Invest With Plum Savings
Way back in February I wrote about some apps which will help you save money this year.
One of the apps I included was the Plum app and over the year they have become an app which I really like and which has helped me up my savings, allowing me to turn to them when I have an unexpected expense or a rainy day.
I thought now would be a good time to revisit this app and have a chat about just how it can help you save and then invest your pennies.
Who Are Plum?
It would be rude of me to jump in and assume you read my February post.
So I thought it was best to start with a recap on Plum and how Plum works.
They are an AI (Artificial Intelligence) led saving app, which runs via Facebook messenger. They are bank grade secure and link to any UK bank account to help you save what you can afford.
Over time the clever little AI analyses your spending patterns, knows when your pay days are and when bills are due and as such can predict what you can afford to save from your current bank account balance.
Amazingly in the first month of using a Plum account people save between £25-200 on average.
What’s more in 2017 alone Plum users managed to save over £20 million by setting money saving targets.
Plum can also help users identify savings they can make on their spending and can even help them switch providers if a lower payment rate is found.
Your money with Plum is never at risk as they don’t lend out, as banks do. However, this does mean that you don’t earn any interest on your savings.
Can it get any better?!
Invest With Plum
Of course it can!
If you are looking to put money away, take your savings to the next level and you want to earn a little back then Plum offer you a way to open a Stocks & Shares ISA or GIA with them and quickly invest your Plum savings into it.
Before I go any further I should say that stocks and shares do go up and down, So investing in any such plan like this should be something you look to do over the long-term in order to get the best return on your money.
Personally, I have seen my investments rise and fall. But when they fall it isn’t something you should panic about. Especially when you’re using a platform like Plum as they are all about making you money.
Plum investing is aware that most of the people using it are likely to be first-time investors and as such, they make sure it is a simple system to use and understand.
They allow the chance to invest within six mutual funds:
Basic Funds:
Conservative
Balanced
Growth
Advanced Funds:
Tech
Ethical
Emerging Markets
Your money can be withdrawn at any time.
So How Do I Invest With Plum?
Signing up to Plum is simple I promise!
All you need to do is get chatting with the AI via Facebook Messenger. It takes just a few minutes to link your account and you can choose to kick off your savings from the get-go.
There are two ways to start your saving:
- Allow the AI to start taking money automatically for amounts it thinks you can spare.
- Ask the app to withdraw an amount from your bank to kick it off.
Once you have some money in your savings wallet on Plum, you can start to think about investing.
All you need to do is click on the investment button on your app and Plum will walk you through the setup.
You have the choice, as I said, of either a Stocks & Shares ISA or a General Investment Account and it is worth making sure you know which of these is right for you.
Next up you’re going to want to choose not only your risk level but the type of fund you wish to invest into out of the six available.
While you are on this part of the set up there is lots of information to read through, so sure you spend some time checking out the returns on each one by clicking learn more. Yes looking through six may feel like it will take a while but it is worth it.
After all, this will help you understand more about how long-term investments mean more of a return. While also showing you how investments can quickly drop in value as well as rise.
Once you have chosen the right one for you it’s just a matter of clicking buttons. However, if you feel like playing the board a bit you can choose to invest in as many as you want, adding different savings to each one.
So you have opened your investments, all you need to do is add your pennies. You can invest into any of your funds at anytime by using the money in your Plum savings.
Here’s The Big Question – What Does it Cost To Invest With Plum?
OK, the big question has to be how much does it cost?
Plum offers the first month free so you can try out their investment programme and see if it is for you.
After that Plum will charge you fund management and provider fees. It costs £1 per month, assuming you have funds in an investment. There is also a Product provider fee of 0.15% (this is an annual fee which is charged monthly) and a Fund fee which is dependent on the fund but comes in between 0.22%-0.9%.
If you look at that and think what?! How will I know I’m making more than I’m spending?
Don’t worry as Plum is invested in making sure you are earning and if you happen to be earning less than you are paying Plum will let you know and allow you the choice to remove your Investments. Great hey!
So if you’re thinking about investing or just want to save a little why not look into Plum?
You may find out like I did, that it is just a bit easier to invest than you ever thought and with Plum by your side, you are bound to not feel alone.
Have you ever tried investing, if not what puts you off and would you think about giving it a go with Plum?
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This sounds like a useful app, I’ve heard of plum before but wasn’t sure how it worked
This is really helpful, I’ve heard a lot about Plum being great
This looks like a great app to try! I’m glad to know that they have a one month free of charge. I’ll have to try this.
It is a wonderful app honestly. It is so useful to have to hand.
This looks like such a cool app! Just downloaded and cant wait to try!
That’s awesome I really hope you get on well with it!
I hadn’t heard of this app at all. Wondering if they have a US version? I save regularly but would be handy to have something to remind me to save and invest all in one.
It is great as it keeps you on top of everything, lets you know your incomings and outgoings as well.
Plum sounds like a great user friendly app for investing and saving. I’m keen to give it a try.
It really is! It’s so simple to use and user-friendly they have really thought it through.
great app! I hope we also have one here in the Philippines 😀
I’ll have to try and find out for you 🙂 finger crossed.
Thanks for this information i love this
AI is a good innovation but I suppose not a lot of people would be open-minded to try investing in plum. It looks so simple and withdrawing the money seems easy, too.
It is really simple to use, they are becoming quite a big way to save and invest over here of late.
What a neat savings app. I would love to try the version that gives back, but investing seems like such a complicated issue. I think I will stick with the safe savings.
It’s actually made quite easy with Plum, it does everything for you for the most part. But yes it can go down as well as up so it has to be a long-term investment.
Very cool new app! Will have to check it out- I like the idea of being able to invest in stocks in an easy way- thanks for sharing.
It is so simple to use and you can always get in contact with your AI via Facebook messenger.
Honestly, I have not tried the whole investment thing yet. I do keep and maintain a savings account but that’s just it. I guess I am more worried about the losses that I forget that there is such a thing as gains too. I will have to rethink about doing something about investing. Thanks for sharing your experience with Plum.
It is definitely something you want to agree to do over a period of time and not assume you will make gains straight away.
I’ve never heard of this before. I wonder if they offer it in the states as well?
I have to admit I’m not 100% sure I’ll try and find out for you.
Glad that you really like Plum and that it has helped you with up your savings. This will be helpful to a lot of people.
I really do hope it helps some other people it’s a great app!
This app makes investments sound so easy. I have done a similar thing with my bank a few years ago and the return on investment was quite high, compared with the interest the bank would pay me every month to keep my money in. I might try it again with Plum.
It is so simple to use and I like that you get a choice of where you invest with and how.
i started using plum a few months ago when it kept popping up on facebook and i love it. i’ve saved quite a few pound without even noticing it. Well worth giving a go.
It is so simple to do isn’t it – amazing how quickly all the pennies add up as well in savings.
I’m not the most savvy when it comes to investing but Plum makes it seem so accessible. I’ll need to check this out with the hubby.
Honestly it is so simple, it really makes it easy for all to be able to try it.
Never heard about this app. Will definitely going to try this for sure. Thanks for sharing your experience.
No problem at all – I hope you like the app!
I wonder how it works with facebook? You mentioned it helps you find when the best time is for you to save and I like that idea for sure, specially for young people who are trying to learn to manage their budgets. Did you invest and if so how did that go for you?
It is all done via Facebook messenger so you just click on requests and it works via an AI though you can choose to speak to a human at times. I have invested with them, I earned a little so far but it’s only been a very short period so it’s hard to say at the moment how it might go long term.
I like learning about new apps and new ways to manage finances this is very helpful not sure if they are available in the USA though will look for them on the app store and ask my husband to try it he is in charge of the investments at home.
I know it asked me if I was in the US or UK when I was signing up to check out the new investment options so might be worth trying it.
Plum sounds like an awesome tool for investors. I do some trading and investing myself but I would love to check out this app too!
It is a really simple app – you can almost just set it up to go and forget about it which is nice.
I’ve always wanted to invest but I’ve never known where to stop. This sounds like a great app to get started. Thanks!
No problem at all I really hope you find it is a useful app for you as well.
You know, I’ve never invested before. I should look into this for sure. My Nana Jo invests and she’s made some good money.
Oh wow go your Nana Jo! I hope one day I might make a little bit too!
Thanks for sharing a some info about Plum. This gives me enough to consider if it would be a good fit for me or not.
I am glad it has helped you think more about Plum it is a good app to have.
I keep seeing this app popping up places but I never knew what it was really about. I might be tempted to trying it out now, especially if it keeps you in the know with the cost.
It does which is great, you get daily updates on what your spending as well if you would like.
Wow I’ve never heard of Plum but it sounds like such a great resource. We are always looking on ways to save money, especially this time of year.
It is fantastic! Well worth having a look into as it is so simple to use!
I had no idea about Plum, this does sound good and fairly easy plus it never hurts to have some savings and start thinking of investments
It is such a great app! So simple to use as well, that’s for sure!
What an excellent review. It’s great to have an app like this that works for you.
It really is, it can make so much difference having a bit of a helping hand.
Plum sounds like a very interesting app! Thank you for sharing the ins and outs
No problem at all – it is definitely really interesting!
Hey thanks for this – I’d be curious to check it out a bit more… definitely looks interesting, many thanks for sharing!
No problem at all I hope you find the app to be useful for you.
I know very little about this new app. My husband is an investor so going have show him this post and see what he says
It is a really great app – well worth looking into even if you don’t take on the investing side the saving side is fab!
Wow! I was not aware of this app before reading your post. It does sound so interesting, and I think it would be so useful. I will definitely look at downloading it.
Honestly it’s an awesome app – I definitely recommend giving it a try 🙂
Never heard of this,thanks for the review and sharing x
No problem at all – it is a great little app for sure!