Yahoo News 5 best money saving apps to help you budget and brighten your bank balance
It's almost the end of January and it's safe to say that pretty much everyone is broke.
As if it's not enough to torture ourselves with trying to eat healthily and give up alcohol as part of our New Year's resolutions, saving money is another 2019 promise that tops many of our lists.
Studies suggest that 80% of New Year's resolutions fail by February, so to make sure this isn't you, we've done a round up of the best money management apps out there to help you better manage your finances and save money without even realising it.
The best money apps to take on Blue Monday
1. Chip
Shake off the money blues in January with Chip.
This savvy app uses artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse your spending and save money for you weekly. When you sign up, you grant the app read-only access to see the transaction data in your online banking and Chip uses strong encryption to protect your banking login details.
Chip sees how much you’re spending a week and moves over a little amount every few days into a savings account hosted by Barclays. At first, Chip offers 0 percent interest on savings, but every time you invite a friend to join, you each earn 1 per cent interest, up to 5 per cent.
2. Curve
The Curve app is great if you have several different accounts across different banks. It brings together all your bank accounts and cards in one app, which is great for tracking your money, and allows you to spend money from any account with just the Curve Mastercard.
Curve explains how it works:
“You can select the account that you would like to pay with using Curve by simply opening the Curve app and tapping a bank card – that account will instantly become “active”, ready for you to spend with.”
As well, when you’re spending abroad, Curve doesn't charge any fees, compared to some banks which charge up to five percent.
3. Cleo
Cleo is a little different and it’s not an app, but a Facebook Messenger chatbot. Created by Barney Hussey-Yeo and Aleksandra Wozniak, Cleo analyses your weekly spending using AI and keeps you up to date with your outgoing transactions.
Cleo groups all your spending together based on categories, such as shopping, travel and eating out. She tells you interesting insights such as how much you spend on train tickets compared to other Cleo users and you can set a monthly budget too.
In 2017, Cleo added an auto-saving feature, similar to Chip’s. This analyses your spending and saves money for you every week, to take the pain out of saving.
Free on Facebook
4. Savings Goals
It's great having an auto-save function, but Saving Goals goes that little bit further. The app helps you track how much you want to save for a specific event, whether that’s a holiday or a house deposit. Then, the app suggests a savings schedule and tracks your process.
It is very satisfying to see the little jar of coins build up within the app too.
Free, with in-app purchases, on iOS
5. Yolt
If 2019 is the year you've decided to create a budget and stick to it, an app like Yolt can be really helpful.
Yolt brings together all your accounts and credit cards so you can see where all your money is, as well as where it’s going. Monitor your predicted debts, bills, and subscriptions in the app. Yolt then uses this data to offer you better deals, including energy.
Though it might make you realise just how much you are spending on coffee each day with its handy spending categories.
If you have depression or anxiety, mental health charity Mind offers guidance on what to do
