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Money saving apps: Cleo, the online financial assistant article
Money saving apps: Cleo, the online financial assistant article

There’s a reason that the people who can afford it hire other people to manage their money, and the reason is a simple one – it takes the hassle away from them.

Imagine it – having someone keep an eye on your spending for you, suggest the best ways to budget, and employ tips and tricks to help you save that little bit extra, all without you having to lift a finger.

Now you don’t have to imagine it. In this week’s installment of our Money Saving Apps series we look at Cleo, the online financial assistant. We’ll break down what it is, how it works, how much you have to pay, and how it can save you money.

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What is Cleo?

Cleo is a FinTech (Financial Technology) company based in London and founded in 2016. The company is built around the Cleo app, an online budgeting tool.

The Cleo app – also known as Meet Cleo – is available to download on both Android and IOS, and has attracted more than 3 million users as of 2021.

The idea behind Cleo is to help users take ownership of their money. Cleo achieves this by using AI technology to power a chatbot that monitors people’s spending habits. Cleo then uses that information to help them spend smarter, save more, and generally make their money work harder for them.

How does Cleo work?

To get the most out of Cleo you first have to:

– Download the app
– Create an account
– Connect your bank account to the chatbot

Whether you’re using Android or IOS, you can simply download the Cleo app straight to your phone. Then fill in a few cursory details to create your account, and add in your bank details to get started.

The entire process is simple and well-signposted, and should only take you a few minutes from start to finish.

Once you have the Cleo app connected to your bank account, you can start a conversation. Simply say the word ‘budget’ for example, and the chatbot will get back to you with some recommendations on how to go about creating a budget.

The more you use Cleo, the more the app learns about your spending patterns, and the more the app learns about your spending patterns, the easier it is for Cleo to work its magic.

What problem does Cleo solve?

It’s fair to assume that everybody wants to save more money, but there are always great reasons why not to, whether it’s being dragged on that unplanned night out, buying those trainers you’ve had your eyes on, or just frittering away cash without realising.

With Cleo, there is no ‘frittering’. The algorithm tracks every penny you spend, takes a note of what’s going out, and let’s you know (in sometimes painful detail) how much you’re spending on certain things each month.

Cleo is an app targeted at millennials, the first generation likely to be worse off than their parents, and attempts to get them to ‘own’ their money – if you’re not keeping track of how much you’re spending, on what, and how often, Cleo will do it for you.

The app also operates in a format millennials are comfortable with – the language of texting. The chatbot function allows people to get to the point where they’re building budgets and mapping out their savings, but doesn’t bombard you with information upfront. Instead, it all starts with a simple conversation.

Will I have to pay for Cleo?

If you’re only looking to use the most basic version of the app, then you don’t have to pay a penny.

The free version of the Cleo app allows you to access basic budgeting tips, track your spending, and focus on tightening up in specific spending areas (if, for example, you’re spending far too much money every month on eating out).

There is a premium version of Cleo, known as Cleo Plus, which will cost you £5.99 per month. Cleo will take your subscription from your account automatically each month, so you don’t need to worry about it.

Not only does Cleo Plus allow you all the benefits of the the free tier, it also allows you access to financially useful features like salary advance (a no-interest advance of £100 each month if you need it) and cashback, where you build up cash in your Cleo Wallet by taking certain actions.

How will Cleo help me save money?

There are four main areas the Cleo app focuses on, all of which will help your money go further:

Budgeting

Cleo makes it easy for you to track your spending and set different budgets for different spending categories, from your weekly shop to refreshing your wardrobe. You can set your own budgets based on what you think you need, or leave it to the smart AI to make recommendations.

Saving

Cleo tracks your spending, so the app will know sooner or later whether you have room in your budget to save more. It can then make intelligent recommendations based on what you’re spending – if your weekly spend is usually £250, for example, and you only spend £200 in a certain week, it may suggest you put the extra £50 away for a rainy day.

Building credit

One of the newest features to the Cleo app, Cleo’s credit builder card is specifically targeted at people with a patchy credit rating in order to help them ‘unf**k’ their credit score (their words, not ours). Once you put a security deposit in, you will be able to use your secure credit card to make purchases, pay them off, and gradually repair your credit score.

Borrowing

As mentioned earlier, Cleo’s cashback feature allows you to borrow up to £100 per month as an advance on your paycheck if you’re a little tight for cash. Cleo are loathe to be compared to payday lenders, however – if you borrow £100 you’ll owe £100, with not a penny added in interest.

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Maxine McCreadie

Maxine is an experienced writer, specialising in personal insolvency. With a wealth of experience in the finance industry, she has written extensively on the subject of Individual Voluntary Arrangements, Protected Trust Deed’s, and various other debt solutions.

How we reviewed this article:

HISTORY

Our debt experts, and insolvency practitioners continually monitor the personal finance and debt industry, and we update our articles when new information becomes available.

Current Version

September 3 2021

Written by
Maxine McCreadie

Edited by
Maxine McCreadie