Just thought I’d put this out there…as I’ve been using it for a few months now and as a historically crap saver, I like it.

Moneybox – available on iOS & Android

You link whatever cards, bank accounts you want and give it permission to read the spending on your account. It then rounds up each spend to the nearest £ and takes the cumulative total each week as a (smallish) direct debit from an account of your choosing. There are plenty of tweaks available i.e. you can stick an extra few quid in whenever you want or choose which “events” are used/not used for the weekly total – e.g. for any bank transfers it automatically adds a quid…AFAIK, this can be changed…amongst others.

You can then choose between cautious, balanced and adventurous ISAs into which to invest the savings.

I don’t really tweak mine much, just let it run in the background. After a couple of months, I’m slightly impressed by how much it’s squirrelled away for me and as it’s little-and-often, I hardly notice that it’s happening.

Probably not for those of you who are financially shrewd but for anyone like me who doesn’t “enjoy” savings, it’s a nice little way of sticking something away for a rainy day. Possibly even as an add-on to save for yearly things like holidays, Christmas etc.

What are the charges on the ISA?

As I asked last time someone suggested a similar app. Is this bank approved.

If not your violating your terms and conditions by giving a third party access and may find your rights seriously affected….Think fraud protection.

Proceed with caution

What are the charges on the ISA?

All there on the website, as far as I can see they’re as transparent as possible but it says this:

You pay a subscription fee of £1/month (with the first 3 months free).

You pay a platform fee of 0.45% per year (charged monthly).

We’ve included fees charged by the fund providers (these range between 0.22% to 0.24%) for complete transparency.

Hmmmm! I’ll give it a miss thanks.

Or… Just set up a direct debit to another account through your bank.

Fees seem reasonable.

If not your violating your terms and conditions by giving a third party access and may find your rights seriously affected….Think fraud protection.

It depends how they’re accessing your accounts. If you’re giving them your internet banking passwords, PINs etc, then you’re in a spot of bother. If they’re getting the info via an industry API, which I bet they are, it’s kosher.

Of course, it is overcomplicating savings a bit (IMO), I’d just have a DD to an ISA for a fixed amount a month, which would be no more difficult than setting up all the bank access on this app, and then just let it run. But, if it works for you, and it’s kosher, lovely.

I used to find that the best way for me to save is to not check my account often so I don’t know how much I have available to spend, and so I don’t spend it, or am careful with what I spend.

Then, at the end of the month, I take what is left and transfer it to the savings acount.

Or the way I currently do it is to have an offset mortgage, with an online banking app on your phone so you can check it.

Then, at the start of the month when your salary goes in, transfer an ‘aggressive’ amount from your main acocunt into the savings account and then try to get to the end of the month without having transferred any money back to your main account.

Sort of like a ‘gamification’.

We set up a second current account with a different bank and use this only for direct debits (ie all bills etc).

We made a rough calculation that all bills come to approx £650, so we stick £700 into this account at the beginning of the month. Whatever’s left over builds up nicely over time 🙂

TSB is good for this as their current account interest rate is better than any savings account

Yep, easiest and best way is to set up a DD to another account/isa 1-2 days after pay day.
Guarantees you are saving every month, and means everything left over at the end of the month is fair game for spending on n+1.

I’m with Turner Guy. On payday, move the bulk into a savings account, then each morning make sure the current account is still in credit

Basic savings come out at the start of the month before you have chance to spend it, along side bills and mortgage.

Then keep an eye on your account, with a plan to empty what is left at the end of the month into the savings account.

You start to look at the account in terms of “do I really need xxx ” when I could put more money away at the end of the month. At least, it works for me and has caused me to cut down on frivolous spending. The last 2-3 weeks of the month I look into my account regularly, thinking – might I be able to put £xxx away ?

Another thing- want something ( really, really badly )?

Place an entry in your calendar 2 months in the future asking if you still _need_ it – chances are you really don’t and have saved yourself £xxxx

Basic savings come out at the start of the month before you have chance to spend it, along side bills and mortgage.

This, I still live (weekly budgets) on about the same amount I did when I earned far less. Now I shift money out to leave me with a modest weekly budget for the rest of the month.

I then get carried away and put loads on my credit card each month that needs clearing off – but that’s a side issue!

I get a much higher interest rate on my current account than any savings account, so I just leave it all* in there. I do have a dd** of a small amount into a savings account just to have “holiday money” somewhere else.

*apart from invested stuff what a bloke took and hid from me.
**dd above not related to the OP

moving money to a different savings account and having it viewable easily in an online app is good because it gives you an incentive to build up that account – if you leave it in your current account then it is lost in the main ‘pool’ of money – you don’t get the ‘achievement’ feedback of growing the savings account.

Moneybox is not savings, it’s an investment vehicle. I’m sure mine’s done through DD and Paypal.

As an “in addition to” regular savings, I can see how this sort of thing might be useful.

If nothing else, it will highlight your discretionary spending..!

Interestingly, there is lots happening in the consumer fintech world, and if you’re clever you can hop from one startup offering good rates to the next…. (I’m not clever).

I get a much higher interest rate on my current account than any savings account, so I just leave it all* in there

Nationwide’s Regular Savings* account pays 5%. What’s your current account paying?

*you do need a NW current account to get one though.

Johnner – that regular savers account starts from zero and you can’t put any current savings into it, just a monthly amount, so bit pointless to compare it.

As an “in addition to” regular savings, I can see how this sort of thing might be useful.

Agreed L’homme. I guess this is what I see it useful for. With the amounts it’s putting away for me, it’s not really the main savings vehicle for the household; Mrs DD sees to that in the same (or close variation) way that many above do it. As an investment ticking away in the “background” (yeah, I know it’s not really hidden), it’s a neat way of saving little and often and sticking it in an ISA. Probably more geared to millennials who aren’t saving, but I like how it works.

Nationwide’s Regular Savings* account pays 5%. What’s your current account paying?

Is it not 2%?

Johnner – that regular savers account starts from zero and you can’t put any current savings into it, just a monthly amount, so bit pointless to compare it.

Not pointless at all if your alternative is accumulating surplus in a current account at a lower rate, which is what it sounded like DezB might be doing. And of course all savings accounts start at zero but you can put £500 straight away.

If you’ve a bit more cash floating around open a Nationwide current account and load it with £2500 to get 5% fixed for a year.

Is it not 2%?

The NW Flex Regular Saver is still paying 5% (for now). Halifax and TSB have dropped theirs to 2% so tbh I can’t see NW carrying that rate for long.

Hmm, I do have a Nationwide account that I don’t use… ah, yes – because they use one of those stupid calculator contraptions for online banking.

I do have a Nationwide account that I don’t use… ah, yes – because they use one of those stupid calculator contraptions for online banking.

lol, they do, or you can use memorable data and some digits from a passcode. Though once you’ve set up the account just use the phone app.