3 Apps That Will Automatically Save You Money and Lower Bills Each Month

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I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty lazy about finding ways to save money. Sure, I love a good deal as much as the next person, but between parenting a toddler, working from home, and trying not to keep my eyes glued to the news, my brain doesn’t have time to think of much else.

The good news is that you can still find ways to save money without spending a ton of time doing so. Yup, I’m talking about apps. What’s so awesome about them is that it’s not just about pinching pennies; it's about consistently saving you money each month. Here are several apps that are well worth your time to help you reduce your monthly bills.

Trim

Think of Trim as your savings partner in crime, helping you find as many ways to slash your spending as possible. After signing up and connecting your bank accounts, this free service will analyze your transactions to find ways to understand where your money is going.

Trim looks at recurring charges — aka your subscriptions — and reminds you of them. That way, if you don’t want a subscription or haven’t used any of them (perhaps that philosophy book club membership is sitting by the wayside?) you can cancel it.

Plus, the days of manual couponing are no more. Trim will do this automatically and apply it to your purchases. And if you’re an Amazon freak like I am, Trim will get you a refund for any difference in price for items you bought if possible.

Don’t forget the bill negotiation service. Trim will help you to lower bills by negotiating with service providers and also by finding cheaper services and packages. If successful, Trim will take a cut. Otherwise, you won’t be charged.

Rocket Money, formerly Truebill

Rocket Money offers two of the same features as most other apps: bill negotiation and monitoring subscriptions. Once you provide your most recent bill or connect Rocket Money to your online account, the app will look for lower rates — typically by finding promo plans or cutting back on excess fees. If successful, Rocket Money will take a 40% cut of your savings.

While Rocket Money does monitor recurring subscriptions for you, it won’t help you cancel them unless you sign up for the premium service. Opting into the premium service will also help you automatically request refunds for any late or overdraft fees.

Two unique features of Rocket Money are the ways in which it helps you lower your utilities even further. The app monitors for any outages from your cable and internet providers in your area and requests a credit to your account if there is one. If the electricity in your area is deregulated, Rocket Money will help you shop around and find the lowest price so you can save even more on your electricity bill.

Billshark

What we like about Billshark is that it doesn’t charge you until it successfully negotiates down your bills or cancels your subscription. Though it only has these two features, those who are looking for a no-frills app may find this to be a great fit.

To start, you can use its savings calculator to estimate how much you can save just by negotiating your bill. If you like what you see, you can authorize Billshark to negotiate on your behalf to get you the lowest possible rate — the app claims to have a 90% success rate. If successful, Billshark will take a 40% cut of your annual savings. It’ll also send you a reminder of when those savings will end so you can renegotiate for deals.

You can also cancel recurring subscriptions — Billshark charges a flat $9 for the privilege. If you think that’s steep, consider if it’s worth it to spend time looking for how to cancel a contract with weird clauses.