Finances and dealing with money has been something that I have always enjoyed doing, not for work, but in general. I am always looking for better ways to save money and now with our first child, even more so, do we have to money conscious.
That is why I got really excited when I came across SmartyPig. It is a web application that helps you with your savings goals and gives you the opportunity to create and save for them. Sounds simple, but there is much more to it than just that, so let me show you around the app.
Getting Started
When you first go to SmartyPig you are actually taken through a pretty lengthy process to sign up. Which to some degree is understandable, because this is not only a place where you will create your savings goal, but also a place that will act as a savings account for it. So, you have to fill in more personal information than you normally would for most sites. You also have to be willing to give them a bank account so that you can transfer money into your SmartyPig account.
Creating A Goal
Once you get through the sign up process, you can now start to create your savings goal. Your goal can be anything, a family vacation, a new computer, college fund, etc. Once you decide on what you want it to be, then indicate how much that goal will cost and when you want to meet it by.
Creating A Goal
When that is done, then you will have to fill in your bank information so that SmartyPig can get the funds from there to put into this savings account. You also have to indicate the frequency at which you want to save for this goal. So maybe you want to put away $25 a month toward something, and SmartyPig will automatically take out $25 from your bank account each month and put it toward your goal.
Your Goal
Accepting Money From Others
This next part is one that I got kind of excited about and that is the ability to accept contributions from others. A unique feature of SmartyPig is that you can accept contributions from other people toward your goal. What I like about this is that say you want to start a savings account for a child and when birthdays come around if someone wants to give them money, instead of writing you a check and you having to deposit it, you can just send them your SmartyPig link and they can contribute to them online. What a great idea!
In order to get the word out about your goal, SmartyPig has created a way for you to share your goal with others. You have your very own sharing page that you customize with links to your social networks and your financial goals. You can point people to that link so that they can contribute and help you save even faster.
Customizing Your Sharing Page
SmartyPig gives you a couple more ways to get the word out about your goal. You can connect your Twitter and Facebook so that whenever you add a contribution to your account, it tells people on your social networks that you contributed. This helps keep you motivated to save and hopefully gets others to donate to your cause. You can also create a widget to put on your web page if you have one that lets people contribute to your goal by clicking on it.
Creating a Widget
Cash Rewards Card
SmartyPig gives you another opportunity to earn money a little quicker. You can get a Cash Rewards card that you preload with money from your bank account. Whenever you use the card you get 1% back which goes toward your goal. The card is reloadable so when you run out of money you can always put more on the card. I think this is a great and easy way to earn a little cash to help you out.
Retailer Gift Cards
This is just another way that SmartyPig helps you save even more. Once you have reached your savings goal, or have some money in your account, you can use it toward purchasing a gift card to one of the retailers that SmartyPig is connected with. What is nice about this is that depending on the retailer you will get a percentage back on the amount you spend for their gift card. For example, if I had a $100 in my SmartyPig account and I wanted to use it to purchase a Gap gift card, I could get 10% or $10 back, so really I am only paying $90 for the gift card.
Retailer Gift Cards
Makes Sense To Me
The nice part is that not only does SmartyPig act as a place where you can create your goal, but it is also a savings account. With these type of accounts now days, you definitely cannot get a great interest rate and with SmartyPig, they offer a 0.7% interest rate, which isn’t great, but it is better than just about anything that a major bank is offering. Better yet, it makes it easy for others to contribute to your goal, which gives you the ability to be very creative with this app. Think about it, you don’t even have to necessarily be saving just for you. What if you are a student and you are taking an educational trip that you needed help funding; this is a great way to help make that happen.
With a decent interest rate and an easy way to save and letting others help you, this app to me, is a no brainer. If you are trying to save short or long term, and for whatever reason, you have to give SmartyPig a try. They make saving for something fun to do and really that is what keeps us motivated to save. Check them out and let us know what you think.
Disclaimer: This article is not intended to give financial advice, and only use the app at your own discretion. It is intended for personal use and we always recommend that you look into the app and use it at your own risk.