CINCINNATI—A new year can mean a fresh start, new plans and often resolutions. Fifth Third Bank, National Association, keeps adding innovative tools for helping customers make 2022 a year of healthy money habits. Since launching Fifth Third Momentum Banking, the bank has continued to regularly add and enhance features to help motivate, protect and reward customers. The most recent addition is Smart Savings.
Smart Savings for emergency funds, vacations and holidays
About a quarter of Americans have no emergency savings and another quarter have less than three months’ worth of emergency savings, according to Bankrate. Whether it is for short-term or long-term goals, Fifth Third’s Momentum Smart Savings can help with all important life events.
“Whether saving for an emergency fund, home office makeover or a summer vacation, some people struggle to save money while juggling other money priorities,” said Tim Spence, Fifth Third’s president. “With Smart Savings, you can save without a second thought. At Fifth Third, we are continually innovating and improving our offerings to make it easier for our customers to have the liquidity solutions they need.”
Using the Smart Savings feature, customers can create goals through the Fifth Third mobile app to save small amounts of money automatically. Once Smart Savings’ algorithmic feature is turned on, customers can set up specific details, including limits and restrictions on how much can be transferred per week. Smart Savings automatically transfers money from one Fifth Third account to a Fifth Third Momentum Savings account. The transfers take place up to twice a week.
Fifth Third Momentum Savings also has a Scheduled Savings feature, where you can save specific amounts on your own preferred schedule (example: every other Friday, transfer $50 from checking to Momentum Savings).
You can learn more or watch a video on how Smart Savings works here: https://www.53.com/content/fifth-third/en/personal-banking/bank/savings/momentum.html
Tips on controlling your finances (aka saving your money)
In addition to Smart Savings, there are tactics to help people spend less and save more.
- Track spending – If you don’t know where your money is going, those purchases can add up and deplete your savings.
- Adjust recurring expenses – Think about what services you are using (e.g., streaming subscriptions, gym memberships, clothing box services) and unsubscribe from those you no longer need.
- Shop with intention – Make a list before you head out. This helps avoid impulse purchases and spend less overall.
- Try a spending fast – If you don’t need it, don’t buy it. Take a month – or several months, or a year – to buy nothing but essentials.
- Set a budget – Determine your fixed and variable expenses. In general, 50% of your budget should go towards needs (housing, utilities), 30% for wants (travel, gifts, dining out) and 20% for saving (retirement, college fund).
Making your budget stick
- Schedule automatic payments – Besides never missing a payment, you’ll never be charged late fees. You also gain peace of mind.
- Set spending limits, particularly for your “wants” category – Each time you spend money for these things, subtract that amount from your limit and keep a running total of how much more you can use that month.
- Research your purchases – Read customer reviews online, seek out local deals or individuals who are reselling the things you need. Remember that sometimes it's less expensive in the long run to buy an item of higher quality.
Once you've become accustomed to managing your budget, take the next step and set bigger goals: Save for larger purchases or make a bigger dent in your debt.
Increasing customer access and control of their money
Fifth Third is proud of its many products that put the control in the hands of the customer, combining the features and innovation of a digital-first bank with the security, reliability and local presence of a 164-year-old institution committed to the communities it serves.
With Fifth Third Momentum Banking, customers have one of the broadest range of options among all banks to get fast access to their money and address liquidity issues through:
- Early Pay1 – Free access to paychecks up to two days early with direct deposit.
- MyAdvance™2 – Ability to advance funds of $50 or more against future qualified direct deposits, starting after the customer’s first direct deposit.
- Immediate Funds – Ability to receive instant availability for check deposits (a small fee is incurred).
- Extra Time® – Additional time to make a deposit and avoid paying overdraft fees. You can make a deposit any time before midnight Eastern Time (ET) on the business day after your account was overdrawn—to bring your balance up to at least $0.
About Fifth Third
Fifth Third Bancorp is a diversified financial services company headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, and the indirect parent company of Fifth Third Bank, National Association, a federally chartered institution. As of Dec. 31, 2021, the Company had $211 billion in assets and operates 1,117 full-service Banking Centers, and 2,322 Fifth Third branded ATMs in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Florida, Tennessee, West Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. In total, Fifth Third provides its customers with access to approximately 54,000 fee-free ATMs across the United States. Fifth Third operates four main businesses: Commercial Banking, Branch Banking, Consumer Lending, and Wealth & Asset Management. Fifth Third is among the largest money managers in the Midwest and, as of Dec. 31, 2021, had $554 billion in assets under care, of which it managed $65 billion for individuals, corporations and not-for-profit organizations through its Trust and Registered Investment Advisory businesses. Investor information and press releases can be viewed at www.53.com. Fifth Third’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ® Global Select Market under the symbol “FITB.”
1 Early Pay: Access to funds for Early Pay are dependent on submission of direct deposit by payer and can be up to two days prior to date of scheduled payment.
2 MyAdvance™: Fifth Third MyAdvance is an expensive form of credit. We may be able to offer other options that are less expensive and more appropriate for your needs. MyAdvance is a short-term form of credit that allows eligible Fifth Third personal checking customers to take an advance on their next qualified direct deposit. Additional terms and conditions apply.