Balancing financial priorities can be overwhelming, especially if you have a major milestone ahead. Whether you are planning a wedding, saving for a dream vacation, buying a home or starting a family —successful money management can help you reach your goals faster.
That's where buckets, a feature of Ally Bank's Savings and Spending accounts, come in. These tools offer a streamlined way to manage your money to prepare for what’s ahead.
What’s the difference between spending and savings buckets?
Think of buckets as digital envelopes where you can allocate funds for specific expenses or savings goals. Available with both your Ally Bank Savings Account and Spending Account, these buckets help you organize your finances with ease.
How do savings buckets work?
Savings buckets are designed for your mid- and long-term financial goals. Whether you're saving for your next family vacation this summer or for a down payment on your next home, you can create dedicated buckets for each goal. You designate what each bucket is for and what percentage of your paycheck or other income you want to allocate to different categories (up to 30 buckets). Either manually move funds to your savings buckets with the distribute tool or set up automatic contributions.
How do spending buckets work?
Spending buckets are part of your Ally Bank Spending Account, a checking account designed for modern money management. Create buckets for rent, utilities, entertainment, or any other regular expenses. Like savings buckets, you can choose how much money goes into each category, either automatically or manually.
How to use buckets with other Ally features to build a comprehensive financial strategy
Either bucket is helpful on its own, but here's how using both savings and spending buckets together with Ally’s other smart savings tools could unlock your financial potential.
Build a better budget
If traditional budget spreadsheets leave you feeling lost, buckets offer a more visual approach. Start by mapping out your monthly expenses in spending buckets. Once you have a clear picture of your spending, you can set realistic goals for your savings buckets, whether it's for a wedding, new home or family trip.
Learn more: How to use spending and savings buckets together to meet your goals
Balance spending and saving
Life is unpredictable, and unexpected expenses can arise. With your financial goals organized in buckets, you can adapt to changes without derailing your plans. If a surprise expense comes up, you can adjust your buckets accordingly, ensuring your other goals remain on track.
Find extra money hiding in plain sight
When your money is lumped together, it's easy to miss overspending or savings opportunities. With buckets, you can clearly see your fixed expenses and savings goals, allowing you to identify and optimize unallocated funds.
Our Surprise Savings booster can also do this for you. When you link your Ally Bank Spending Account, or other interest checking account, to your Ally Bank Savings Account, we can analyze your spending patterns to find extra cash that could earn you more in savings.
Bonus: Round ups and recurring transfers
Our round ups booster rounds transactions from your Ally Bank Spending Account to the nearest dollar, and transfers them to your Ally Bank Savings Account once you’ve accrued $5. Say you spent $40.55 at the grocery store, you’ll be $0.45 closer to a round up transfer — a small tool that can help you reach your goals in a big way.
Recurring transfers are automatic transfers that you schedule to your Ally Bank Savings Account. By taking the work out of remembering manual transfers, you’re able to focus on planning that big trip or future wedding.
Make your dreams a reality with Ally Bank Spending and Savings Accounts
Coordinating your spending and saving doesn't have to be complicated. With Ally Bank's buckets and other smart savings tools, you can easily organize, analyze and optimize your finances. Together, savings and spending buckets simplify managing both your monthly expenses and your savings goals, helping you achieve the big life moments you dream of.
