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6 Banks With Savings Buckets

Published July 4, 2024
Ashley Maready
By: Ashley Maready
Ashley Maready
Ashley Maready
Writer and Editor

Ashley Maready is a former history museum professional who made the leap to digital content writing and editing in 2021. She has a BA in History and Philosophy from Hood College and an MA in Applied History from Shippensburg University. Ashley loves creating content for the public and learning new things so she can teach others, whether it's information about salt mining, canal mules, or personal finance.

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Our Banking Expert

Eric McWhinnie
Check IconFact Checked Eric McWhinnie
Eric McWhinnie
Eric McWhinnie

Eric McWhinnie has been writing and editing digital content since 2010. He specializes in personal finance and investing. He also holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance.

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Many or all of the products here are from our partners that compensate us. It’s how we make money. But our editorial integrity ensures our experts’ opinions aren’t influenced by compensation. Terms may apply to offers listed on this page. APY = Annual Percentage Yield. APYs are subject to change at any time without notice.

Finding money in your budget to save for the future isn't always easy -- according to a survey from SecureSave, 63% of American workers would be unable to cover a $500 expense from their savings account. The cost of living keeps on rising, and wages haven't kept pace.

If you struggle to put money aside, you're not alone -- but you may be able to make it easier if you use savings tools. You can give yourself a leg up on saving if you choose a bank that offers savings buckets, for example.

But what's a savings bucket, and how can they make saving money easier, and dare I say, more fun? Let's dive into this savings tool and explore a few banks with savings buckets.

What is a savings bucket?

Simply put, a savings bucket is a separate sub-account within a checking or savings account. If you're with a bank that offers savings buckets, you'll be able to save for different goals within the same account, without needing to juggle multiple accounts.

And you'll earn the same APY across all your goals -- if you've opted for a high-yield savings account, you'll be able to watch your money grow even faster thanks to a higher interest rate than average.

Let's say you want to save for the following:

  • Emergency expenses
  • Car repairs and maintenance
  • Medical bills
  • An upcoming vacation in a year
  • A home purchase in three years

With savings buckets, you can set up a separate bucket (or vault, pocket, or jar) for each of these, decide how much you want to save for each, set a savings deadline, and spread the money in your savings account across each of them. You can add more money over time, and check your progress at any time on your bank's website or mobile app.

Some banks on the list below will email you with encouragement when you reach savings milestones, too, such as 50% of the way to a home purchase.

Banks with savings buckets

Have I convinced you to use savings buckets? Look to these banks for account options.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Jul 06, 2024
Award Icon 2024 Award Winner

SoFi Checking and Savings

Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
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= Poor
Rating image, 4.50 out of 5 stars.
4.50/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
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Open Account for SoFi Checking and Savings
Offer Alert
New customers can earn up to a $300 bonus with qualifying direct deposits!
APY
up to 4.60% Rate info Circle with letter I in it. You can earn the maximum APY by having Direct Deposit (no minimum amount required) or by making $5,000 or more in Qualifying Deposits every 30 days. See SoFi Checking and Savings rate sheet at: https://www.sofi.com/legal/banking-rate-sheet.
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APY on both Savings and Checking
  • No account fees
  • Welcome bonus up to $300 (direct deposit required)
  • Early access to direct deposits
  • Tools to help you track savings goals
  • Unlimited number of external transfers (up to daily transaction limits)
  • ATM access
  • FDIC insured (up to $2M with opt-in to SoFi Insured Deposit Program)
  • Combo account only; no stand-alone savings or checking
  • Maximum Savings APY requires direct deposit
  • Overdraft protection requires monthly direct deposit minimum
  • No branch access; online only

For those who plan to set up direct deposit with their new account, we think SoFi Checking and Savings is hard to beat. Not only does this savings account offer a strong APY, but the linked checking account earns an above-average rate, too -- which is a rare perk. Plus, there's the opportunity for a bonus of up to $300 and a long list of extra account features. Frankly, it's the kind of combo that could make it worthwhile to switch banking relationships.

You can earn the maximum APY either by making direct deposits into checking or savings, or by depositing $5,000 or more every 30 days. Learn more.

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1. SoFi

SoFi is one of our favorite banks, and with good reason. For one thing, you can snag a sweet new account bonus of up to $300 if you set up direct deposit. And for another, you automatically get a checking and a savings account when you join SoFi, giving you all the tools you need to manage your cash flow.

The SoFi savings account (one half of the combined SoFi Checking and Savings) gives you the chance to create up to 20 Vaults to help you save for different goals.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Jul 06, 2024

Ally Savings

Read Review
Member FDIC.
Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Rating image, 4.75 out of 5 stars.
4.75/5 Circle with letter I in it. Our ratings are based on a 5 star scale. 5 stars equals Best. 4 stars equals Excellent. 3 stars equals Good. 2 stars equals Fair. 1 star equals Poor. We want your money to work harder for you. Which is why our ratings are biased toward offers that deliver versatility while cutting out-of-pocket costs.
 = Best
= Excellent
= Good
= Fair
= Poor
Read Review
APY
4.25%
Min. To Earn APY
$0
  • Competitive APYs
  • No monthly maintenance fees
  • Saving buckets to separate savings by goals
  • No minimum balance requirements
  • No local branches
  • No cash deposits

Ally Online Savings features a competitive APY on all balances, with no fees or minimums. Customers also have access to several tools like savings buckets, recurring transfers, and roundups to maximize savings opportunities.

2. Ally

Ally Bank is another top choice among online banks, and if you value simplicity and a lack of fees, it's worth considering. The Ally Savings account lets you create savings buckets and set individual savings goals for each of them.

This is my high-yield savings account of choice, and using it gave me tons of motivation to save for vacations, emergencies, and even to save for a home.

Ratings Methodology
Rates as of Jul 06, 2024

Milli Savings Account

Read Review
Member FDIC.
Read Review
APY
4.75%
Min. To Earn APY
$0.01
  • Competitive APY
  • No account minimums
  • Thoughtful features like "Set and Forget" and "Spending Round-Up"
  • Digital jars that make it easy to keep track of savings goals
  • Available only via mobile app
  • Daily ATM withdrawal limit of $1,000

Potential customers are likely to be drawn to the thought and detail that has gone into the Milli Savings Account, including "Set and Forget" and "Spending Round-Up" features that make saving easier.

3. Milli

Mobile-only bank Milli (a division of First National Bank of Omaha) leans hard on technology to give customers a place to manage their money -- it's only available via mobile app.

It calls its buckets "jars," and you can set up as many as five of them to save for different goals.

4. ONE Finance

ONE Finance isn't a bank in the traditional sense, but a fintech company. It lets you manage all your money from a single account, but this account comes with pockets to help you keep cash organized. ONE Finance users can also enjoy a high APY and 3% cash back at Walmart.

5. Sallie Mae

Sallie Mae is perhaps better known for its loans, but it also offers money market accounts, savings accounts, and CDs. Its SmartyPig account functions like a piggy bank for grownups. You can save for different goals and track your progress along the way. The account comes with a decent APY, too.

6. NBKC Bank

NBKC Bank is another bank offering a combined savings and checking account. It's called the Everything Account (apt name) and has no fees, so you get to keep more of your hard-earned money. You can set up and track savings goals using this account. NBKC Bank puts customer service first and keeps fees to a minimum.

Benefits of savings buckets

Here's why it's worth targeting a bank with savings buckets:

  • Set different goals for your money
  • Find motivation to save more to reach your goals
  • Manage different amounts of money easily within the same bank account
  • Earn the same interest rate across all your money
  • Use digital savings tools to boost your contributions
  • Create new buckets as your goals change

I credit savings buckets for my success in saving for a home purchase, and I'm still happily using my buckets to maintain my emergency fund, cash for upcoming travel, quarterly freelance tax payments, and more. If you could use a little more motivation to save and don't want to deal with the hassle of opening and maintaining multiple savings accounts, a bank with savings buckets is worth considering.