep your account protected. While security measures vary by company, you might see…

• Encrypted password and data storage
• Limited storage and use of financial information
• Biometric sign in (Touch or Face ID)
• Separate access code when signing in, two factor authentication
• Third-party audits for security checks

It’s important to vet any apps with access to sensitive personal or financial information by checking their security protocols. Generally, popular apps may be safer because they have the funds and team to build a robust data protection system.

But it’s also equally essential to practice safe cyber habits. Hackers often take the easier route of going for individual accounts rather than attempting to penetrate a multi-layer company firewall. You can protect your accounts on apps by…

• Not reusing passwords
• Not clicking on unverified or unsolicited links sent to you
• Keeping apps up to date
• Staying off public wifi when using apps with sensitive information

5 Must-See Money-Saving Apps

1. YNAB: Best for tight budgets
2. Mint: Best for laid-back budgeters
3. Ally Bank: Best for high-yield banking
4. Fifth-Third Smart Savings: Best for auto savings
5. Monorail: Best all-in-one app

1. You Need A Budget (YNAB)

If you feel like money’s too tight, you’re not in control of your money, or that you need to prioritize saving for a goal, YNAB can help. It’s a zero-based budgeting app where you take your income and assign each dollar to an expense category of your choice. In essence, you’re saving for things beforehand. You deduct expenses from the designated categories, such as groceries or dining out, as they come in.

You’ll know exactly where your money is going each month, and if you’re looking to pay off a debt or save for something special, you can be confident that you’re setting money aside.

2. Mint

YNAB is a very hands-on budgeting system because you manually approve in your account each transaction you make. If that’s not your thing, then Mint might be a better budget tracker and planner for you. It’s free to use and takes a more automatic approach to tracking your cash flow by automatically categorizing your expenses.

Mint also provides personalized “Mintsights” that help you stay on top of your account by notifying you of subscription cost increases and bill due dates. It also analyzes your spending, tracks your net worth, and follows your budget to help you find ways to save more.  

3. Ally

If you never step foot inside a bank, then consider switching over to an online-only bank. These banks have lower overhead than traditional brick and mortar ones, letting them pass higher interest rates and little to no fees to customers.

Ally saves and earns you money by doing away with monthly and overdraft fees, offering APYs on deposit accounts several times higher than the national average, and providing competitive CD rates.

Ally is 100% online-only banking, so there’s no in-person service. But you can have all your questions answered by phone, chat, email, or its help center. You’ll find the FDIC-insured bank is transparent about its policies and fees.

4. Fifth Third Momentum Savings

Fifth Third Bank’s Momentum Savings makes it easy to fund your dreams by automatically sending small amounts of money from a linked Fifth Third Momentum Checking account to your savings account each week.

You can have up to four goals at a time, and you determine the maximum money the program can transfer in a given week. If a transfer would put your checking into overdraft, then Fifth Bank cancels the transfer. There’s no service charge for a Momentum Savings account if you also have a checking account with the bank or maintain a $500 or more balance.

5. Monorail

But the best all-in-one money-saving app has got to be Monorail. Monorail allows you to save for wishlist items and financial goals while offering a no cost debit card. With dedicated funds for non-necessities and for your goals, you’ll always be working toward the next thing.

Not only can you save on auto-pilot, on your schedule, but by using their debit card, you can enable roundups on purchases and get cash back rewards on purchases that can be auto-transferred to your wishlist fund. So you can save and shop and shop and save. 

Monorail has it all from your wishlist to your goals, milestones, and banking needs.

See how saving with Monorail’s wishlist could work for you.

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