Why automating your finances is the secret to saving better.

HerVest
4 min readFeb 25, 2022

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You’ve heard it time and again, the need to save for rainy days and you totally agree. After all, you earn enough to stash some naira into your savings account.

But even with your will and earning power, you never just get to save and when you do, it’s never enough. An emergency here, a need there and before you know it, the salary is gone! You promised next time you’d do better but every month, the same story plays out.

Frustrated, you wonder, why oh why, is it hard to save?

Does this sound like you? Do you ever struggle to save despite the financial promises you’ve made to yourself? I totally understand because I’ve been there.

You see, saving takes more than sheer willpower or even constant motivation. Oftentimes, it takes making the simple and strategic move to pay yourself first through automating your finances.

Automating your finances is a great way to consistently stick to your budget and hit your financial goals.

If you’ve ever wanted to save or invest better, then today’s article will walk you on how to achieve the process through an automated financial plan on the HerVest app.

What does it mean to automate my savings?

When you automate your savings, you are creating a system or setting where your target savings amount or goal is automatically debited from your account at a scheduled time.

Basically, it’s putting your savings on autopilot to help you stay accountable with your financial goals.

For instance, let’s say you’ve made a commitment to save N20,000 monthly, you can set a schedule for when you’d like that amount to be deducted from your account on the HerVest app. Our system automatically does the legwork, while you sit back and enjoy the juicy returns that accrue on your saved amount.

3 REASONS TO AUTOMATE YOUR SAVINGS

1. Prevent impulsive purchases: Automated savings can prevent some of the needless purchases we tend to make. When we have a specific amount transferred to our account before we touch it, it’s easier to avoid any potential spending temptations along the way.

2. You have an accountability partner: With the number of activities that bombard our day, it’s quite easy to put off saving to the last minute.

We have it at the back of our minds but a number of responsibilities are contending with our time and before you know it, we start digging into our savings fund.

When you automate your savings, it becomes a shared responsibility between you and an accountability partner- in this case, technology!

3. Build your financial muscles: Trust me there’s nothing so motivating than looking at a well-stocked savings account. It just challenges you to bring your A-game on girl!

Straight to business. Allow me to walk you through how to automate your savings on the HerVest app and other frequently asked questions you might have

HOW TO SET UP AN AUTOMATED SAVINGS PLAN ON HERVEST

Login to your HerVest account.

On the home screen, tap on create a savings plan.

Name your plan, enter your target amount for the plan.

Select a start date to begin savings and choose your plan duration.

Choose either daily, weekly or monthly to be debited automatically

Enter the desired amount to be debited or proceed to the next button.

To choose a payment method, please add your debit card details to enable automated debit.

HOW TO PAUSE AN AUTOMATED SAVINGS PLAN

For personal reasons, you might want to take a pause on automating your savings and that’s fine. If your savings is currently automated:
Go to savings. Tap on the savings plan and select ‘Pause plan’. You can resume your automated savings plan whenever you wish.

HOW CAN I UPDATE MY CARD DETAILS ON THE HERVEST APP?

To update your card details on the HerVest app.

Login to your HerVest app. Tap on your profile icon

Tap on Bank and Cards

Then swipe left to cards, and click on add new cards

A token of N50 will be deducted from your account to validate your card.

After validating payment, tap on your newly added card and link to existing savings. Then tap “Done”.

Viola! you just reactivated your automated savings plan.

CAN I WITHDRAW MY LOCKED SAVINGS?

No, you cannot. Your savings plan was built to help you save for your mid and long-term goals with a minimum period of 3 months. If you will need access to your funds within a short window period then your HerVest Purse is tailored to meet that goal.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DON’T REACH MY SAVINGS GOAL?

Absolutely nothing. Your financial growth is a journey and that means you’ve got to keep moving. No matter the outcomes, we are here to cheer and support you every step along the way.

So if you’re looking to improve your saving habits, automating your financial plan could be the game-changer. Plus it gets better using the HerVest app to meet your saving goals while earning competitive returns on the go. Make that step today.

Dara from HerVest

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HerVest

An inclusive Fintech for underserved and excluded women in Africa.