[Practical Finance] Saving Is Hard? Try Installing a Jjantech App First

Easily Manage Your Household Ledger via Text Integration
Earn Points by Walking with a Pedometer App
Automatically Save Spare Change from Your Bank Account to a Savings Account

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Min-young] Practicing "Jjantech" (Jja-da + Finance, meaning frugal finance) is difficult. It often requires changing lifestyle patterns, such as restraining consumption and reducing hobbies, which can cause problems if attempted all at once. So, how about starting by installing a Jjantech application (app) on your smartphone? Here, we introduce useful Jjantech apps for everyday life.

The foundation of Jjantech is to meticulously record your income and expenses. In this case, nothing beats a household ledger. Just as companies prepare financial statements, using a household ledger allows individuals and families to easily understand their cash flow. If you search for "household ledger" in app stores like Google Play or the App Store, you will find several apps such as "Pyeonhan Gagebu" (over 5 million downloads on Android), "Ddokddok Gagebu" (over 5 million), and "Naver Gagebu" (1 million). Household ledger apps are convenient to use because they automatically input data by linking with text messages from debit or credit cards.

They provide income and expense details not only daily but also weekly, monthly, and yearly. Additionally, they display the proportion of spending by category in graphs, so you can see where most of your money is going.

There are also apps that let you earn money by walking. "Cashwalk" is the most well-known app that rewards points based on the number of steps taken. This app accumulates 1 won per 100 steps, up to a maximum of 100 won per day. Once a certain amount is collected, it can be exchanged for coupons at coffee shops and other places.

Similarly, if you turn on the pedometer function in Viva Republica's Toss app, you can receive a daily reward of 30 won. When the reward reaches 1,000 won or more, you can withdraw it to your own account. Hana Financial Group's Hana Members app also offers 100 Hana Money (100 won) if you walk 300,000 steps in a month. The Hana Members app provides a lock screen reward feature similar to "Cashslide," so frequently checking the app can earn you more money. The accumulated Hana Money can be withdrawn to your account regardless of the amount. In Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries, it can be used locally without currency exchange.ㅇ

Spare change savings products are also synonymous with Jjantech. They were launched with the concept of developing a habit of saving small amounts. Kakao Bank's "Piggy Bank" is a representative product. Released in December last year, this product automatically collects spare change under 1,000 won daily. If you create a piggy bank in the Kakao Bank app and turn on the "Coin Collection" feature, the spare change under 1,000 won in your Kakao Bank deposit account is automatically transferred to the piggy bank at midnight on weekdays (Monday to Friday). For example, if your balance is 100,500 won, 500 won will be accumulated in the piggy bank. The interest rate is relatively high at 2.0% per annum (before tax).

This product attracted 500,000 subscribers within three days of its launch and surpassed 1 million subscribers in 13 days. Riding on this popularity, Kakao Bank will raise the maximum amount that can be saved from under 1,000 won to under 5,000 won starting from the 5th of next month.

Similar spare change savings products are also available at Welcome Savings Bank, a secondary financial institution. When customers purchase items with this savings bank's check card, the spare change under 1,000 won is automatically transferred to a savings account. For example, if you buy a product priced at 9,900 won, 100 won is immediately transferred to the savings account. Also, like Kakao Bank's piggy bank, small amounts under 10,000 won in the customer's registered deposit account are automatically transferred to the savings product once a week. Including preferential benefits, the interest rate for this product reaches 4%.