How to boost your money goals with automatic banking tools

We all know that saving for your money goals can be a bit of a chore, but what if there was an easier way to save without even thinking about it? 

That’s where round-up tools come in. These nifty banking features help you save a little extra every time you make a purchase by automatically rounding up the amount you spend and squirrelling away the difference. 

Here are some of the top round-up tools offered by banks that can help you grow your savings or even donate to charity.

What are the benefits of automatic banking tools?

With automatic tools, you’ll find yourself gaining one of the most important benefits of automation: consistency. There’s always a temptation to skip out on your savings goal, so taking the decision out of your hands can be helpful.

One benefit of automatic tools is that you can also automate bank transfers. This can be helpful in the case of paychecks, where the budgeted amount that you know you can put away is transferred into the savings account. 

Another benefit of savings tools is that they can be attached to everyday spending. What does this mean? Basically, banks such as ING or Bank Australia will offer a feature where any purchase you make will be rounded up to the nearest whole dollar. For example, spending $4.50 on a coffee can be automatically rounded up to $5.

What’s the benefit to rounding up automatically? Unfortunately, most people underestimate the benefit of small incremental gains. Of course an additional $0.50 going into your savings account might not sound like a lot, but if you apply that to a coffee everyday for a month, you’ll end up with $15 extra at the end of the month. 

What to look out for

While it can be easy to quickly pick and sign up for the first provider you find, it may be better to instead consider a few criteria to compare between accounts. There are a few differing features that you’ll find between bank accounts so make sure you keep these things in mind. 

• The fees: Make sure that you check out what the fees are on the account you plan to open. 
  

• Conditions: These could be things that affect your fees or interest rates. Make sure you can meet the conditions of your selected bank account. 
  

• Other Accounts: Whether you're automatically depositing into an external investment account or towards your savings, it’s generally a good idea to check if the provider has additional accounts alongside it. For example, ING orange everyday automatically deposit into a Savings Maximiser, Mortgage Simplifier, or Orange Advantage account. Likewise, Bank Australia Round UP allows you to automatically deposit into pension and savings accounts.
  

Compare bank accounts

Are you looking for a high interest savings account to store your savings? Maybe you’re looking for a transaction account that’s low on fees. At Mozo, we compare a variety of bank accounts from our database so that you can find the account that works best for you.