There are many benefits to managing your money. For one, you’ll feel more in control of your finances. You’ll know exactly how and when you spend your money. And, you’ll be able to save up for the things you love in life.

For our next Emma Saver Stories feature, we speak to Dora, an Emma user who discovered that managing her money meant she could, in fact, live her dream life.

Read on to find out more about Dora’s story.

Hey Dora, thanks for sharing your saver story with us. Can you start by telling us a bit about why you started using Emma?

“After I finished University, I moved to Scotland from Hungary by myself. Moving to a new country on your own is quite a big deal, and I quickly realised that I had to fend for myself. I had to manage everything alone - finding a job, learning the language, sorting out a flat, and managing my finances. For the first time, I was responsible for paying for everything. All of this responsibility made me feel like a true adult!”

I definitely agree with that - paying bills has to be one of the worst things about becoming an adult!

“As well as paying my expenses, I knew I also wanted to save money, so I started reading about this topic. I came across Emma in an article about best budgeting apps and decided to download it.”

Love this. Do you think your relationship with money has changed much since you downloaded Emma?

“Definitely. Before Emma, I had no idea where my salary went every month and I was surprised that I had nothing left at the end of the month!”

“By using Emma I started to keep track of exactly what I was spending and how much, so I knew what unnecessary things I was spending my money on. I’ve spent a lot of money on things I don’t actually need in the past, like clothes and shoes”

I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that! And while spending your money on these items isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it seems like you’ve realised these items don’t bring you much fulfillment. What do you prefer to spend your money on now?

“I had wanted to travel since high school, but because I was so bad with money, it seemed like an unattainable dream. By downloading Emma, and tracking my money, I realised that it is possible to travel even if I don't earn that much.”

“It’s taught me that I just have to keep in mind what is more important, buying a 20th top that is just an object and gives me happiness for a few hours or going on the first trip of my life that will be an everlasting experience and will make me happy for a longer time.”

That’s an incredible way to look at things! Have you managed to travel much?

“Emma helped me save up for my first solo trip. I managed to travel to Spain, to Andalusia, and that's where my life changed. I fell in love with travelling. This trip definitely made me realise I didn't want to live in Scotland any more, I wanted to travel. I’m currently using Emma to help me save up for a big trip around Asia. I wanted to go last year, but I had to postpone it until 2022 because of the pandemic.”

Ah, that’s such a shame, but at least you have a little longer to save up now! You mentioned that we’ve helped you keep track of your spending, but do you have a favourite feature in Emma?

“I really like the spending reports. I find them useful and think they’re a fun way of summarising how I've spent my money recently. Basically I have to say thank you for this app because it is helping me live my dream life!”

Wow, it’s amazing what you can achieve when you focus on managing your money! We wish Dora all the luck with her Asia trip next year and hope she enjoys spending all the money she’s worked so hard to save!

Have we helped you budget, save, invest and generally improve your relationship with money..? If so, we want to hear your saver stories! 📢

We’re looking for people with inspiring, funny, or applause-worthy stories about how Emma has helped them with their money.

If you’d like to be involved, please DM us on Twitter or Instagram, telling us how Emma has helped you with your money. As a thank you for sharing your story, we’ll give £20 for any story that is published on the Emma blog ✌️