Savology is a website that provides financial plans that are personalized to your specific situation. Within minutes, users can build their plan, fully-furnished with a list of action steps to take regarding saving, insurance, retirement planning, and more.
Having a solid financial plan makes it easy to see where you're at with your personal finances and where you want to go. But hiring a professional financial planner to build your plan can be expensive, often costing in excess of $1,000.
But Savology is trying to change the game by offering free financial plans to its users. Their referral-based business model has the potential to truly shake up the financial planning industry. But can you get a quality financial plan for free? See what we think about Savology in our full review below.
Quick Summary
- Completely free to use
- Thorough financial analysis
- No financial advisers — completely automated
Savology Details | |
|---|---|
Product Name | Savology |
Services | Digital Financial Plans Personalized Recommendations and Action Items |
Cost | Free |
Promotions | None |
Who Is Savology?
Savology is a free financial planning website. It’s CEO is Spencer Barclay. Savology was founded in March 2019 and is based in Provo, Utah. Savology has received a total of $750,000 in venture backing from its seed round. Some notable seed round investors include:
- Brady Murray, CEO of MassMutual Intermountain West
- Derrin Hill, CEO of RevRoad
- Bruce Miller, Founder & CEO of PROFi - The Professional Financial Company LLC
- Ben Tejes, Co-founder & CEO of Ascend Finance
"Savology has the potential to fundamentally change the direction of personal finances in America," says lead investor Brady Murray in a press release. "I look forward to seeing the positive impact that Savology will have on both households and the broader industry as they improve access to financial planning and other financial services."
What Do They Offer?
Savology wants to democratize financial planning, which includes making it free. Savology is meant to be simple to use. Unlike other financial planning websites, there are no financial advisers to speak to.
Instead, you fill out an intake form, which can be done in about 5 minutes. Then the website begins performing analysis of your current financial situation and future plans. Its analysis includes budgeting, insurance, debt, retirement, estate planning, and more.
After completing the intake process, one of the first things you’ll do is begin working through the action items. Action items help build a complete financial picture, which allows Savology to create a better financial plan. The more action items you complete, the higher quality and more accurate your financial plan will be.
How To Unlock More Savology Features
While Savology is free, some areas of the website are initially locked. This includes additional grade descriptions and more action items. Grade descriptions provide details about what went into the grade displayed.
You don’t have to upgrade or pay anything to unlock these areas. Instead, Savology has gamified their website. As you perform certain tasks, such as completing an action item, you’ll receive a Savology Star, allowing you to unlock new features. Other ways to earn a Star include:
- Sharing the platform with friends.
- Logging in weekly to update and track your progress.
Even if you believe you’ve got your financial future figured out, you might be surprised by the results Savology comes back with. It's able to identify blind spots that require immediate action. At the very least, Savology can help you create a more robust and thorough financial plan.
Your financial plan isn’t static, either. You can adjust and modify your financial plan as needed, even if you just want to see a “what if” scenario. Maybe you want to retire 5 or 10 years earlier. Just change your retirement date. Savology will output the new results based on your updates.
What Is A Financial Plan And Why Do I Need One?
A financial plan helps you take control of your financial life. By taking a full analysis of your current financial situation and making plans about what you hope for your financial future will look like, you can begin building a bridge to your future self. Without a financial plan, you’re basically winging it with your financial future. Learn how to create your own financial plan.
Constantly monitoring your progress is part of any financial plan. You want to know that you’re making progress and if any goals need to be adjusted due to life events (i.e., having children, inheritance, etc.). In addition to the big picture, financial plans also take care of the smaller details, such as budgeting.
Additionally, your financial plan will include decisions about life insurance, retirement, buying a home, and more. Many financial advisors only like to focus on an investing plan or retirement plan. This plan will look at "everything" in your financial life.
Are There Any Fees?
Savology is completely free to use. They don't currently have any paid tiers. However, some of its recommended providers will have fees. Some of Savology’s providers include:
It’s up to you if you want to use a recommended provider. You might search for a provider that offers similar services at a lower cost. Either way, Savology does not charge you for provider fees. Those are charged directly by the provider.
How Do I Open An Account?
You can create an account in minutes online. During sign-up, Savology will ask you questions about where you live, your marriage and family situation, and a few questions about your financial picture. You can visit https://savology.com to open an account.
Is My Information Safe?
Yes. Savology does not sell or share information collected during the intake process. It doesn’t collect any personal identifiable information such as last name, address, social security number, date of birth, or phone number. The Savology website also uses encryption.
Is It Worth It?
Given all of the financial analysis performed by Savology and the fact that it doesn’t cost anything, makes it a truly great bargain. You might find some of the recommended providers useful but there isn’t any requirement to sign up with them. You can keep using the platform absolutely free and have full access by unlocking different areas through continued participation.
However, if you're a high net-worth individual or you have a complicated family situation, you may need more personalized advice than Savology can offer. If you'd like access to human advisors in addition to digital financial planning, you may want to consider NewRetirement. Or you could schedule an appointment with a fee-only financial planner near you.
Savology Features
Product Name | Savology |
Services |
|
Cost | Free (Some features are initially locked but can be unlocked using Savology Stars) |
Savology Stars | Can be earned by completing current action items or logging in weekly |
Security |
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Access to Human Advisors? | No |
Wealth Management Services Available? | Not through Savology, but some of their recommended provider's offer wealth management. |
Mobile Apps? | No |
Customer Service | No publicly-listed customer service phone number or email address |
Promotions | None |
Savology Review
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Summary
Savology is a website that provides financial plans that are personalized to your specific situation. Within minutes, users can build their plan, fully-furnished with a list of action steps to take regarding saving, insurance, retirement planning, and more.
Pros
- It’s free to use
- It tries to offer a complete financial plan (more than just investments
Cons
- No wealth management, you’ll have to use another product to get investment help
- Many not work well for complex situations
Robert Farrington is America’s Millennial Money Expert® and America’s Student Loan Debt Expert™, and the founder of The College Investor, a personal finance site dedicated to helping millennials escape student loan debt to start investing and building wealth for the future. You can learn more about him on the About Page, or on his personal site RobertFarrington.com.
He regularly writes about investing, student loan debt, and general personal finance topics geared towards anyone wanting to earn more, get out of debt, and start building wealth for the future.
He has been quoted in major publications including the New York Times, Washington Post, Fox, ABC, NBC, and more. He is also a regular contributor to Forbes.