If you’re anything like me, saving money does not come naturally to you. It’s more of a struggle that will haunt you until the end of time.
Jeez, if only someone automated the process of chucking spare change into a piggy bank and maybe also invested that change in the stock market for you.
Good news, friends, that’s totally a thing. It’s an app called Acorns and it makes saving money way easier.
Once you have the app on your phone, all you have to do is hook it up to your bank account or a card of your choosing. Every time you spend money, Acorns will round the amount up to the nearest dollar and transfer the change into your Acorns account.
For example, let’s say you spend $3.50 on a coffee. That amount gets rounded up to $4, with the 50 cents heading on over to your account. Of course, it doesn’t transfer the cash every time you spend, but each time you hit around 5 or 6 dollars in round ups, it’ll transfer that bulk amount.
But here’s the best part – that money doesn’t just sit still, it gets invested in the stock market via a portfolio of your choosing. So not only are you saving, you’re making some money in the process.
Don’t freak out though, you don’t have to be the Wolf of Wall Street to get started, they break it down into 5 easy to understand settings depending on your appetite for risk.
If you absolutely want to minimise your chance of losing money, you can set it to conservative or moderately conservative. Consider yourself more of a fence-sitter? Hit up dat moderate setting, friend. If you’re a fiend for making money, moderately aggressive or aggressive will be more your speed.
Each portfolio will show you exactly where your money is going and how diversified it is. The more aggressive your setting, the less diversified your investment gets as more of your dosh is put into shares that may be higher risk, but have the potential for higher reward.
You’ll even get a projected estimate of your earnings based on how much you wish to invest every month. I have a monthly direct debit set up on top of the usual roundups to maximise my savings.
You can deposit or withdraw money at anytime, with the transfer usually taking a few business days – perfect for those who can’t help themselves around easily accessible money.
“It’s no secret that many of us struggle to save,” Acorns Managing Director George Lucas tells PEDESTRIAN.TV. “In fact, according to our latest research close to 70 per cent of respondents claim to have a monthly budget, but nearly half confess not sticking to it. But everyone is unique and everyone saves differently.”
“Combined with Acorns’ investment features, our suite of products is a great educational tool to help users build themselves a better financial future.”
Acorns isn’t exactly new, it launched in Australia on February 10, 2016, but it’s definitely the best savings tool I’ve come across, well, ever. Not only will it help you stash your cash, you’ll also get a nice little introduction to the workings of the stock market.
Don’t expect to make a heap of money, it doesn’t really work that way. You gotta invest a heap to make a heap, you know? But a modest boost to the old savings never goes astray.
You can download Acorns right now, for free, for iOS and Android devices.
The above article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions.
