In the past two and a half years, Matt Wiley, a self-described “Bad Saver,” has managed to save $4,300.
“It feels weird saying ‘I saved,’ because I really didn’t do anything,” he says.
Despite being an editor at The Penny Hoarder, Wiley admits he’s never been good at putting money away.
“When I was a teenager and started working, I’d be able to save up a couple hundred bucks, and then I’d end up blowing it on something stupid, or something that came up that I actually really needed to pay for,” he says.
“I don’t have a good reason for why it has been difficult, other than I’ve never been good at forcing myself to put money aside to not touch.”
So how’d that $4,300 stack up? For fellow Bad Savers everywhere, we needed to know.
Digit Review: How This Bad Saver Stashed Away $4,300
In early 2015, Wiley heard about an automated savings platform called Digit from one of his wife’s friends, who was already using it.
Digit uses an algorithm to calculate how much money its users can afford to set aside each day, then puts the money into a digital savings account. The amount automatically adjusts based on your income and spending habits.
“I was intrigued by the idea of an algorithm pulling money out of my account in ways I wouldn’t notice,” Wiley says. “I was working my first job out of college and basically living paycheck to paycheck, so I definitely hadn’t been putting anything aside. It seemed worth a try.”
So he set out to form his own Digit review.
Wiley set up his account, and he remembers it being straightforward and simple. All he had to do was connect his checking account. Plus, it’s all safe — 128-bit security, what most banks use.
Then Digit started doing its thing, analyzing his income and spending habits and sneaking bits of money from his account every few days.
If Digit ever recognized he couldn’t afford to save one day, it wouldn’t touch his money. This is part of its no-overdraft guarantee, so he’d never be left under water.
“One day could be 75 cents; another, it could pull $30,” Wiley says. It just depended on how much he could afford.
At first, Wiley just wanted to see if he’d notice the money leaving his checking account and if it’d actually stack up in his Digit account.
Stack up it did. He signed up in May 2015, and by the end of that year, he’d already set aside $607.
In 2016, he tucked away another $1,884. In 2017, it was about the same — another $1,857.
Although you have the option to, Wiley never set a specific goal. He just wanted to have some sort of emergency fund for those inevitable, just-in-case life events.
And of course those happened — in the form of unexpected vet bills, wedding expenses, travel and, most recently, a move from Florida to New York City.
“If I’d never touched it, I’d have an extra $4,300 right now,” he says. “It sucks that I don’t, but Digit helped me have money for whatever life events came up.”
So yeah, Wiley the Bad Saver did withdraw money from his Digit account, which you can do whenever you need to. He’s fortunate he actually had that money to withdraw. Otherwise, he would have been forced to rack up credit card debt.
Here’s How to Save Automatically
If you’re curious like Wiley was, visit Digit’s sign-up page to get started.
Before you sign up, note the $2.99 per month service fee (though your first 100 days will be free). For Wiley, this fee — totaling less than $100 over the years — was worth the $4,300 he saved without thinking about it — or ever panicking about his bank balance.
“Way less than Netflix,” he says.
Plus, for every three months you’ve saved with Digit, you’ll earn a 1% cash-back bonus on the balance in your account. If you’re able to save enough (about $300 over three months), this can cover the monthly fee.
OK, now to sign up, enter basic information and verify your identity with a special code Digit texts you.
Select the bank you have your primary checking account with, then enter your log-in information. (Digit won’t store it.)
It’ll then take Digit a couple of days to analyze your cash-flow patterns.
In the meantime, set some specific goals. For example, start with a rainy-day fund. Then perhaps create a travel stash. You can even set up how much you need and by what date, and Digit will hustle to make it happen for you — without breaking your bank.
At any time, you can pause saving for up to 30 days. You can even switch out your checking accounts.
And you might have noticed you have some text messages from the service’s textbot waiting on your phone. You can access your Digit account from SMS messages, making it super easy to send commands (like Transfer and Withdraw) and to check your balance.
If for some reason you hate Digit, you can cancel any time, and your balance will be automatically transferred back into your checking account.
After three years with Digit, Wiley doesn’t see himself canceling anytime soon.
“I’m definitely a fan of passive saving,” he says. “For people like me [he’s talking about all the Bad Savers out there], not having to think about it is the best way to save.”
Carson Kohler (@CarsonKohler) is a junior writer at The Penny Hoarder. She’s a big proponent of sneaky savings. Otherwise, she’d be a Bad Saver, too.
This was originally published on The Penny Hoarder, which helps millions of readers worldwide earn and save money by sharing unique job opportunities, personal stories, freebies and more. The Inc. 5000 ranked The Penny Hoarder as the fastest-growing private media company in the U.S. in 2017.
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