Learn more about ImpulseSave to fatten your savings!
Every day, we’re faced with spending decisions. Out for lunch…“Should I order the daily special or what I really want – the pricey crab cakes?” On the way home after a long day…”Should we get Chinese takeout or grill hamburgers like we planned? In the checkout line…”Mmmmm – Rachael Ray’s 30 no-fuss meals in under 30 minutes look delicious and easy! I need this magazine!”
Sound familiar?
I face spending decisions all day long every day, and I’m sure you do, too. A long time ago, I tried to implement a system where I rewarded myself for saving money by transferring the money I saved from checking to savings each week. I did this a few times before getting bored. It was just too inconvenient, and I didn’t really have a specific purpose for doing so; I just thought it would be cool to build up my savings account.
Enter ImpulseSave – A Simple & Fun Way to Save Money
ImpulseSave is the solution I’ve been looking for all along. It’s a no-brainer savings plan, a real-time means of saving money. It works almost exactly like my old plan with one major exception…ImpulseSave makes saving easy and fun. It helps you capture all that cash you almost spent and funnel it into a savings account toward specific goals.
If you’re an impulse spender, you can easily become an impulse saver. I’m already addicted.
Is ImpulseSave Legit? Is it Secure? Are There Any Fees? – All Questions I Asked
I immediately wanted to review ImpulseSave on WhatMommyDoes the second I signed up for it because I knew it was an awesome idea, but first I had to get answers to some very important questions. Namely, I wanted to know that any personal financial information I share with ImpulseSave will be safe. I don’t just provide my banking account information to any old person or company; I have to trust that the company has my best interests in mind as well as the capabilities to protect me from fraudulent transactions.
Deborah Devenney, the Community Manager at ImpulseSave, was kind enough to answer a bunch of my nerdy questions. Her answers, coupled with my experience using ImpulseSave to date, made me feel comfortable recommending this service to my readers.
WhatMommyDoes: How do you ensure security of the checking account information I provide to ImpulseSave?
ImpulseSave employs the same high-grade encryption used by financial institutions and government agencies. All your financial information is encrypted in transit, and in storage. We meet or exceed all industry standards to safeguard your data. Your money is held in your new FDIC-insured savings account.
WhatMommyDoes: Tell me more about Leader Bank, which is used to open my ImpulseSave savings account. Why did you choose this bank? What kind of interest rate will I earn?
We like working with a smaller bank because there is a much better relationship than with the larger and better-known banks. With a bigger bank, they won’t really even give you the time of day, and as a result the customers suffer. Leader bank is a very reliable local branch, and we were excited to partner with someone one we knew. The interest rate on an ImpulseSave savings account is 0.40% APY. Here is more information about Leader Bank savings accounts.
WhatMommyDoes: How many users do you have?
Because we are still fundraising with investors and in private beta mode, we are not able to release how many users we have. However I can tell you that we are growing faster everyday!
WhatMommyDoes: I thought I saw where you can impulse save using Instagram…is this feature functional now? If so, how does it work?
Yes, you can save with Instagram! When your account is activated, go to “Me > Account > and click ‘Link my Instagram Account.” Then when you make an ImpulseSave and take a picture of it – like an impulse buy you put back on the shelf or walking passed a Starbucks instead of going in – you just put “#impulsesave” and the amount saved in the caption of your picture. We’ll automatically transfer your savings for you!
WhatMommyDoes: Will users be charged account maintenance fees when their savings account dips below a certain amount? (i.e. do you have to maintain a minimum balance like you might see at another bank)?
No way! No fees, no minimum balance – just saving money. Why should we charge someone to help them save money? ImpulseSave is FREE and always will be. We don’t believe in minimum balances, transfer fees or any other banking mumbo-jumbo. Our concern is getting you to that goal.
WhatMommyDoes: Are there any penalties for frequent withdrawals? (I’m thinking of instances where multiple savings goals are accomplished within a short timeframe).
Again, no fees, no penalties. We want to make saving money as simple and fun as possible – complicated bank penalties are the opposite!
Ready to Try ImpulseSave? Start Saving Money in a Few Simple Steps
After the interview above, I felt comfortable enough to take the steps necessary to activate my ImpulseSave account and get started saving.
If you are also so inclined, here are the basics:
1) Request an ImpulseSave account. Like Pinterest, you can’t just join immediately – you have to request an invite.
2) Determine something specific to save for like “Disney 2013” or “new bike.”
3) Open a savings account through ImpulseSave. This account will be used to hold all of your impulsively saved funds.
4) Link your checking account. This is how you will get money into your ImpulseSave savings account.
ImpulseSave has cute bubbly buttons and a simple-to-use interface that makes saving as easy as hitting “Like” on Facebook.
How Do You Save Money with ImpulseSave?
Throughout the week, you find reasons to impulsively save money. You can let ImpulseSave know about these saves by logging onto the website or even by text or Instagram (see how in the Q&A above). ImpulseSave will keep track of your saves, then bundle them all together at the end of the day into one bank transfer.
When you set up your goals, ImpulseSave also asks you to set a minimum weekly amount you’d like to “auto save.” Every Monday, that amount per goal gets transferred to your ImpulseSave savings account.
After you reach your goal (or whenever you’d like to in the meantime), you can withdraw your savings on the ImpulseSave website.
How I See Myself Saving Money Easily – Sample Daily Expense Record
ImpulseSave is the Latte Factor on steroids. Financial discipline is the name of the game. Say no enough times, and you’ll really be rolling in the Benjamins.
For one day, I kept track of all the ways I could have saved impulsively. I was really surprised by the total:
- $7 for driving past Chick-Fil-A instead of grabbing lunch when I had perfectly good sandwich ingredients at home
- $12 for choosing a box of store brand diapers over Pampers
- $5 for not buying a magazine in the grocery store checkout line
- $30 for not getting that super cute maxi dress I don’t really need
- Grand Total: $54
Just thinking of what I could do with an extra $54 to invest some days versus spending it makes me a little sick to my stomach. I’m thinking of all times I randomly spent $10 here and $12 there without really giving it much thought. Those little expenditures really add up when you look at them in total.
Now I’m getting excited about ImpuleSave. I set up two goals – one for $75 to pay for my daughter’s dance camp this summer and $3,000 to pay for a future bathroom remodel. We know we will never be able to sell our house one day without redoing the master bathroom, so I figure this is a good goal to put on the books. Not really sure if $3,000 is a reasonable amount, but it seemed like a nice round number. :=)
Example Savings Ideas – 51 Ways to Save Money Impulsively
Need example money-saving ideas to get you going? Last week, I had the privelege of being credited for one of 51 fun ways to ImpulseSave on the official ImpulseSave blog. How cool is that?!
If you need even more sample money-saving ideas, here are also 51 ways to stop impulse buying.
Can you think of ways to save money impulsively? I’d love to create my own list of ways to impulse save, starting with ideas from my readers!
A note about this post:
I was in no way compensated for writing the review above. Now, if ImpulseSave wants to send me a $100 Target gift card for being awesome, that would be perfectly fine by me. :=)
I just honestly think ImpulseSave might become the new way to save…it certainly appeals to the on-the-go nature of our society today. Once you’re set up, it’s really an easy way to save money with as little effort as possible. In fact, I’d venture to say it makes a game out of saving.
If you give it a try, let me know the different ways you “found” money!
adrian jill says
Great advice!Thanks for posting this topic related to saving, its really helpful.