By
Annie Flanzraich
People work hard in the gig economy. It’s time for those earnings to work hard for you. These apps and websites can help save money easily to pay off debt, plan for the next big purchase and achieve financial goals.
Acorns automatically invests spare change from everyday purchases into a diversified portfolio built by experts and recommended for you. For example, when buying a coffee for $3.75, Acorns will round up and deposit $.25 in a savings account. You can invest any time you have extra cash. Acorns also offers the opportunity to earn money from more than 300 top brands when shopping. Expand financial tools by opening up a retirement account with Acorns Later or an all-digital checking account with Acorns Spend.
In just five minutes, set up a tax-advantaged college fund for your child with CollegeBacker. With CollegeBacker, money grows tax-free in a 529 college savings plan as you contribute to the child’s college savings. This app also makes gifting easy, and family and friends can also contribute to the child’s fund.
Digit analyzes spending and income, figures out an amount to save and transfers that from checking into an FDIC-insured account that earns 1 percent annually. Digit allows saving for multiple goals and will set a smart timeline for reaching them. It also helps avoid overdrafts and sends notifications when the checking account balance is low.
Bank fees can take a big bite out of checking or savings accounts. Recoup gets some of that money back. Recoup analyses accounts for overdraft, ATM, low-balance or statement fees and automatically negotiates a refund with the bank. Recoup is free to join and free to use, but takes a 15 percent share of successful refunds. For Steady members, that’s a discount from Recoup’s standard 25 percent share.
Stash helps users save money, learn about stocks and funds, and invest to secure the future. With $5, beginning investors can easily find and select exchange-traded funds and individual stocks. Stash makes it easier to understand different kinds of funds by grouping them based on risk tolerance, goals, interests and values. Or, users can invest in individual stocks. The app’s Auto-Stash feature allows choosing an amount that users can afford to invest steadily over time.
Starship offers a health savings account with all the tools needed to save, spend and invest for health care. An HSA is a personal savings account that lets individuals save on taxes for eligible health care expenses. With Starship, a user can invest funds automatically and tax-free to maximize money for future health care spending. Just use the Starship HSA card for eligible medical expenses, or if paying out-of-pocket, be reimbursed for health expenses directly in the app.
Get up to 80 percent off prescription drugs costs by signing up for free with Steady’s pharmacy savings card. The card is available to all Steady members and works at all leading pharmacies.
Tip Yourself allows transfers of small dollar amounts from a checking account into a secure Tip Jar based on good behavior. Save money to pay off debt, for a vacation or an emergency fund. Users get to decide when to tip. It could be going to the gym (even when you don’t want to), forgoing eating out, skipping an impulse purchase or any other behavior deserving of a reward.
