I Struggled to Save Money Until I Opened This Bank Account (2024)

Do you want to save more money but don’t know where that extra savings could come from? I’ve been there.

As a personal finance editor, I’ve learned a lot over the years about saving money. But until I opened my Ally savings account, I still found it hard to reach my savings goals. I’ve banked with Ally for a few years now and its savings features have helped me spot extra money that could work harder for me in my savings. Ally’s savings account also earned a spot on CNET’s Editors’ Choice list because of its competitive interest rate and helpful savings tools.

Like most banks, Ally lets you set up recurring transfers to move money into your savings each time your paycheck hits. But this bank’s savings features go beyond standard transfers. Its savings boosters help me find extra money to put toward my goals -- like adding to my emergency fund and planning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disney with my family. These savings features have been a game-changer for me.

And if you’re struggling to save more, you might also find them helpful.

How Ally’s savings boosters work

Ally has two boosters (savings features) to help streamline how you set aside money: Surprise Savings and Round Ups. While most banks offer recurring transfers, Ally has additional features that can help automate and streamline your savings. You can track both via the mobile app and website. Plus, you can stop and start your boosters at any time.

Surprise Savings

Ally’s Surprise Savings feature reviews your typical spending habits, then determines if it can safely move small amounts of money from your Ally Spending account or another checking account to your Ally high-yield savings account.

Using financial aggregation technology, Ally will move a small amount (less than $100) when it determines you have extra money in your account that could better serve your goals by earning interest in your savings account. You shouldn’t expect more than three weekly transfers (Mondays, Wednesdays or Fridays). And each transfer won’t exceed $100.

For example, if I regularly spend $300 a month on groceries, gas and necessities combined, Ally may find an additional $50 that can be transferred to my savings account. Then I can always move the money to a specific bucket to put the money toward a goal.

This feature works best if you have an Ally Spending account, since you can quickly move money back and forth if you decide you want to pad your Spending account a little more. And while it might identify only small amounts to move -- $15 here and $45 there -- those dollars will add up over time and can help you meet your savings goals even faster, without any additional effort on your end.

Some banking apps, like Opportun, offer this feature, but you have to pay for it. I like that Ally provides this savings feature for free.

Round Ups

Ally’s Round Ups are another booster that can grow your savings a little more each week. Here’s how it works: Ally will round your purchases up to the nearest dollar, then automatically transfer the difference to your savings account once you’ve accrued at least $5.

For example, if I were to spend $60.19 at the grocery store, Ally would round up the purchase by 81 cents, to $61. It might not seem like much, but the savings can definitely add up with each purchase you make.

If your account balance is low, Ally won’t transfer any any money. And you can turn this feature off at any time.

You’ll need an Ally Spending and Savings account to use this feature. And it’s worth noting, it’s not unique to Ally. Other banks, like Bank of America and SoFi, offer round-up functionality -- but when used alongside the Surprise Savings feature, you can automate your savings with little effort.

My favorite savings feature from Ally

Ally has one other savings perk, which comes in handy the most. It offers savings buckets to divvy up your money for different goals within the same account. Think of this feature as digital cash envelopes that are organized to track progress for each goal. And I’m earning interest on every dollar, since it’s an interest-earning account.

If you ever need to make adjustments to the buckets, Surprise Savings, or Round Ups, you can do that right away via Ally’s mobile app. The only downside is that I occasionally receive cash and can’t deposit it into my savings easily since Ally doesn’t accept cash deposits.

How Ally helped me grow my savings

Saving money hasn’t always been easy for me. But Ally changed that with features that help me save without second guessing. Now I have three savings buckets to cover a future car purchase, a family vacation and my emergency fund.

And all of them are set to automatically transfer from my checking account. For instance, I have an automatic savings transfer to send $25 to my vacation bucket and emergency fund every week. That way I’m working toward the goals without forgetting or overthinking how much I want to contribute.

Most of all, I love how Ally’s mobile app makes it easy to see how much I have in each bucket, and in my savings overall. I’m able to compare month-to-month how much I’ve contributed each month and love the small surprise savings transfers that inch me closer to my goals.