It can be challenging to save money for your financial goals, which is why automating your savings — meaning the endeavor is taken off your plate and happens like clockwork — can be a very helpful tactic.
Saving money is important on so many levels, from building up a healthy emergency fund to having a retirement nest egg. And it seems as if Americans could use some help in this pursuit. The personal savings rate in the U.S. was 4.60% as of September 2025, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which is less than half what it was in 2021.
Learn more about automating your savings here.
Key Points
• Automating savings can simplify financial management and ensure consistent savings.
• Direct deposit into savings or separate accounts for different goals can enhance savings efficiency.
• High-interest accounts boost savings growth.
• Employer programs, like 401(k) matches, can increase retirement savings.
• Monitoring financial insights with apps can help track and optimize savings.
Why Automating Savings Makes Sense
When people say one thing and then do another, it’s called the value-action gap or intentional-behavior gap. Psychologists have lots of theories about why this disconnect exists.
When it comes to saving money, lots of things can get in the way: routine bills, an unexpected big night out with friends, a shopping splurge, or simply forgetting to move money into savings. But by taking some of the human element out of saving money and using an automatic savings technique, it may be possible to overcome some of the obstacles that make it hard for people to save. It can help you build your savings rate and manage your money better,
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9 Ways to Automate Savings
If you’re wondering how to automate savings, you can start by deciding which actions to automate and set them up with a lender (if they offer automated services).
Here are some good ways to get started.
1. Set Up Direct Deposit
A good first step to automating savings is setting up direct deposit for paychecks. This means that on payday, your paycheck goes directly into the bank account. People often plunk their full paycheck into their checking account, but a smart move can be to send some of those funds into a savings vehicle.
• Whether you fund a dedicated savings account or investment fund, this process will ensure a regular, ongoing flow of money to help you build a nest egg.
• If your employer doesn’t have a way for you to divide your automatic deposit, there’s a simple workaround: Have your paycheck go into your checking account and then have a sum automatically transferred to savings the following day on a recurring basis.
2. Earmark Money for Each Goal
There are a lot of things people can choose to do with their money. Most people have more than one savings goal, from accumulating cash for a vacation, a new car, or the down payment on a home.
If all of your money goes into a single savings account, it can be difficult to determine how effectively they are tracking for each individual goal. You can gain financial clarity by setting up separate savings accounts for each goal and then making regular automated deposits into each.
How much should go into each savings account? That depends on your goals and the immediacy of each. If you’re saving for a vacation a year from now, figure out the price tag for your trip, divide by 12, and that’s how much to stash away each month.
Recommended: High-Yield Savings Account Calculator
3. Choose a High-Interest Account
Saving can be hard work. But without the right savings account, those hard-earned dollars may not go as far as they potentially could. Instead of putting money in just any account, look for a high-interest savings account to increase the returns of your automated savings.
There are different ways to earn more interest on your money.
• Some lenders may reward automatic savers, helping them to reach their goals faster. For example, a recurring automated deposit of $100 may earn interest at a lower starting rate, but increasing that deposit to $500 each month may trigger a higher rate.
• Or look for an online bank which, since they don’t have to pay for brick-and-mortar locations and in-person staff, typically pay higher rates than traditional banks.
4. Take Advantage of Employer Programs
For those who have savings for retirement among their financial goals, employers can be a great savings partner. Those with a 401(k) may want to arrange automatic paycheck deductions, so the contribution comes out of your pay before it even lands in their bank account.
Some companies will also match 401(k) contributions up to a certain level each year. Aim to earmark at least enough to get that match; otherwise, it’s akin to leaving money on the table. It’s an easy way to increase retirement savings.
Recommended: 15 Creative Ways to Save Money
5. Pay Bills Automatically
The late fees associated with missing a bill payment needlessly take a bite out of savings. So if you’re trying to save money, ensuring that all payments go out on time is an easy way to reduce losses that can derail a savings plan. A few pointers:
• Organizing your bills is important, but you don’t need a great memory to stay on top of rent, car, and utility payments — these can usually be done automatically. It makes sense to automate predictable billings that don’t fluctuate each month. Set them up in the payment system, and rest assured they’ll be paid by the due date as long as adequate funds are available.
• For credit card bills, it’s good to ensure that spending habits don’t exceed the amount flowing into the account from paychecks and other sources.
• If you spend more in a particular month, it’s wise to check in advance of the payment date that there are sufficient funds to cover the automatic payment.
• Setting up a calendar alert each month several days before the credit card payment date is a good reminder to make sure there’s enough money to cover the amount owed, particularly if your credit card spending habits are irregular.
6. Monitor Financial Insights
Setting — and sticking to — a budget is an important part of successful financial management. But it can be a lot of work to monitor spending in each category and to stay on the right side of all targets.
Here’s where technology can definitely give you a boost. Instead of crunching the numbers week after week and month after month, apps and other digital tools can improve the ease of fulfilling this important, but arguably boring, mathematical task.
Your bank may well offer an automated tool or dashboard that shows in real-time your spending and saving. This means you can see account balances and itemized spending category breakdowns to have a clear picture of where your money goes and where you might cut back.
Some banks also allow account holders to set up personal financial goals — such as monthly savings targets — and then automatically track their transactions against them. This can be helpful when you are trying to boost savings and your sense of financial security.
7. Increase Deposits Over Time
While learning how to automate savings can take the headache out of managing finances, it’s wise to revisit the amounts periodically. Cash flows change from time to time (you get a raise, you pay off a car loan, you have a baby), and there may be new opportunities to save.
Even if nothing of note has changed, some individuals may find that they have more room to contribute to savings than they estimated at the outset. Even increasing automated savings by 1% per paycheck can help savings grow faster.
Setting a periodic automatic calendar reminder to closely review finances (perhaps every quarter) can be a wise move.
8. Use a Cash-Back Card
If you have a cash-back credit card, you may typically use that 1% to 5% back on purchases to… purchase more. Instead, direct your cash-back rewards into a savings account. Whether you get $10, $100, or more in cash back per month, it will help your savings account grow.
9. Funnel Your Windfalls Wisely
If you get a tax refund or a bonus at work, send that money into savings (or at least some of it) versus checking. Sure, it’s fun to get an infusion of cash and go shopping or dining out, but you can hit those financial goals more quickly if you send the money straight to savings, where it can earn compound interest and grow.
The Takeaway
Automating your savings can help ease your path to reaching your financial goals, from saving for a wedding to nurturing a retirement nest egg. This process is quick and convenient, and doesn’t require you to remember regular money transfers nor break out the calculator to see where you stand financially. Finding a savings account with a competitive interest rate and low or no fees can help your savings grow even faster.
Interested in opening an online bank account? When you sign up for a SoFi Checking and Savings account with direct deposit, you’ll get a competitive annual percentage yield (APY), pay zero account fees, and enjoy an array of rewards, such as access to the Allpoint Network of 55,000+ fee-free ATMs globally. Qualifying accounts can even access their paycheck up to two days early.
FAQ
What is the $27.40 rule?
The “$27.40 rule” is a method for saving about $10,000 a year. It advises that you save $27.40 a day to meet that goal. The idea is that a large savings goal can be a lot more manageable when you break it down into smaller, daily increments.
Why is automating savings a good idea?
Automating your savings can be a very good idea because it doesn’t require any effort on your part. Once you set up a recurring savings strategy, you don’t have to remember to save or find time to move money around. You don’t have the opportunity to think about using the money for, say, a concert ticket vs. for a future goal. It happens seamlessly.
What are ways to automate savings?
There are several ways to automate savings. You might send some of your direct-deposited paycheck into savings, or you might set up a recurring transfer from your checking account to savings. Another idea is to automatically contribute to retirement savings, such as having your employer deduct funds from your pay and have them go into a 401(k) plan.
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Eligible Direct Deposit means a recurring deposit of regular income to an account holder’s SoFi Checking or Savings account, including payroll, pension, or government benefit payments (e.g., Social Security), made by the account holder’s employer, payroll or benefits provider or government agency (“Eligible Direct Deposit”) via the Automated Clearing House (“ACH”) Network every 31 calendar days.
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