When I talk about travel, the most common question I get is not about deciding on a destination, or whether or not to purchase travel insurance, but about how I afford each of my adventures.
While points and miles can go a long way to funding every adventure, it is only a small part of an overall frugal travel strategy. As I have said time and time again: when it comes to frugal travels, cash is king.
Having a dedicated travel account can protect travelers from miles devaluation, while currency on hand can be utilized immediately for hotels, airfare, or even local currency. Is there a way to automate savings towards the next frugal adventure?
Thanks to several money saving apps, travelers can start saving money towards their next adventure without breaking their stress levels. Here are three apps that can help you jumpstart your travel savings account today.
Acorns
I personally utilize Acorns to help save money with every transaction. Much like the name suggests, Acorns stashes cash away money from purchases by rounding them up to the next dollar.
From there, the program automatically invests in a variety of stocks, distributed based on five investment profiles ranging from conservative to aggressive. In addition, Acorns links to nearly every bank and credit card available – allowing me to save money across all my cards.
Before starting, there are some limitations that come with utilizing this app. First, Acorns charges a small monthly fee to maintain the portfolios for their users. Second, because users are holding active investments, ups and downs will happen and returns are not guaranteed.
Finally, I have found this app doesn’t always work well with every bank. While I was able to successfully connect Acorns to my former mainstay – The Platinum Card from American Express – it would not stay connected to some other personal accounts. None-the-less, this app is great for seamlessly saving money towards future adventures.
Digit
Another great option for those who want to save within their means is Digit. Much like Acorns, this app connects to your personal checking account through 128-bit SSL technology. From there, the app monitors your spending to determine how much you can save on a daily basis.
Once a base has been determined, the app automatically pulls money into a savings account, which can be withdrawn at any time. The program only transfers money when it is available, to ensure accounts never get overdrawn.
For all the positives, there are also limitations to this program as well. Because the money goes into a savings account, growth opportunities are limited. Second, savings are only tied to checking accounts. Stacking savings rewards on top of a cash-back card like the Barclaycard Cash Foward World MasterCard is not possible. Finally, a monthly fee applies after a 100-day trial. For those who are rebuilding credit, this option could help savings towards the next frugal adventure.
Rize
Unlike the other two apps, Rize offers frugal travelers an opportunity to save money without a monthly fee. As a result, all the savings you put into Rize is completely yours to keep! If you appreciate their service, feel free to give back a portion of your savings to the developers.
Much like the other two apps, Rize connects with your checking account via 128-bit SSL technology. Users plug in information to their app, including their age, income and location, in order to create a savings plan. Each payday, the app will pay the user by transferring money into a savings account that earns .30% APY interest.
The positives of this app are easy to see: easy savings with no monthly fees. However, the limitation of not supporting credit cards makes stacking rewards difficult. With that, the ability to effortlessly save money on each payday makes this app one to consider for hands-free cash savings.
Through automated savings, everyone can start putting money away towards their next frugal adventure without even thinking about it. How do you save money towards your next adventure? Let us know your savings tips in the comments below!
Note: Although the writer has a relationship with one of the mentioned savings products, no incentives or promotional considerations were offered to mention any product, and the writer will not receive commissions based on sign-ups for any product above.
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com
Written by Frugal Travel Guy @ http://www.frugaltravelguy.com