Qapital Increases Your Savings Through Automation
You are probably familiar with drop change programs. Your purchases are rounded to the nearest dollar and the difference is automatically credited to your savings account. The Qapital cumulative app builds on this idea, but it takes automation to a whole new level. This allows you to turn pretty much everything into a savings trigger, so you can set aside and practice good financial habits at the same time.
How Qapital works
In a nutshell, Qapital is the IFTTT version of the savings account , which means if it is then. IFTTT is a useful tool for connecting any two web applications so you can automate actions between them ( here’s a guide to the basics ). Qapital is working with IFTTT to make it even cooler. We have mentioned this briefly before . I’ve since started using it for my own savings purposes and it’s a fun app to play with if you’re a fan of automation.
The app is free, available online , and also available for iOS and Android . To start using it, you must register for a Qapital account and link your bank accounts and credit cards. Here’s how it works: by reading your transactions and setting specific rules based on your spending habits.
According to their security policy , they use the strongest 128-bit encryption that “meets or exceeds banking standards.” They are also FDIC insured for up to $ 250,000. So yeah, this is a real savings account. Digital, but savings nonetheless, and you can transfer and withdraw from it at any time.
Setting rules and goals
After you set up Qapital, you will create some rules and goals. Your Qapital account is one savings account, but you can create multiple goals in that account. For example, you can:
To fund your goals, you create rules. Your rules are based on different actions: for example, spend a certain amount, spend at a certain store, or make a large deposit into your account. This action then prompts Qapital to deposit into your Qapital savings account. When you create a rule, you assign a target to that rule. For example, let’s say you’re trying to save money on vacation. You can set a vacation goal and then create a rule to save a certain amount (or percentage) of each salary to achieve that goal. You can also share goals with other Qapital users.
However, the goal does not have to be long-term savings. You can just set aside money for spending, and the goal will help you plan for those expenses every month. For example, I set a goal for spending in a restaurant, because this is a problem area for me. To keep this under control, I created a rule that sets aside a certain amount in my “restaurant fund” every time I spend on groceries. This way, I encourage myself to go to the grocery store and budget for dining out at the same time. In a way, I’m using my bad habit to encourage something better.
Of course, you can do the same with your regular checking and savings account. However, Qapital allows you to split your savings under your main account so you can budget or save for multiple purposes.
The app has several built-in rule suggestions. For example, there is the old “keep change” standby mode. You can also set a general rule for saving based on any day or date (of course, you can do this with your regular bank account too). The real pleasure of an app comes from its more complex operations.
Get control of impulsive spending
Qapital’s Guilty Pleasure Rule is one of my favorites. Basically, this is a “ Break to Save” rule , only it’s automatic.
You assign it to automatically save a certain amount whenever you spend money at a certain store. You can select them from a list of retailers, but it will also look at your recent transactions to determine which stores might be problematic for you. Anyway, once you set this rule, every time you spend, say, Best Buy, Qapital will automatically set aside some money towards your goal.
For example, if you’re trying to kick your fast food habit but can’t resist the Taco Bell across the street from your office, you can program Qapital to charge you every time you quench your Quesarito thirst. This is a great rule of thumb if you’re trying to control impulsive spending.
However, you are not limited to financial activities based on your bank accounts and credit cards. With IFTTT, you can also use location based triggers with Qapital. For example, in this recipe, your Foursquare account is used to make a deposit with Qapital each time you sign up for a location. It is set up for the purpose of paying off the debt, but you can activate the Then This part of the equation to match your specific goal.
Alternatively, you can create your own IFTTT location recipe using location on iOS or Android . You would simply set up an IFTTT prescription to save a set amount to your Qapital account every time your phone (and presumably your face) is in the location you specified.
Set aside cash for estimated taxes
When you work full time, you don’t have to worry about paying taxes throughout the year. Your employer will do this for you. However, freelancers don’t have this convenience; we have to send tax payments every quarter . If you don’t know how to save money , this can be a problem. Qapital addresses this issue with its Freelance Rule.
According to this rule, every time you receive a deposit in excess of the specified amount, you tell Qapital to keep a certain percentage of this amount. Of course, you will determine this percentage based on the estimated tax category. This way, you don’t have to worry about doing the calculations yourself, which is especially useful if your salaries differ. More importantly, you don’t need to procrastinate at all. Your tax money will be credited to your Qapital account every quarter.
Save money every time you are productive
You can also make progress towards your savings goal and another goal at the same time. The IFTTT Qapital feed connects to your Todoist account or your iOS Tasks , so you can “pay” yourself every time you check something from your list. This comes in handy for large projects – your savings will be a milestone.
Plus, you’re making financial progress at the same time.
You can also connect Qapital to Pocket and save money every time you read something on your list. Let’s say you’re trying to get your finances in order and are reading about how to get started investing or how to save on a down payment on a home . You can reward yourself every time you read an article on this topic. Thus, you not only learned something useful, but also made concrete, tangible progress towards your goal. You will learn more, but still take actionable steps towards your goal.
All in all, Qapital is a great tool to automate your savings goals and address them all at the same time. Combined with IFTTT, the possibilities are almost endless. These rules can help you get started, and you can come up with your own to customize to your liking.