SmartyPig Review – 2 X $50 Giveaway – A Smart Way To Save Money!
By Mike
Last week, I attended an Economic Conference about the global stock market. The economist pointed out that most Americans started saving again instead of spending away all their money. I was happy to see that the population has finally realized the impact of saving money towards achieving their goals instead of borrowing money on their home to pay off their credit cards. This is a huge step to gain control of your personal finance.
Back in early 2008, there was a review of SmartyPig done in this blog (you can read the Smarty Pig Review here). Since we have now arrived at a time to save money, I started looking for the best interest rates in savings’ accounts.
My first reflex was to look at ING. They usually have the best rates of all. It appeared to be at 1.30% as of November 23rd 2009. Then, I went back to Select CD to see if I could beat it. Their main page showed a rate of 1.75%. Encouraged by my research, I kept searching to see if I could reach the psychological mark of 2%. Well I found it at
SmartyPig: They now offer 2.01%!
Then, I started reading more about Smarty Pig; I read previous reviews by Larry and looked at what had been said across the blogosphere when it was first launched. I picked up 2 interesting reviews written by other famous Bloggers;Bible Money Matters, Being Frugal and Trent over The Simple Dollar.
Most reviews I found were issued in March or April 2008. At that time, Smarty Pig had some flaws:
– Long delays to withdraw funds (money was sent by check back then)
– There was a fee to withdraw funds
Now the Smarty Pig team has done their homework and settled those minor hassles: there are no longer delays to withdraw funds as electronic transfers into your checking account are available and there are no fees to withdraw money as well!
A VERY POWERFUL WAY TO SAVE MONEY
Let’s take the following example:
You want to save $200 per month for twelve months. Your total capital saved will then be $2,400. Along with your capital, you will gain some interest: an additional $22 (at 2.01%). So you are now at $2,422. BUT, we are not done yet. If you buy a gift card from a retail partner, you can get an additional bonus (the biggest one is at Macy’s with a mega booster of 12%). This means that you would get $290 free in your pocket for a total of $2,712! Now we are talking!
If you don’t want to buy stuff at Macy’s, you also have the following choices (and mentioned rebate):
Babies”R”us (2%)
Barnes and Nobles (5%)
Bed Bath & Beyond (4%)
GAP (5%)
iTunes (2%)
Jared (7%)
Kmart (4%)
Kohl’s (5%)
Overstock.com (7%)
Sandals (10%)
Sears (4%)
Toys”R”us (2%)
Travelocity Hotel Gift Card (10%)
Travelocity Vacation Gift Card (2 to 10%)
Hum”¦ this sound like a perfect way to save money for Christmas and birthdays!
Click on the following link to see the complete list of Smarty Pig Partners (as some of them don’t offer rebates).
10 REASONS WHY YOU WANT TO OPEN A SMARTYPIG ACCOUNT:
There are plenty of reasons to open an account at SmartyPig, it is a smart way to save money:
#1 The interest rate is almost unbeatable.
#2 You have the possibility to get bonus percentage (now up to 12%) at retail partners.
#3 Automatic withdrawals from your bank account (minimum of $25 per month) is the best way to save money.
#4 Opening an account is FREE!
#5 There is a social network to encourage achieving your goal
#6 Your relatives can contribute to your goal
#7 You have plenty or retail partners to choose gift cards from (there are retailers for almost any projects from gifts to renovation and travelling)
#8 You can now split your savings among gift cards, electronic transfer back to your checking account or adding money to your SmartyPig MasterCard debit card.
#9 It’s FDIC Secure.
#10 I am giving 2 SmartyPig gift card of $50 each to start your goal as a giveaway!
How to enter the giveaway?
1- one entry if you sign up for my mailing list (it’s free)
2- one entry if you comment here and mention how much you save per month.
*Winners must have a SmartyPig account opened as money will be transferred directly into their account at SmartyPig.
I am giving you until December 18th to register. Then, I’ll send $50 to 2 people in their SmartyPig accounts for Christmas in order to help support their goals.
November 23rd, 2009 at 10:58 am
My wife & I save ~$700-1000 a month, depending on projects around the home
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:12 am
We save about 1000-1500 per month in dedicated savings accounts. A lot depends on how much I make, as most of my money goes toward savings.
November 23rd, 2009 at 11:57 am
I save about 40% of what I make – but I will have to spend most of that on college soon.
November 23rd, 2009 at 12:38 pm
Wow!, I can’t manage to save those amounts!, but I am pleased to put away $285 a month for an emergency/car expenses/etc. Since I haven’t needed any of that money for over a year, it’s grown quite nicely!
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I only save $25.00 a month, but i’m currently paying down a lot of CC debt.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:34 pm
I sve $300 in a ira account each month. This sounds like it would be a good place to put in money for the shower, birthday and christmas presents that occur throughout the year.
November 23rd, 2009 at 1:48 pm
This year, we only saved the two “extra” paychecks and our tax return, but as of next year the car will be paid off and we’ll save at least 350 a month.
November 23rd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
My husband is in school, and we are literally living off of student grants and scholarships, the annual tax credit, and about 3 hundred dollars a week my husband makes delivering pizzas. I stay-at-home and homeschool, and cut coupons, and generally try to live as frugally as we can. We’re making it, but saving anything is very difficult. I “stash” anything I can spare from our household budget, and it usually ends up being used on an emergency car fixing, etc. On average I have been saving $30 a month, five dollars more than their minimum! So that makes me happy. :)
November 23rd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
I save about $300 a month for our goal to build a bed-and-breakfast on land we have in Senegal. I love SmartyPig and tell people about it all the time!
November 23rd, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I save $100 a month into an ING account. I was thinking of increasing by $25 a month. After reading about SmartPiggy, I am opening an account and putting the money in there. I like the interest rate and the added feature of getting a % back when you buy gift cards from their member retails – whom I purchase from anyways. Thanks for the tip!!
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:39 pm
I try to save ~ 20%
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:47 pm
100 bucks 2x a month in an education savings acct which nets additional 20% contribution from the govt!
November 23rd, 2009 at 7:48 pm
as much as I can
November 24th, 2009 at 4:00 am
I try to save about $420 a month to max out my IRA every year.
November 25th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Great review. I’m savings close to 40% of my income each month via 401(k), ESPP, Roth IRA, and Online Savings. We’re savings nazis.
November 25th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I don’t have a smartypig account, so don’t count me in the contest, but seems pretty cool.
November 26th, 2009 at 8:22 am
nice guide
November 26th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
I save about $75 to $200 per month.
Sign me up for the free giftcard drawing.
November 27th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
Love this sight. Been in my favorites for a year now. This Smartypig sounds great. Would love to win the gift card. Thanks!!!!
November 30th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
I routinely sock away $250, not including 401k. Every few months, though, I build up another thousand or so in my checking account and dump that over to savings. My average is probably closer to $500, $800 on good months.
November 30th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
I save 10% monthly and contribute to my IRA and savings biweekly. I am currently using SmartyPig to save for a new TV. :) My family and I are linked on the same account so we can save together.
December 2nd, 2009 at 3:36 pm
That depends on what you mean by “save”. I put $445 into a savings account for “irregular” expenses (insurance, Christmas, Vet bills, etc.) So, that is “savings”, but with the intention of being spent. We “save” $800 a month in our IRAs, and about 20% of our income into 401(k)s, if we’re counting retirement savings. If neither of those count, then we only save $100 a month into our e-fund, with the rest of our free money going to paying off my student loans and mortgage.
December 2nd, 2009 at 7:35 pm
I quit my job at the end of August to go back to school full-time. Back then, I saved about $1,500 per month. Now I have no income and am covering my tuition and living expenses out of my savings, but I will be receiving funding from my department in the spring. I hope to start saving again then.
December 4th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
I just signed up for smartypig and am liking it so far. I try to save about 15% of net income (that doesn’t count 401k). But that is saving to spend in some cases (ie car, kid education, christmas, etc). keeping my fingers crossed for the gift card. :-)
December 8th, 2009 at 7:30 pm
I’m currently only saving $100 a month, but starting next April it will up to $500…just waiting to pay off one more debt.
I just discovered SmartyPig, and I’m so excited I’ve pretty much told everyone I’ve run across.
December 9th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
im trying to save 50 a month, its real difficult at this time.
December 10th, 2009 at 12:34 am
I’m saving about $250 per month in retirement; $175 per month to save up a larger cushion before I start my family (I can’t touch this money at all), and I have another $400 transfered into my savings every month. Of that, I hope to actually save at least $200, usually a few hundred gets transfered back.
December 11th, 2009 at 10:07 am
Hello,
I have just started a vacation fund. I will be saving $35.51 per month. I will increase the amount as I eliminate debt and reduce bills. I’m excited about using smarty pig.
December 19th, 2009 at 11:27 pm
Hey, thanks for that link to get the free gift card for toys from Kmart, I tried to use it but its only open to those in U.S.A. which sucks because my mom got hers in 3 days in the mail, but she lives in Denver.
January 2nd, 2010 at 8:51 pm
I found your site on yahoo. I couldn’t agree more. I love this site article. I will definately be back to visit again.
April 7th, 2010 at 2:39 am
Great article, I especially like what you had to say in the last paragraph.
May 20th, 2010 at 3:15 am
Great blog post.Really thank you! Fantastic.
August 24th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
I save $325 a month on a single, entry-level income. Very excited about the drawing and the information!
March 15th, 2011 at 4:43 am
Smart-Piggy is like a reserve bank for me from very childhood I used Smart-Piggy and I have lots of experience that how important & helpful your Smart-Piggy be when you really need the money.
I start my saving from 1 to 2 dollar per month and now I used to save minimum 500$ per month.