Round-up apps are programs that quietly set aside your spare change so you can accumulate savings without really thinking about it. One example is Alberta-based SpareJar, which rounds every purchase up to the nearest dollar and then sweeps the difference out of your bank account and into a savings pot. "SpareJar showed me that money doesn't grow on trees, but it does add up," says customer Devon Maille. "It tracked my spending on coffees and parking, helped me be thrifty, and let me save for my daughter's tuition without feeling the pinch."

Finance columnist Elsa Park, however, urges consumers to exercise considerable caution before embracing such conveniences. "Go through the fine print of your bank agreement first," she says. "These tools only function once you surrender your login details to a third party, and the moment you do, you have violated the very terms you signed, meaning the protection your bank promised against fraud no longer applies."