You’re probably not interested in hearing about inflation and the rising costs of living again, so we’ll keep it short: it sucks. There are still ways to save money — even in this economy.
With impressive money management and saving tools, cashback, and discounts, the Woolsocks app is a dream come true for anyone struggling with the tight grip of inflation at the moment.
In fact, the name of the company even comes from the old Dutch saying “saving money in your wool sock”, which pretty much describes an old-school piggy bank, fit for the traditionally money-savvy Dutchies.
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Tedious made fun: the life hacks of money management
The first step on any money-saving journey is to get an overview of your income and expenses.
Simply add your Dutch bank account to the Woolsocks app, and it’ll track everything flowing in and out of your digital wallet. It’ll give you a good idea of what your most expensive habits are and where your money really disappears.
The app will create cute, tidy graphs, so you can get a visual representation of your cash situation.
On top of this, the app operates and organises automatically, so you won’t have to refresh your old Excel/statistics knowledge at all.
It gets better: cashback on shopping
Cashback is a system originally developed for credit card use that has now entered the world of debit cards and online stores in general, too.
Cashback rewards systems let consumers earn a certain percentage of the money they spend on shopping back when they purchase something.
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The Woolsocks app will run quietly in the background and generate cashback without you having to lift a finger. Just look up if your favourite stroopwafel store partners with Woolsocks, and shop like you normally would.
The only difference is that you’ll get some sweet cashback into your account within just a few days of shopping!
Discounts, because who wants to pay full price?
If the thought of saving money while you’re spending money sounds a bit too good to be true, you can also stick to a more old-fashioned yet trustworthy system: discounts.
Woolsocks has a massive range of partners offering neat discounts on everything from stamps to stoves, from pants to pizza — there’s money to be saved around every corner.
So you’ve got a bunch of money left over. Now what?
We know it sounds like a fever dream to have a bunch of money left over, so it can be tricky to think of ways to put your excess cash to good use.
If you’re looking for inspiration, we’ve got you covered with a few suggestions to make you feel just a little bit better about your saving habits.
Donate to charity
With a long list of local and global charities on Woolsocks, you can pick and choose between heaps of good causes and find your next favourite organisation to gift your excess money to.
Save, because that’s important too
Sure, donating makes you feel great, and more importantly: it helps other people as well. But every now and then, you just have to put aside some cash for your future self, and Woolsocks is great for this.
With simple overviews of income and expenses, cashback and money saved and made, the app makes it easy to keep track of just how much money you can afford to set aside.
It’s not easy saving money in this economy, but there are tools and techniques that make it just a bit more straightforward. And if you live in the Netherlands, you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by money-saving culture wherever you look!
Have you mastered the Dutch art of saving money? Tell us your best life hacks in the comments below!
This article was originally published in November 2022, and was fully updated in December 2023 for your reading pleasure.