We Found a Surprisingly Fun Way to Build up Your Emergency or Vacation Fund

Girl using her phone
Carmen Mandato/The Penny Hoarder
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Saving money can be both easy and fun.

Before you yell FAKE NEWS (because how is that possible?!), hear us out.

A savings app called Long Game turns saving money into a game. Plus, you’ll earn interest on your balance and even have opportunities to win cash by playing games.

And you won’t feel bad spending time playing these mindless games. That’s because you’re also saving money — which you can use to take a vacation, start an emergency fund or pay off some debt.

I’ve tried out a number of savings apps, and Long Game was by far the most entertaining. (I’m not even into video games normally.)

Make Your Phone Addiction Pay off

Long Game is free to download, and when you sign up, you’ll gain access to its free FDIC-insured, interest-earning savings account.

I set it up to auto-deposit $5 into my Long Game savings account each week, so I didn’t even have to think about it. The amount I saved translated into coins. I’d use the coins to play mini-games, which include lucky slots, spin-to-win wheels or scratch-offs.

The lucky slots were my favorite. I’d play while watching “The Real Housewives” or during a five-minute brain break at work. It’s mindless, but when I’d win 25 cents or extra coins here and there, the endorphins would flow.

If you run out of coins, you can deposit more money into your Long Game Savings account anytime. So it feels kind of like gambling but without the risk, because you’re not funneling money to a casino — you’re simply funding your savings account.

In addition to potentially winning up to $1 million in cash through these games, you’ll earn 0.1% interest on your account balance. No, that isn’t a ton (think: 1 cent for every dollar saved), but it’s probably more than sitting in a traditional savings account, which earn on average 0.06%, reports CNN Money.

Once you link your bank account, you’ll earn 300 coins, so you can start playing while you wait for payday. 

Free money, baby!

Finally — playing on your phone proves productive!

Carson Kohler ([email protected]) is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.