Opinion: 3 ways to save or invest on a small scale

Qapital, Acorns, and Forex, 3 apps I’ve found absolutely user-friendly, can help you save or invest on a small scale. While Qapital is fun to use, Acorns plays safe, and Forex is for the investor in you.

There are an endless amount of apps and websites out there designed to help you save and invest money on a small scale. Let’s face it: most of us aren’t rich. But we want to get there. At the very least, we don’t want to struggle with our money and it would seem that saving would be beneficial at some point or another, if not always.

Here are 3 apps I’ve found absolutely user-friendly, work as expected, and even fun to use.

I’ll start with saving

1. Qapital: I was just browsing for these types of apps when I found Qapital. I usually don’t have money to spare at the end of the month, so I like using things that take money out routinely and discretely enough that I hardly notice. This app lets you set multiple goals with multiple “rules.” The “basic” one is the one that lets you round up to $2 or even $1 if you so desire. You want to get fit AND save money? Save every time you hit a fitness goal. Then there’s the 52-week rule. What? Yes. One week you save $1, on the 2nd week $2, etc OR you can choose to do it in reverse: first week $52, second week $51, etc. Spend too much money at Starbucks? Cut down and the difference is put into your savings! It’s the funnest way to save, but there is no return – it’s all you!

2. Acorns: I’ve had Acorns for a while now. It’s the original app I tried for saving money. I haven’t played around with it too much, but it lets you make automatic deposits, one-time deposits, and it lets you set the rounding rule. It collects a few cents after every transaction (depending on your settings,) and withdraws when it accumulates at least $5. I don’t use my card much, so mine withdraws about $5/week. I’ve had mine in there about a year and it grows by a dollar or so every day still. It takes about a week to get your money if you want to withdraw, which is a good deterrent. It’s a small saving, it’s a small return, it’s the safest option here in terms of investing if you’re looking for something to help you save a few extra bucks long-term.

3. Forex: I found out about Forex through a nurse who tended to my mom. He said he was quitting his job to just do Forex and tell people about Forex. This was about a year ago as well. I made the account, but I never finalized it and I never put money into it. I finally left the fear behind, deposited $50 and saw my money dwindling slowly over the next few minutes. I woke up the next day and I’d made $12 on the account. This one isn’t as user-friendly, but it’s got the best return. It’s also got the highest risk for loss. I don’t know about quitting my job, but I’m liking my free $12.