Automated Savings

DireEmblem

Just half an idea, but how difficult would it be to create something for yourself?

I really dont like Chip or Plum - there are services like If This Then That, could that be used to monitor accounts with an arbitrary set of rules, and transfer spare funds to where you choose?

El_Torro

I'm not really sure what you're asking. I have no personal experience with Chip or Plum, but they seem to be aimed mainly at people who want to save (or invest) but find it difficult to handle it themselves. Either because they find the process complicated, or because they have the habit of spending everything they earn, or for some other reason. 

Doing it yourself probably is the most efficient way to do it. Personally I invest all the money I have spare since last month's pay day when this month's pay comes in. I've never really thought about using an app that does that for you.

DireEmblem

I'm wondering if the tools are out there to build your own saving algorithm, and transfer money to where you want it(aka more choice/cheaper).

Personally I'm in a mix of ETFs like VWRP and HMWO, but dip into some investment trusts like SMT when they trade at a discount more than 1% as its cheaper than buying the BG Long Term Global Growth(fee wise).

I mostly do things by spreadsheet currently.  I use MoneyDashboard as an account aggregator, and review the output of that.

Gary1984

Just set up a standing order to your savings account for the day after you get paid and you'll never miss the money. Anything left at the end of the month and transfer that too. 

kuratowski

I think it would be quite difficult to replicate Chip or Plum as an individual.  This is because in order to access your accounts via open banking you either need to obtain FCA authorisation, or to use an aggregator service (such as Truelayer) that has FCA authorisation, which you'll have to pay for.  A business can justify the costs by spreading them over the entire customer population, but this is going to effectively block an individual, due to the shouldering the entire cost.

The other part of the problem is coding up an algorithm to automatically figure out how much to save.  Which needs to be smart enough not to clear out your bank account the day before a big payment is due.  I am no expert, but I thought Machine learning generally works by trying to predict the future based upon the past, so how do you handle one-offs like a new kitchen.

I actually prefer Gary1984's approach.

jimjames

As above just set up a standing order or DD to pay out to your savings account each month or each week if you prefer

Eco_Miser

DireEmblem said:

I'm wondering if the tools are out there to build your own saving algorithm, and transfer money to where you want it(aka more choice/cheaper).

The first question is could you actually devise a savings algorithm better than transferring a fixed amount each month, and the second is are there tools out there to implement it?

On the first I have a spreadsheet that tells me when I need to transfer money, and how much. It takes the current balances and all known future spending/saving into consideration, but I still have to manually adjust it on occasion. It's complicated.

On the second, I just log in and move the money (and verify recent transactions and balances).

There may be an automatable solution. I know at least one fintech allows customers access via its API. Forget which.

DireEmblem

jimjames said:

As above just set up a standing order or DD to pay out to your savings account each month or each week if you prefer

Yeah that's pretty much what I do, along with a general spending card, and if its balance gets to a certain point it gets swept out too.  I just like the idea of self automation a bit more, but then I guess that is more hands off.