Disassembly of Applications to Save: Qapital Vs. Number

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You’ve probably heard the old saying, “Pay yourself first.” The idea is to save money before you have a chance to spend it. And apps like Qapital and Digit make it easy . They check your spending and automatically deposit into your savings account. You set it up, forget it, and your egg grows over time. Let’s compare the two.

Applicants

Both Qapital and Digit increase your savings through automation . Both are available for free for iOS and Android. Qapital is strictly a smartphone app, but Digit allows you to log in from your desktop using its web app. With both tools, you open a new bank account through the app and also link your checking accounts. Thus, the application can view your transactions and trigger automatic savings.

None of them offer impressive interest rates, but that’s not the point. You won’t get much profit, but these are not investment vehicles. They are simply meant to help you save money. Think of them as digital automatic piggy banks, not as investment vehicles. Here’s a rundown of how each one works:

  • Qapital : Qapital is similar to the money version of IFTTT. In fact, it connects to IFTTT for more flexibility, but we’ll come back to that later. You create rules about how much money and when to transfer, as well as savings goals, and the app reads your transactions so you can save on your spending habits. For example, you can save a certain amount any time you spend at a certain store. Or save a certain percentage of the deposit, which is immediately credited to your account as soon as it arrives.
  • Number : The number is a little simpler. You connect your accounts, but instead of creating the rules yourself, Digit saves depending on how much you can afford to set aside . It looks at your deposits, upcoming bills and spending habits to calculate the set amounts you can save every couple of days. As your income and expenses change, it automatically adjusts your savings.

Both Qapital and Digit use SSL encryption to protect your data and they do not store your information on their servers. In general, if you feel comfortable with online banking, you should be comfortable using the apps. Your funds are also FDIC insured.

Digit uses algorithms to create smart deposits

The main advantage of Digit is that it is smart. It uses algorithms to analyze the history of your expenses and income, and then decides how much you can afford to save based on its own calculations. It even comes with overdraft protection . However, I have been using it for a while and it never came close to overdrafting my account.

Digit works like magic because you never, ever have to think about it, and suddenly you have $ 100 in your Digit account. You don’t even need to set any rules, although you can tell the application to save more or less and it will adjust its algorithms accordingly.

When I started using it a couple of years ago, I didn’t think I would get much out of it. I had already set up automatic savings on my IRA and traditional savings account, so I figured my budget was pretty streamlined. However, somehow Digit found opportunities to save money, and since I joined I have saved $ 1,787.47. Best of all, I didn’t even let the money go, which seems crazy because I’m a pretty meticulous budget employee. The money just disappeared from my account, so I had no way to spend it.

Digit works best in conjunction with your regular automatic savings program. This way, you ensure that you reach your savings goals, but keep Digit to find additional savings. My favorite way of using Digit is text. Instead of downloading the app, you can simply text Digit (you will get their number when you join) and enter a series of commands: pause saves, withdrawals, recent transactions, etc.

Qapital gives you more flexibility

Qapital is a little more difficult, but also more fun. After registering with the app, you create rules and goals. Your goals can be:

You have one Qapital account, but the app allows you to create multiple savings goals in that account. You fund your goals with rules, and rules are triggered by specific actions, such as spending money at a particular store or getting paid. Qapital offers several non-standard rules:

  • Rule of thumb : Automatically save money every time you buy something.
  • Spend Less Rule: Save the difference when you spend less than your budget (for example, “Spend less than $ 15 at Starbucks in a week and save the difference”).
  • The rule of sinful pleasure : save a certain amount by spending it at a certain store.
  • Set and forget rule : keep a certain fixed amount every day, week or month.
  • Freelancer rule : Set aside a certain percentage in taxes when you get paid.

When you create a rule, you assign a target to that rule. For example, you can create a vacation goal and then set a rule to save a certain amount (or percentage) of each paycheck to achieve that goal. You can also share goals with other Qapital users.

This year I have set several goals in my Qapital account. I wanted to control expenses in the restaurant, so I set the goal of “restaurant” to set myself a budget for dining out. Then I established a rule that I save a certain amount in this fund every time I spend on groceries. So I encouraged myself to grocery shopping while budgeting for dining out. I used a bad habit to encourage better things.

I also set myself the goal of saving money on my honeymoon. As part of our August cash competition, I set a goal to round all my purchases to the nearest dollar and then keep the change in that fund for my honeymoon.

Moreover, the application connects to If This, Then That (IFTTT) for more flexibility. Through IFTTT, you can link Qapital with any number of other apps: Twitter, Gmail, Todoist, WordPress. Once these apps are connected, the possibilities are almost endless. You can create rules like:

This gives you a tremendous level of customization and flexibility. It’s a little more practical than Digit, but it also gives you a little more control over your savings. The number can be somewhat limiting. For example, you cannot tell him to save a certain amount. And you can only put your savings on hold for 30 days.

Verdict: Qapital is fun and easy to customize, Digit is simple and easy to use

If you don’t like thinking too much about your budget or savings habits, Digit is probably your best bet. He’ll do all the work for you, including calculating how much you can afford to save, which is incredible. However, if you are a more down-to-earth budget employee and really enjoy creating and tracking your financial goals, Qapital might be the best option. You can create fun, money-based goals and get creative with them.

I also used both at the same time. I use Qapital for specific tasks and then use Digit to squeeze additional savings out of my budget. Both apps have unique benefits, but they are both incredibly useful for one common goal: to support saving habits.

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