"As a 25-year-old girlie who has A) moved states every year since college and B) works a job that is a total dream in every aspect except for salary, balancing how to save money versus spend money has felt downright impossible the past three years. I’ve hustled for promotions with salary increases (and succeeded) all in the effort to make just a tiny bit more money to stash away in my savings account. The problem, however, hasn’t necessarily been about how little or how much money I earn. My problem has historically been finding a tool that takes the guesswork out of saving, whether that be for emergencies or big life events like friends’ weddings.
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In the past, I spent a long time just… not saving for them. Adulting is hard enough so far, and quite honestly, sometimes I’m so strapped for cash that the idea of saving any of it for big events is unrealistic. Once I discovered the Acorns app, though, my mindset changed, and so did my savings account. This app helps me save a stash of cash with zero thought or effort required—over $100 a month—and I hardly even notice the changes in my account. Naturally, I’m obsessed with it and need to share how it has singlehandedly changed how I save for the future.
What is the Acorns app?
Acorns is a finance app that allows you to save spare change via round-ups. The app links your checking account and/or credit cards and, you guessed it, rounds up the spare change on purchases, such as saving $0.75 from a $5.25 coffee. Round-ups are customizable, and you can choose to save double, triple, or 10x more of the spare change amount. This means if you select round-ups to be double the spare change, Acorns pulls $1.50 from that coffee, making your purchases work smarter, not harder.
In addition to this, you can make weekly contributions, such as saving $5 every Monday or $20 every payday. These contributions pull automatically from your checking account on a schedule that you set, which helps to add to your savings quickly.
An even larger benefit of this app is the ability to invest your round-ups in stock and bond ETFs. While I didn’t start doing this until recently, and I primarily use the app just for the round-up savings feature, this is one of the easiest ways I’ve seen to dip your toe in investing. Acorns holds your hand the whole way—you can choose to customize your investments with their suggestions or have the app select the exact stock and bond ETFs to invest your money in.
Whether you choose to just use the round-up feature like I did for a long time or take it an extra mile with weekly contributions or investments, the longer you save with Acorns, the greater the opportunity for your money to multiply.
What I love about the Acorns app
It’s easy to setup
Setting up the Acorns app is simpler than setting up a bank account. Simply enter your details as you would for any other app: email address, phone number, and date of birth. Next, it asks you to link as many checking accounts as you wish. I connected all of mine! Once at least one checking account is linked, you can customize the Acorns app by turning on round-ups and selecting a weekly contribution amount (mine is $5 every Monday). From there, you can turn on investing mode or leave it as is to round up in the background.
I don’t notice small withdrawals
When I say the app helps me save an extra $100 every month without even trying, I mean it. The round-ups are so unnoticeable. Acorns tracks your purchases via your accounts, and once you’ve made enough purchases for the spare change to hit $5, it deposits it out of your checking account into your Acorn account. This way, the app isn’t taking pennies out of your checking account every. single. time. you purchase something.
“I’m saving at least $100 per month, but since it is completely automated and saved in small increments, it doesn’t feel unrealistic with my tight budget.”
Because it’s only around $5-$20 being withdrawn from my checking account and deposited into Acorns, it feels like way less of a blow than depositing $100 into my savings account once a month. I’m saving at least $100 per month, but since it is completely automated and saved in small increments, it doesn’t feel unrealistic with my tight budget. As it compounds over time, it turns into a decent stash of cash to put toward random events that have in the past put me in credit card debt. Plus, every time I buy myself a little treat, I feel a little bit better knowing Acorns is saving the spare change from that purchase.
Contributions add up quickly
One of the best feelings is forgetting I have the app and then jumping for joy the moment I remember it exists and seeing what has added up. In the past 30 days, I have saved $173.58. As someone who only saves via round-ups and one weekly contribution of $5, I’m proud of the money I’m able to save each month. Below is a breakdown of my exact Acorns contributions and a timeline to show exactly how I’ve saved $100+ in the past 30 days.
- Round-up settings: automatic, 2x spare change
- Weekly contribution: $5 every Monday
- Account Balance as of August 1, 2024: $0
- Account Balance as of September 16, 2024: $173.58
You can withdraw your money at any time
One of my biggest concerns before signing up for Acorns was knowing how often I’d be able to withdraw my money. Do I have to contribute money for a set number of months before accessing my cash? Or would I be hit with a fee for withdrawing too early or too often? Luckily, the app lets you withdraw whenever you want. This is an extremely important feature for anyone using Acorns for their emergency savings or, if you’re like me, anyone who might want to pull extra cash to pay expensive bills.
“One of the best feelings is forgetting I have the app and then jumping for joy the moment I remember it exists and seeing what has added up. In the past 30 days, I have saved $173.58.”
It makes saving money feel possible
Between high living costs and only being four years into my career, saving each month is extremely difficult. The way my app is set up to save for me right now is extremely minimal! With that said, while saving money is difficult for me, it doesn’t feel so hopeless anymore. I didn’t think saving any amount of money was possible for me, so I feel at peace and extremely excited knowing I’ve been able to save an extra $100 each month. I’m attending at least five weddings next summer and know exactly how I’m paying to travel to them thanks to Acorns.
You can be as aggressive as you want to be
When I want to be more aggressive with my savings, I will start multiplying round-ups and making a larger weekly contribution. For example, I might increase my weekly contributions to $10 per week instead of $5 to save double what I am saving now. I could also choose to double my spare change round-up. And if I’m ever in a pinch? I’ll scale it back. This is one of the greatest things about Acorns. It is totally customizable!
It can be used as a short-term and long-term savings solution
I love using Acorns as a short- or long-term savings solution. By “short-term,” I mean events like friends’ weddings and bachelorette trips, moving, pet costs, or holiday gift-giving season. Before Acorns, I had a really difficult time setting money aside on my own for these events that I knew were coming up. When they came along, I would throw big purchases on a credit card and feel uneasy about how I was going to pay it off. With Acorns, however, I don’t have that panic anymore. As my restaurant dates and errand runs add up throughout the month, the spare change from those outings, plus my weekly contributions, support my savings goals. And in the long term, I can choose to let my account keep growing without withdrawing or investing it for potential gains within the app.
“As my restaurant dates and errand runs add up throughout the month, the spare change from those outings, plus my weekly contributions, support my savings goals.”
Is the Acorns app worth it?
At just $3 per month, Acorns is more than worth it. It has helped me take control of my finances. When I used to think about saving $100 from my paycheck every month, something else always took precedence, like car repairs or someone’s birthday. I was holding myself back from being able to save valuable money, not because I wasn’t making enough money, but because I didn’t have the right tools.
As someone who lives paycheck to paycheck, I know how impossible saving money can feel. Take it from me: Acorns makes saving money feel realistic even to those who don’t feel like they have any excess spare change to begin with. I like that Acorns is helping me become more knowledgeable and comfortable with investing, too, but that’s not the reason I signed up. I wanted a tool to simplify and automate the way I save money, and Acorns became my solution. Now, I keep a flat $50 in my checking account just so Acorns can pull round-up change and my weekly contribution.
Do yourself a favor and sign up for the app, turn on roundups, and forget about the app. Once you remember you have an Acorns account in about a month, you’ll have money waiting for you as a sweet reward.
Madi Koetting, Contributing Beauty & Lifestyle Writer
Madi is a Denver-based freelance writer with a bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Drake University. She’s currently a Commerce Editor for Us Weekly where she covers all things shopping from celeb-loved beauty and fashion products to the best home and kitchen wares. Beyond The Everygirl, Madi’s work has appeared in Stylecaster, Taste of Home, Reader’s Digest, and Better Homes & Gardens.