Almost every student wants to save more money in college. It might be for various reasons, like paying off student loans or saving for a vacation. However, most people don’t know where to get started.
Despite the massive improvements to financial institutions over the past couple of years, some financial tasks remain annoying. One of these is the ability to automate saving money.
Most saving and investing apps are just copycats of each other and are run by big finance companies. They project saving money as boring and for that reason, people don’t use them to save money.
However, I’ve found a new app that works to create a better way to save money while making money. I must say, Astra Finance has created a tool that I would genuinely suggest if you want to achieve savings goals.
So, in this article, I’d do a full Astra Finance review explaining all you need to know about Astra Finance and how you can get started saving easily while you make money.
Table of contents
- What Is ASTRA Finance?
- Who Funds ASTRA Finance?
- How Does Astra Finance Work?
- How Much Does It Cost To Join ASTRA Finance?
- How Does Astra Finance Help My Overall Financial Life As A Student?
- What Advantages Do Users Enjoy With Astra Finance?
- Where Does Astra Finance Fall Short?
- Is Astra Finance Legit Or Scam?
- Should You Use Astra Finance?
- How To Start Out Using Astra Finance?
- FAQs
- Conclusion
- References
- We Also Recommend
What Is ASTRA Finance?
Astra Finance is a personal finance app that allows users to automatically save money. It automatically transfers money from any checking account you own to any savings account you own.
Users can ultimately set up “savings” routines directly in the app. For instance, you could set up a routine that transfers $200 per month into your high-yield savings account. You might call this routine “Shoe Collection” or “Vacation” or whatever motivates you.
Interestingly, if you share a joint checking account with a partner, you can automate a routine to put your part of the shared expenses into the account each time a paycheck clocks in.
Users of the Astra Finance App can transfer up to $1,000 between accounts at any one time, and transfers can be selected as one-time only.
Who Funds ASTRA Finance?
As one of the best personal finance apps in 2024, Astra Finance is owned and run by Astra Financial.
Astra Financial Corporation is the brand for the financial service division of PT. Astra International Tbk.
It is one of seven Astra’s business lines; Automotive, Heavy Equipment, Mining, Construction, Energy, Agribusiness, Infrastructure and Logistics, Information Technology, and Property.
Historically, it established PT Raharja Sedaya, its first move into the Financial Services Business in 1982, and the purchase of the majority share of PT. Maskapai Asuransi Astra Buana which established in 1956.
Ultimately, Astra Financial’s role is to encourage the development of business units individually, as a family under Astra Financial, or even as a corporate under Astra.
Read also 15 Best Finance Schools in the World 2024
How Does Astra Finance Work?
There are several budgeting apps all over the internet. So, what makes Astra Finance special? You might be curious.
Well, Astra Finance is simply an automation platform that helps you put your finances on autopilot, saving you time while efficiently routing your money between accounts.
It gives your bank superpowers through programmatic routines that move your funds – all automatically. You could say, it simply puts your finances on autopilot mode while you keep making money.
Whether you are a consumer or a small business, and regardless of if you have accounts with a big bank, an online bank, your local credit union, or all of the above, Astra manages the complexity of your financial life for you.
Ultimately, with Astra Finance, you can effectively:
- Link all of your financial accounts together to a single dashboard
- Set automatic transfers between accounts based on balances or income events
- Use powerful savings routines to put your savings on autopilot
- Create savings goals and track your progress over time
- Get alerts about balances based on set amount triggers
How Much Does It Cost To Join ASTRA Finance?
Interestingly, Astra Finance is completely free for you to start using.
However, it will not reimburse you if you incur overdrafts or other fees due to its automated routines.
Not to worry, anyway. Most of the time ACH transfers will not be allowed if you’re out of money in one account.
How Does Astra Finance Help My Overall Financial Life As A Student?
Astra Finance app is the technology that builds on the best of fintech, empowering you, even as an international student, to do more with your money while also reducing the complexity of your financial life.
Not just is Astra Finance a budgeting software, but it also connects to all of your bank accounts, giving recommendations that are meaningful to you.
With so many choices and so many places to manage our money, our financial lives have never been more complicated and full of friction.
The truth is that we need smart budgeting apps that remove all the unnecessary friction from personal financial management and that make sure money is going to the most effective places at the right times.
So, through Astra, you can easily reduce friction in making financial decisions. For instance, you can easily transfer money between checking and savings, even if those accounts are held at different institutions.
Automating savings is hugely beneficial for students today. Without automated savings in place, you never go through stress to prioritize mid-term goals such as vacations or expensive items.
By implementing these savings routines, you save several hundred dollars each month towards these goals that we really value.
Even if you were currently saving for short-term or mid-term goals, Astra Finance could help you build those savings without having to focus too much on willpower.
It will also run your savings routines in the background, relieving you of the stress of constant supervision.
What Advantages Do Users Enjoy With Astra Finance?
Being one of the best budgeting apps in 2024, Astra Finance has many advantages that you enjoy while it helps you save your money so easily and without stress.
These include:
- Automate your transfers – You can save for your trip abroad or deposit more cash into a higher-yield account. Astra starts transfers between your accounts – automatically. You can set the rules to reach your saving goals.
- Send money for free – It shouldn’t cost you money to transfer your money between your accounts. Astra includes free transfers to and from your checking and savings accounts. Astra has built the software to facilitate bank transfers automatically through the ACH network.
- Dynamic, rule-based routines – You don’t have to worry about inconsistent income or volatility in your balances. Astra won’t initiate a transfer if your balance is low. Routines here respond to your finances in real-time to send you notifications or move funds.
- Achieve your savings goals even faster – Astra helps you set up your savings plan, track your progress for each savings goal, and fund them faster.
Where Does Astra Finance Fall Short?
Despite being one of the best financial budgeting apps, Astra Finance has some shortcomings that we believe can be improved.
There are three possible drawbacks to Astra Finance, according to College Investor.
First, the budgeting software cannot connect to PayPal. That might not be a huge deal for most people. But many people use PayPal as their preferred method of reimbursement among roommates or housemates.
Since Astra doesn’t connect to PayPal, roommates cannot use Astra Finance to automate a rent payment.
Astra’s second shortcoming is that transfers are currently limited to checking and savings accounts. Users cannot set up transfers to investment accounts or retirement accounts or to automate debt payments. Those features may come in time, but it isn’t part of the core product.
The last drawback has to do with Astra’s user interface. Astra seems to be pretty good at actually executing ACH transfers between banks.
However, it struggles to keep all the banks connected in the app itself. For instance, if you try to use Astra like you use Mint (where you can see all your accounts in one place), you’ll be disappointed.
Is Astra Finance Legit Or Scam?
In truth, Astra Finance is not a scam. Astra helps you with your personal finances in easy ways with less friction and great automation processes. That’s why I always recommend it to help you achieve your saving goal.
Should You Use Astra Finance?
If you’re happy with your current savings routine, you may not need Astra Finance. There’s really no reason to over-complicate your financial life.
However, if you struggle to keep track of your savings goals, Astra Finance could really help you out. It can help you automate your savings, so you don’t have to rely on willpower.
Also, you should see how it compares to the other top personal finance apps that already exist for more reviews.
With Astra automating savings in the background, you can feel the freedom to spend the money in your checking account without having to budget every cent.
How To Start Out Using Astra Finance?
After understanding all about Astra Finance from our review, you might want to start out using this great budgeting app.
Great! I can help you set up the next few steps:
Setting up your Astra Account
First, you have to install the application. Then, you can finish up the setup process.
There are two levels to your Astra profile – Registered and Verified. What’s the difference? Great question!
Registered: At this level, you can link your financial accounts to the app to see balances or transactional information, and you can step-up alerts and notifications based on those accounts.
Verified: At this level, you can do everything available in the Registered level PLUS you can now transfer funds between accounts using automation, and you can set up savings goals within the app to track savings for specific items. To get the most out of Astra, this is the level for you!
We highly recommend that you complete the Verification process to have the best experience with Astra.
To do that, you will need to provide some basic information through the onboarding process, which we will use to ensure account authenticity (you are who you say you are!)
Required information for the Verification process
The required information required for your verification process includes:
*Please know that we do not store this information nor do we share it with any third parties. The confidential information is used for the onboarding process only. Note we may require additional details, such as your full SSN, for verification.
With your account Verified, it’s now time to link some financial accounts to your Astra profile!
Linking your accounts is as simple as signing in to your online bank account.
First, select the “+” icon and choose “Link a bank account” from the list of options.
Next, you will be prompted to either select your bank from the list or search for it in the search bar.
With your bank highlighted you will now be able to enter your username and password for that account, the same one that you use to access that account online or through their app.
That’s all! Simple right?
FAQs
Astra Finance is the best personal finance app you can easily save and move your money.
No, Astra Finance is not a bank, but an automation service for your finances.
Astra Finance is designed to allow individuals to connect their various financial accounts together and then establish automation that governs the movement of money between those accounts.
Currently, Astra is restricted to sending money between accounts owned by the same user
Conclusion
According to our Astra Finance Review 2024, Astra is simply an automation platform to help you save and move your money easily. Despite a few shortcomings, Astra Finance remains the best personal finance app to help you in your budgeting and savings goals.
References
Millennial Money – Astra Review | Move Money Automatically
Getting Started With Astra – Getting Started with Astra
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