This Company Wants to Turn Your Horrible Spending Habits Into a Decent Credit History

Budgeting stinks. We all know this. With most transactions being digital, it’s hard to keep track of how we spend our invisible money. And it’s definitely the last thing we want to think about while we’re trying to enjoy our lives.

But if you’re being careless between paychecks, it only takes something like a two-dollar coffee to overdraft your bank account. And here’s a sad statistic: If you overdraft once, you’re likely to do it a couple more times in the same month. At most banks, that’s around $100 in fees — that you have to pay off with your hard-earned money — that you could’ve totally avoided. And once you owe money to banks, it’s a slippery slope leading to debt, bad credit and a future filled with high-interest loans and no savings in sight.

That’s why it’s so important to find a system that makes tracking your spending easy. And a free money app called Cleo could be exactly what you need to stay on top of your spending and crush your bad money habits.

Cleo can analyze your spending habits and provide personalized insights and budgeting goals to help you overcome your financial struggles. And when you’re in a really tight spot, Cleo can even cover you up to $250 to cover your overdraft fees or bills (eligibility requirements apply) — oh, and that’s an interest-free cash advance* with no late fees attached, either.

Cleo also offers a credit-building card* that helps you build credit when you have none. And the best part? There’s no interest or credit checks involved.

An AI Chatbot Programmed to Look After Your Spending

Cleo is an AI chatbot programmed to look after your money. She’s kind of sassy, too — like a big sister who cares about you but who also tells you $50 is a stupid amount to spend at McDonald’s in a week. The sass works, though, because she’s trusted by 5 million users and has 4.6 out of five stars with over 80,000 reviews in the App Store.

Free Personalized Budgeting and Savings Plans

After syncing to your bank account, Cleo can create personalized budgeting and saving insights based on your spending habits — for free. She’ll provide simple updates to keep you on track, like how much you can spend in a day to stay on budget or when your next bill is coming up. She’ll also roast you when you’re overspending, and she’ll hype you up when you’re reaching your goals.

And with Cleo, reaching your savings goals is actually kind of fun. You can ask her to round up all your purchases to the nearest dollar and save the difference. Or you can just have her “fine” you every time you spend more money at McDonald’s. Whatever saving technique you choose, she’ll automatically transfer that money into your savings account each week. All you have to do is sit back and watch your savings grow.

Have Cleo Front You Cash in a Pinch

Unlike other cash-advance companies that jack up their interest rates and charge late fees to keep you coming back for more cash, Cleo wants to spot you with no interest or late fees so that you don’t need more cash advances in the future — it only costs $5.99 a month.

First-time users could get between $10 and $70. And if Cleo sees that she can trust you to pay the money back, next time she could cover you up to $250. (Eligibility requirements apply)

You don’t need a credit check or a regular income to qualify for a cash advance — which is great news for our freelancers. Getting a cash advance from Cleo won’t impact your credit score, either. But if you don’t end up qualifying for whatever reason, Cleo will work with you to help get you qualified for the future. But more importantly, she’ll help you break your bad spending habits so you don’t need to rely on future cash advances ever again.

This $5.99 a month service is called Cleo Plus**. It also comes with cashback rewards from stores you visit regularly, and access to your full credit report with insights from Cleo.

Build Your Credit History

Cleo offers a credit-building card† that’s specifically designed to help build your credit. There’s no interest, and you don’t need a credit check to qualify. Why? Because instead of using the card to spend money you don’t have — like a regular unsecured credit card — you add money to a security deposit ahead of time, and that money becomes your credit limit. You can only spend as much as you put in ahead of time.

You can start your security deposit with $1 or add larger amounts like $500. Then, just use your card to make purchases, pay your bills, or whatever you want — wherever Visa is accepted.

Every month, your balance is automatically paid with the money you dropped into your security deposit ahead of time. And Cleo reports your payment history to credit bureaus. It’s a simple and effective way to start building a credit history or to simply get your credit history back on track.

This $14.99 a month service is called Cleo Builder. It includes access to all of Cleo’s services, plus 24/7 VIP customer support.

Transparent Pricing and Security

Cleo tracks your spending by syncing with your bank account in an encrypted read-only mode — which basically means your banking data is totally safe, because Cleo doesn’t store or even have access to your banking credentials.

To protect the stuff Cleo does store, like your phone number and email, Cleo uses the same level of encryption as your bank. So, it’s very safe.

And unlike other “free” cash advance companies, Cleo doesn’t sell your data to credit companies. Cleo makes money, instead, by charging for subscription services.

How to Get Started with Cleo

Signing up only takes a couple of minutes. Download Cleo here  to start saving and budgeting for free.

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†The Credit Builder Card is issued by WebBank, Member FDIC pursuant to a license from Visa USA Inc. Access to the Card is subject to approval.

*“Cash/Salary Advance” and “Cashback Rewards” are features of the Cleo Builder Subscription and not the Credit Builder Card. The “Card Cash Advance” is a feature unique to the Credit Builder Card and allows you to advance cash at an ATM. The Cash Card Advance is subject to a $2.50 fee per transaction plus any fee that may be charged by the ATM or Bank. This feature is only available to holders of the Credit Builder Card.

**”Cleo Plus is our subscription service, which offers eligible users cashback on your money, information on your credit score, and access to cash advances (“Cash Advance”). Advance amounts will vary based on eligibility. To learn more about eligibility, repayment, and overall terms, please visit: meetcleo.com/terms.