Saving money is important but saving can be a challenge.
Digit is the service that can automate your savings. After signing up with Digit, you link your checking account to your newly created Digit savings account. Digit analyzes your lifestyle and begins transferring small amounts of money from your checking account into your Digit savings account as time goes by. It’s smart enough to never take more than you would miss.
You can get Digit free for 100 days to try it out yourself.
However, no person or set of algorithms can predict the future. If you have an emergency, you can put money back in your checking account within one business day by simply sending a text to Digit that says ‘Withdraw $xxx.’
I have been using this service since early January. I’ve also talked to the founder of the service, and I’ve already written a few reviews for other sites. The article you’re reading right now is what I believe is the most in-depth review of the service. For this article, I took the most common money-saving questions and created a dialogue of sorts between you and Digit. Each segment of the article begins with one of these common questions.
How to Automatically Save the Perfect Amount of Money
Saving can be intimidating. Even if you accept the idea that you should be saving money, you may still have more questions:
- “How can I remember to save?”
- “How much should I save? “
- “How frequently should I set money aside? “
- “Where do I put the money I save? “
- “What if an emergency arises and I need to use money I’ve saved? “
- “How do I hold myself accountable for creating and maintaining a savings plan? “
I want you to relax. You can relax because there’s a new service available which takes care of all of these questions for you. Actually, it does more than just answer questions. It takes things to a whole new level. It actually does the saving for you. Yes, it actually automates your savings.
Digit is free to try for 100 days which is enough to see how useful it is. After that, it’s $2.99 per month. A cost that may be well worth it if you need the artificial intelligence to help you save more money than you otherwise would.
How can I remember to save?
Digit’s motto: ‘Save money, without even thinking about it.’
Remembering to save money becomes automatic when using Digit. The service automatically saves your extra money. It doesn’t remind you – it just does it. Gone is the disconnect between gathering information and applying information. Digit does it all.
How much should I save?
While the rule of thumb is to save 10-15% of your income, Digit saves the perfect amount for your specific situation.
Every week day, Digit reviews your checking account balance and asks itself specific questions: “Is there a high or low balance based on how this person makes and spends money? Do they have any bills coming due? Will their paycheck get deposited soon? How much money will they likely spend over the next few days?”
Digit answers these questions for you and adjusts the amount you will save accordingly. If your budget is tight this month, Digit already knows not to push very much money into your Digit savings account.
How frequently should I set money aside?
Digit saves money when it’s appropriate. There is no set schedule. When you have excess money in your checking account, Digit will channel it into your savings before you can be tempted to spend it.
Even if Digit is really only a set of fancy algorithms, it can still be used as a motivating money coach.
Digit knows what you need – and you probably don’t need an impulse buy resulting in a $500 pair of shoes. However, if you do upgrade your lifestyle, Digit will obey. Digit reassesses your lifestyle each week day and adjusts the savings rate accordingly.
Where do I put the money I save?
It’s an excellent question. With Digit, you get a free FDIC insured checking account where your money can rest. It’s motivating to watch your account grow. Each day at about 11AM, Digit sends me a text message revealing my current balance. It usually says something amusing like this: ‘Top of the morning, Will! Your Digit savings balance today is $654.77.’ It may sound silly but I enjoy those daily texts.
Saving can sometimes be lonely. It’s nice to get a friendly text telling me how well I’m doing. Of course, if you don’t want the reminders, you can simply schedule the texts for ‘weekly’ or ‘never’ through the settings pane on your Digit dashboard.
What if an emergency arises and I need to use money I’ve saved?
No problem. Emergencies happen to everyone. If you need money, just send Digit a text message. Digit will put the money back into your checking account the next business day. Did I mention you can withdraw your money any time, for free, as many times as you’d like? That’s pretty phenomenal.
Simply text ‘pause’ if your emergencies begin to overwhelm you. The service will be paused and can be restarted with another quick text.
How do I hold myself accountable for creating and maintaining a savings plan?
With Digit, the real motivation comes when setting up your account. After that, it takes care of itself. Instead of stressing about how much to save, you can set that part of your life on autopilot. This is important for me because I can instead focus my energy on earning money.
You can also think of Digit as your virtual savings assistant. You simply text Digit and it will tell you everything you need to know about your saving situation. It makes me feel important to have my own savings assistant. Who doesn’t like feeling important? It’s fun!
Who else uses Digit?
As LeVar Burton from the 90s kids television show Reading Rainbow would say, “But you don’t have to take my word for it.
Perhaps you want to know what others think of Digit besides just some guy named Will Lipovsky. I’ve sourced a few other personal finance experts who have shared their opinions.
The person who first clued me in on Digit was the infamous personal finance blogger, J. Money from budgetsaresexy.com. He’s been using Digit since 2014 and is still head over heels in love with the service. He even took a recent screenshot of his savings balance and posted it online. It was at $7,720.05! Look at Digit go!
I’ve used the Digit myself and love the simplicity of the enrollment process and the daily balance reminders sent via text messages. Something about receiving text messages as opposed to push notifications or email makes the Digit app more convenient and accessible.
Final Thoughts on Digit
Once you’re signed in, there’s a toll-free number listed right in your dashboard. Feel free to also post your questions as a comment below. I’ll reply and I’ll probably be able to give you a helpful answer. In case you have a super intense mind blowing question, you can even email the CEO.
After that paragraph, I should probably tell you I am not being paid by Digit to write this article. I’m just a fan of helping others save money! Try Digit free for 100 days and see how artificial intelligence can help you save money.
The post Save Money with the Help of Artificial Intelligence appeared first on Phroogal.
