If you’re like me, you’re always looking for ways that you can save some money, and you have probably come across some platforms that promise great results but don’t deliver. Because I know how important it is to save money and for it to be as easy as possible, I decided to read through some Trim reviews so that I could determine whether this platform really did what it promised and so that I could share that information with you.
What is Trim?
If you are in the market for personalized help to assist you in saving money and achieving your financial goals, then you may be interested in Trim, as that is what it is designed to do. This platform provides its users with personalized saving opportunities and recommendations that are created to make it easier for people to save money.
Trim works in a number of ways to help you save money that you didn’t even know you could, which is why I love it. It not only tracks your spending, which is something that a lot of finance apps do, but it also provides you with other services that are a little bit more unique.
Trim can negotiate your internet or cable bill for you and even find and then cancel old subscriptions that you may have forgotten about. This means that you won’t be spending money without realizing that you have these bills. Additionally, I love that Trim searches Amazon for you and will let you know when the price on an item you recently bought drops.
I found that this is really helpful because it will alert you if there are any refunds that you need to apply for due to a price difference. Rather than trying to keep up with price changes on your own or just accepting the fact that you have already paid for an item and the money is gone, Trim will alert you to price changes so that you can get some money back.
How does it work?
It’s effortless to sign for an account with Trim and then give this platform access to your accounts. Once you provide all of your banking credentials, then Trim will be able to connect to these institutions and monitor your account activity securely.
Not only will you need to provide banking information, but you also need to enter other recurring payments, including utility companies and insurance companies. I found that when you give Trim complete access to all of your financial information, then it will be much better able to provide you with personalized help.
Trim will cancel any subscriptions that you have that you aren’t currently using, find lower alternatives from your current providers, and even negotiate your existing bills for you. Of course, you do have the ability to override any changes that Trim wants to make so that you have complete control over your finances.
When Trim finds that you have a recurring charge, it will send you a message asking if you want to have that charge canceled. You can opt to let Trim do the work for you without any cost.
Is Trim expensive?
Probably one of the best things about Trim is that it doesn’t cost anything for you to sign up and benefit from this service. When you go to their website, you can quickly sign up either using your Facebook information or email address. Once your account is set up, then you can connect your banking and financial information to get started.
One thing that most people wonder about is how Trim is able to make money since their service is free, and I had the same question at first. While the basic service that Trim offers doesn’t cost anything, they do have other services that are available for a fee. Additionally, Trim receives compensation from outside partners when they recommend those services.
If you aren’t happy with the service that you receive with Trim, you can cancel your account at any time and without paying a fee. There’s really no reason not to try out this service when you don’t have anything to lose.
How will it save you money?
There are a lot of different ways that Trim will help you save money. One of the ones that I love the most is their alert system, which will let you know when certain events have occurred, such as your payroll being deposited, you get charged an overdraft fee on an account, or if you are charged a late fee from a company.
Trim also will find coupons for you and then automatically apply them to your purchases when you are shopping. Instead of having to use coupon service websites, you can trust that Trim will do the work for you. You can choose to receive alerts from various categories, such as movies and restaurants so that you get the deals that matter most to you.
While Trim alerts and coupons are great at helping you save money, I think that the best feature is the bill negotiation that Trim offers. Once you have uploaded your current bills, then Trim will search for better promotions and plans and will negotiate on your behalf for a better deal. Not only will they work with cable companies, but also cell phone providers, and even insurance companies to help you save money.
I was shocked to learn from TechCrunch that Trim can connect with around 15,000 different financial institutions in the US. You really don’t have anything to lose by having them take a look at your bills, as they may be able to save you some money, as well.
If you are not great at putting money aside in a savings account, then you will want to take advantage of Trim’s Simple Savings account, which is a premium feature. Your savings account will be held with Evolve Bank and will be funded automatically, thanks to weekly transfers from your checking account. Because the savings are automated and you get 1.5% in annual rewards on your balance, you can quickly save a fair amount of money.
Is it secure?
I was a little concerned at first about how secure Trim is, but this company doesn’t actually keep any of your financial credentials when you use them to log in to your accounts. Instead, they rely on 256-bit SSL encryption and also two-factor authentication so that they can verify your identity before you are able to use their service.
Additionally, I love the fact that Trim allows you access to your transaction data, but only in a read-only form. This means that nobody can make changes to your accounts or move your money around with your permission. Additionally, Trim never sells your data or will use it without your consent, which will give you peace of mind.
As you can see at NYTimes, Trim is perfectly safe to use and will help save you money right away. If you are already logging into your accounts online then using Trim to keep all of your information in one place and to check your spending and transactions is not very different from what you are currently doing.
What are the downsides?
The main problem that I have with Trim is that there isn’t any live chat or phone contact when you need assistance. This means that when you need help, you need to rely on email, text messaging, or Facebook messaging, which can be really frustrating if you want to get an answer to your problem right away, but I appear to be in the minority finding this frustrating.
Additionally, the platform is only a few years old, which means that sometimes it does still suffer from bugs. While Trim does a great job of helping people save money, if you aren’t comfortable with a program that is still considered new, then you’ll need to give Trim a second look before signing up.
You can access the Trim platform easily online, but right now there isn’t a dedicated mobile app, which can make using the platform on the go a little more difficult. If you don’t have a home computer or aren’t comfortable using your phone’s browser, then you are likely to be a bit frustrated by this. Nick Statt at The Verge address why Trim did this.
If you don’t want to receive a lot of alerts, then you will want to adjust the frequency with which you are contacted. I found that some alerts, such as a late payment or low balance alert, are handy, while others, like balance updates and usage alerts for your credit card, are overwhelming. Luckily, it’s easy to adjust your alerts to fit your needs.
Finally, I have found through other Trim reviews that some people think that Trim is a budgeting program, which it isn’t. As long as you are aware of the fact that Trim is used to helping you reduce expenses for things that you are already buying, then you are likely to be much happier with your service. You can use Trim to build up your savings, as I have mentioned, but this is secondary to saving money and cutting expenses.
Does Trim offer other services?
In addition to the services that they offer to help you cut down how much you are spending each month and their Simple Savings plan, Trim also provides a service called Trim Concierge. If you elect to take advantage of this service, then you will be paired with a financial coach who is trained to give you professional advice.
This expert will not only analyze your accounts and answer any financial questions that you may have, but he will also give you advice on how you can meet your financial goals. This service is especially useful for anyone who hasn’t made the time to sit down with a financial planner and therefore isn’t sure how to make the most of their money.
Other premium services include having your subscriptions canceled by the platform, which I have already discussed. While this is something that you could easily do on your own, if you haven’t taken the time, then you are just wasting money. It’s much better to pay a small fee upfront and then save money on a regular basis in the future than to continue to pay that expense.
What is the Debt Payoff Program?
In November of 2018, Trim released a new Debt Payoff Program that is genuinely different from other debt programs that are currently available. The first thing that makes this program different is that it creates a personalized payoff plan that is based on the information that you provided them when you signed up.
There’s no consolidation of your debt, no future loan, or any other way to finance your debt, just a simple plan that is customized for you so that you can pay off your debt as quickly as possible. This is just the first step in their debt payoff program, and I think that it only gets better.
Once you have a payoff plan in hand, Trim will contact your credit card companies to try to negotiate your interest rate and get you a lower rate. They do not try to change how much you owe, only how much you are paying in interest. Not only do they do this when you sign up for the program, but they repeat the process again every three to six months to get you the lowest possible rate.
Finally, the last part of this program is that they offer to coach. This is great if you need some accountability in your life and allows you time to get personalized help with your situation. With a 90-day refund period and a charge of only $10 a month, it’s easy to see how the Trim Debt Payoff Program can help you save a lot of money quickly when they negotiate your interest rate.
Summary
I think that Trim is a great way to help put more money in your checking account by cutting down how much you are spending each month. It’s important to consider how you can save money, but if you don’t dedicate time to check your automatic payments and charges, then you won’t know if you are spending more than necessary. Trim will help you cut back in ways that you never imagined, helping you save money in the process.
