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This month’s ‘things’ post is a little bit different than the previous months. Instead of beauty products I tried out this month (which other than a new moisturizer/sunscreen there weren’t any) I’m here sharing five things I bought this month. None of the items are related or go together in any way. I just feel like I acquired some really nifty stuff this month so here we go…

▴ Erlenmeyer flask set. A while back I bought a small chemistry flask at an estate sale. It just took that one and I was hooked. I needed more. I spotted this set, and the price was too good to resist. They’re the perfect size to put random leaves in for water propagation. They also make a really great vase for all the random flowers I like to pick. I had a few cute vases previous to this but nothing that fit my style so perfectly!

▴ 4-inch disco ball. Earlier this year I bought a large disco ball and discovered just how magical it was to set it in the sunlight. It doesn’t fit my decor style… at all but it honestly brings so much joy that I don’t even care. I had been wanting to pick up a second one for a while, one a little more inconspicuous. I finally decided on a 4-inch one. It’s not the highest quality but it certainly gets the job done when the sun hits it! I highly recommend grabbing one of these if you’ve been thinking about getting a disco ball but don’t want to commit to a larger size. I seriously think everyone needs one!!

Check out some photos featuring the magical lighting my disco ball throws here. 

▴ Blink Socks. EYE am obsessed with these socks. That is all.

▴ Glide Gear OH50 tripod arm. This is something I had been wanting for YEARS but honestly had no idea how to find it, or it even existed. This arm attaches to your tripod and allows your camera to be horizontally positioned for overhead photos. It’s perfect for flat lays or anything else like that where you want the camera to be pointed straight down. I had such a hard time figuring out if this would work with the equipment I already have based on the information I could find online. Thankfully, it does, and holy cow, what did I do before this thing? It was super easy to set up + does exactly what I needed! This is 100% what my photography set up was missing!

Blogging about photography equipment isn’t really something I do all that often here on The Dainty Squid BUT since this is something that I had such a hard time researching/ think lots of bloggers would love I’ll gladly write a post dedicated to it, how it works, how it’d benefit you if that interests y’all! Lemme know!

▴ Gold Duck Feet Frame. Holds a 4x6in photo but it comes in 4x4in as well! Pretty sure I legit squealed when I spotted this frame. It matches my bird leg side table!! (Check out a picture of the table in my apartment here!) I mean, why does it even exist?! It’s so dumb, and it could not be more perfect for my apartment. Obviously, it’ll get a wedding photo in it as soon as we get those back! 

Did you try/buy anything awesome this last month?
xoxo

Check out previous month’s product roundups here – March + April

2024 UPDATE: Digit is now called Oportun. I’m leaving this review as is though because I still stand by it. All these years later, I’m still using the app.

Back in November of 2016, I wrote a review on a money saving app that I had been using at the time for a few months, Digit. Over the last year and a half, I’ve gotten a handful of requests for an update, most asking ‘are you still using the app?’ and ‘do you still love it?’ Short answer to both questions – HECK YES. It’s been an invaluable service to me, one I think more people should know about! So, I’m back today with some more of my thoughts on Digit.

First, let’s start with what Digit is…

Digit is a money saving app. It’s very, very straightforward and takes no time at all to set up. You simply connect Digit to your bank account, it checks your spending habits and if you can afford it, takes a little bit out of your account to save. How often they save depends on your “unique financial situation” but the average is 2-3 times per week. The amount also varies. Their FAQ says the average is $10-30 which from my experience sounds about right. Although there have definitely been times it’s taken as little as fourteen cents! Every penny counts.

There isn’t much to do or see in the app, other than how much you’ve saved but what else do you need? If you feel it’s taking too much money from your account you can type “save less” or if you’d like it to take more type “save more”. You never have to worry about Digit taking more than you can afford though since they analyze your spending to see what you can afford to save. They even have a no-overdraft guarantee! They’ve never transferred more than they should have from me. Toward the end of each month, when my bills are due Digit lets me know it won’t be saving much because I “have some expenses coming up”.

Digit is free to use for the first 30 days, after that its $2.99 a month. I’ve been using them since before this price was implemented so when they sent out the “hey, we’re gonna start charging” email I was definitely disappointed. I considered deleting my account but it’s undoubtedly worth the subscription cost!

When you save for three consecutive months Digit will automatically reward you with a 1% annualized savings bonus. It’s not a ton (unless of course, you’re saving a ton) but free money is free money!

I’ve saved… A LOT.

In the nearly two years I’ve been using Digit I’ve saved thousands of dollars. Not exaggerating here. Money that I know for a fact I would have just spent on stupid odds and ends at Target had it not been out of my bank account. Money I definitely wouldn’t have saved otherwise! I am not great at saving my own money. I have a savings account which I add to but it’s just too easy to transfer that money right back into checking. Although transferring money back into my account from Digit is super easy and only takes one day, the seperation is enough to make me reconsider any unnecessary purchasing.

Something I think that’s really neat is you can set up ‘goals’ in the app. So instead of all the money it saves you being shown as one total, you can make separate savings goals. For instance, I have the one it sets up automatically ‘rainy day’ as well as ‘honeymoon’, ‘roadtrip’, ‘taxes’, and ‘oh crap’. It saves separate amounts for each of those goals which really helps me see what I have and act accordingly. Instead of being tempted to take out all of my savings in Digit when we go on a roadtrip I know that I have X amount of dollars that I have set aside specifically for this while not cutting into money I need to be saving for my quarterly tax estimates.

So, what do I use Digit for?

Obviously, I use it to save money but I have a few examples of times it really came in handy. My earlobe reconstruction? It wasn’t cheap but I had saved the money in Digit so I was able to do it without stressin’. My car needed a fairly costly repair a while back, I just pulled the money from Digit! I was even able to buy a wedding dress and book the florist with money I had saved in Digit.

Final thoughts.

If I had to choose my top five apps on my phone, Digit would easily make the cut! If you’ve ever wished you were better at saving money or wondered how to easily save for a trip/that camera/those shoes – this is the app for you! Other than the $2.99 subscription price (which like I said – is totally worth it) I can’t think of a single downside! I highly, highly recommend giving it a whirl! I mean, who wouldn’t benefit from saving a bit more!?
xoxo