Savings Coach: Automatic Saving Rules

The Savings Coach keeps a set of savings rules and a log of what you saved. A rule describes a way to save; the page estimates how much each way could save, and you record the amounts you actually set aside. Nothing is moved between accounts for you.

What you'll learn

• The rule types: Round-Up, Smart Save, Swear Jar and Fixed Amount
• How to add, pause, resume and delete a rule
• How to log savings and read the estimates

The Savings Coach page

What you see

1. Total Saved (all rules), Active Rules (with the number of rules in total) and Smart Save Estimate (per month).
2. Estimates: a table of Method, Option and Estimate. It shows what each way of saving could add per month.
3. My Savings Rules, with the Add Rule button.
4. One row per rule, with its name, its type, the amount it has saved, a pause icon and a delete (trash) icon.
5. Recent Entries: the amounts you logged, with their notes.

If you have no rules, the page says "No savings rules yet" and asks you to create your first one.

Rule types and estimates

• Round-Up: the estimate is what your recent expenses would have added if each one were rounded up to the next whole dollar, 5 or 10, averaged over three months. The table shows one row for each of the three steps.
• Smart Save: the estimate is a share of your average monthly surplus, which is average income minus average expenses over three months. The table shows three levels: Conservative (30% of the surplus), Moderate (50%) and Aggressive (70%). If there is no surplus, the estimate is zero.
• Swear Jar and Fixed Amount rules are listed with the other rules. The estimates table does not include them; record what they save as entries.

Add a rule

1. Select Add Rule.
2. Enter the Rule Name, such as "Coffee Round-Up".
3. Choose the Type: Round-Up, Smart Save, Swear Jar or Fixed Amount.
4. Select Add Rule, or Cancel to close the form without saving.

Pause, resume and delete

• Pause (the pause icon) stops a rule. A paused rule shows Paused next to its name.
• Resume starts it again.
• Delete (the trash icon) removes the rule after you confirm.

Log savings

When you set money aside, record it in the entry form on this page. Enter the Amount and an optional Note, then select Add entry. The entry appears under Recent Entries and adds to Total Saved and to the rule's total.

Frequently asked questions