How to be financially healthier and rewarded with Vitality Money
We all have money habits that we’d rather not look at too closely. But avoiding them doesn’t make the stress go away; it just keeps you stuck in the same cycle.
What if there was a simple way to understand your habits and the steps to make better financial choices? It’s possible with Vitality Money, Discovery Bank’s behaviour-change programme, that gives you real insight into how you spend, how to save more and how to manage your money well – and you get rewarded for your improved money habits.
Here’s how it works …
How Vitality Money works
It’s not a secret formula. It’s a digital tool in the palm of your hand that helps you understand how you use your money, guides you to make changes for the better, and rewards you for taking care of your financial wellbeing. And it works.
Discovery Bank clients who actively engage with Vitality Money have been shown to have lower debt, stronger savings habits, fewer withdrawals from their retirement funds, and a greater sense of financial confidence and control.
A fitness tracker for your money
Vitality Money is not about measuring how much money you make, but how you use the money you have to build financial independence.
Powered by AI, smart data and behavioural insights in the Discovery Bank app, Vitality Money helps you track and improve six key financial behaviours that make up your financial health.
These financial behaviours are represented as six visual rings. Think of them like fitness rings on a smartwatch but, in this case, strengthening your financial muscle.
Each Vitality Money ring represents a behaviour that helps improve your overall financial wellbeing. The more rings you close, the higher your Vitality Money status and the more Vitality Money rewards you unlock, such as higher interest rates on savings accounts, lower bank fees, up to 1% off the interest rate on a home loan, and a variety of shopping, lifestyle and travel rewards.
The six rings are:
Plan ring – Are you building your financial knowledge, using budgeting tools and getting expert financial advice to stay on track? Having a short- and long-term financial plan, and a will, means you will understand your needs and can stay on track to reach your financial goals.
Savings ring – Are you saving to have emergency funds? It’s a safety net for when unexpected things happen.
Debt ring – Are you managing your short-term debt well? Keep your unsecured debt low so that you can afford repayments and not rely too much on loans and credit.
Insurance ring – Do you have adequate life insurance, medical aid and short-term insurance cover? Insurance provides protection against larger unforeseen life events and protects your assets.
Retirement ring – Are your retirement contributions on track? Start saving for retirement as soon as possible. The younger you are, the more you’ll benefit from compounding interest (earning interest on interest).
Property ring – Are you on track with paying off your home loan or having appropriate long-term assets in place to ensure your property needs are secured for retirement? Paying off a home loan or investing towards rent in retirement means you have a valuable long-term asset.
Asking yourself these questions serves as a useful way to figure out where you stand and where the gaps are in your holistic financial roadmap.
And with Vitality Money, you can easily track your progress in the Discovery Bank app, using each ring. You don’t have to tick all the boxes overnight.
The rings are there to show you where you’re doing well and where there’s room for improvement.
The rewards start from the moment you join Vitality Money, and increase as your behaviours improve, you meet certain goals, and the Vitality Money rings begin to close, which indicate you are on your way to optimal financial health.
What closing your vitality money rings can do
With Vitality Money, you start on Blue status and move your way up to Bronze, Silver, Gold and Diamond status, which gives you the maximum rewards.
Wondering how you can move up your status and rewards? It starts with small steps such as paying off short-term debt or setting money aside for emergencies.
Not sure where to begin? Click on any of the Vitality Money rings in the Discovery Bank app, for example, the Vitality Money Plan ring for personalised suggestions.
One option is completing a six-week Worth Financial Education course, which can earn you 10,000 Vitality Money points in the first 12 months and 5,000 in the next.
That extra 15,000 points could be just what you need to shift to the next Vitality Money status. But it doesn’t stop there – staying consistent with your healthy financial habits, like managing debt and saving, and responding to the nudges in the Discovery Bank are ways to keep the momentum going and to make sure you get the most rewards from managing money well.
How to get rewarded
As your Vitality Money status rises, you enjoy more financial, travel and shopping rewards, such as:
- Higher interest rates on your savings, as well as positive balances in your transaction and credit card accounts.
- Reduced borrowing interest rates for your credit card, overdraft facility and revolving credit facility.
- Up to 75% back on healthy items in-store at Checkers or Woolworths, and online with Checkers Sixty60 or Woolworths Online, Woolies App and Woolies Dash.
- Between 10% and 75% off on local and international flights, along with up to 20% back in Ðiscovery Miles on fuel spend and Uber rides.
- Earning and spending Ðiscovery Miles, a rewards currency for getting healthier, driving well and spending responsibly.
The Discovery Bank rewards system builds and reinforces healthy financial habits.
The Discovery Bank app also offers extra support to stay on track with healthy financial habits. When you use the Vitality Money Financial Analyser, you’ll get a complete picture of your finances, including your income, savings, and spending habits.
The more you save, the smarter you borrow and the better you plan, the bigger your Vitality Money rewards, motivating you to stay on track.
Financial wellbeing is more than managing day-to-day finances; it’s a journey towards building resilience, achieving long-term money goals, and enjoying the freedom that comes with financial security.
Not a Discovery Bank client yet? Then join Discovery Bank today!
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