I believe it's entirely possible that ASX banks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) can help you save money.
I'm not referring to the banks' large dividend yields, although they are very large. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ), National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB), Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Ltd (ASX: BEN), Bank of Queensland Limited (ASX: BOQ), Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN) and Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) all have pleasing dividend yields.
I'm not referring to the (low) interest you can earn from the savings accounts or term deposits.
What I'm talking about is how banks can actually help you save. There are a few different tools they have that can help you do this.
Goal setting
Many of the banks have the ability to set a savings goal. For example, you could say you want to save $2,000 by the end of the year for a holiday.
Automatic transfers
Not only can the bank show you the progress you've made with your savings goals, but you can set up regular automatic transfers. One of the best pieces of financial advice is to save first and spend what's left, rather than the other way around – you can always find something to spend your money on. Setting up automatic payments help you do this.
Expense tracking
There are a number of non-bank tools that can help your track your spending including Pocketbook and You Need A Budget (YNAB).
Most banks also offer their own version of expense tracking where you can label spent amounts as groceries, bills, pets, eating out or whatever else. It's only when you see your expenses totalled up over weeks, months or annually that you see how much you're truly spending on each category. Or you can go crazy with an excel spreadsheet.
Foolish takeaway
Whilst the banks have been bashed for their many poor behaviours in the Royal Commission, they do actually have some useful tools that can be used to save money.
