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July 1, 2009 • Posted by Erica Adams
Can Saving Sink Us?

The savings rate increased dramatically in May to 6.9%, the highest it's been in more than fifteen years. That sparked a few questions from Paul La Monica at CNN Money, "Do you think consumers are saving too much and hurting the economy?" or "Should people continue to be frugal and save more?"

It's a slippery slope. Using our homes as ATM machines and living on plastic got us where we are today, no doubt. A few years ago, folks on average were spending $102 of every $100 they made. Now, on average, they're spending about $93. The old way wasn't working out. People made a collective change. There is one problem, though. Almost all of those new savers work for or own companies that have been depending on that extra $9. So are we doing more harm than good? Well, positive change can sometimes feel quite negative.   

In the article, La Monica writes, "This newfound sense of frugality is undeniably a good thing. If consumers are no longer willing to amass unhealthy piles of debt for things they can't afford, then we can hopefully avoid such severe recessions." But there's more to it than that. We don't have to abandon the car; we just need to put on the brakes. Saving isn't just for a rainy day - no matter how long this storm seems to be lasting. The silver lining: you CAN afford the things you want, you just need to shift how you go about paying for them.  

Setting saving goals for the things you want in life puts in place a solid plan for the future. It's not money borrowed from a bank or from a high-rate credit card company but cash earning you interest while you reach for that goal. And while instant gratification is difficult to move away from, and while it's even more difficult to watch businesses hurting, in the end, because of changing the "buy now, pay later" mindset, the entire economy and all who make it work will greatly benefit.

 

Tags: smartypig   •  saving   •  money   •  debt
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June 25, 2009 • Posted by Erica Adams
June Twitter Contest Winners

This month, we asked who recently invested in SmartyPig from San Antonio, TX. The answer: Red McCombs.

A couple of veteran players won $100 today, so it pays off to play every month.

Here are the winners:

Congratulations to CUWarrior, Peteness and PhilKJames!

Here are those that made it into the top 20 - thank you for playing and better luck next time! glangley, dawithers, Nicole_1984, ggadventures, davereid, monsterfashion, AdMavericks, 77motivated, ArturoFernandez, rubx, abkadefgee, JenniPullen, LouLou197533, wcdel, casademora, tifferh07, rself.

Tags: smartypig   •  saving money   •  online savings account   •  twitter   •  contest   •  smartypig gift cards
3 Comments |
June 22, 2009 • Posted by Erica Adams
June Twitter Contest

$100 SmartyPig gift card

Let the savings begin! SmartyPig will be giving away three $100 gift cards through our monthly Twitter contest - Thursday, June 25th at 11 CST. We will tweet a question and give our followers 15 minutes to reply to us.

The format:

  1. After 15 minutes, we will be picking 20 random people with a number generator from the pool of correct answers.
  2. We'll use a fun summertime activity in selecting three gift card winners.
  3. We'll post the process here on our blog, so everyone can follow along!

Make sure:

  1. You're following us on Twitter.
  2. We'll ask the $100 question on Thursday, June 25th at 11am CST.
  3. Answer the question correctly for your chance to win!

Remember: if you don't already have a SmartyPig account, it's free to set one up! Winner must be in the US.

Good Luck!

Tags: smartypig   •  giftcard   •  savingmoney   •  contest
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June 18, 2009 • Posted by Erica Adams
Starting Good Habits Early

Life isn't free. It's a statement that rings true to many like myself just starting out in the working world.  And watching and reading the news everyday is a constant reminder. Talk of bailouts and bankruptcies lead the headlines - everyday. The parts I understonline savingsand are scary. The parts I don't - scarier. But this much is true: In these troubling times, people either need to get moving back in the right direction, or if just beginning the journey, make sure they are starting off on the right foot. SmartyPig can help.  

When the founders of SmartyPig set out on their journey to create the social money space they understood the key was a constant conversation with younger, tech-savvy individuals and their families about what they needed. SmartyPig is obviously for anyone who has a specific saving goal, but when it comes right down to it, it was created for people like me.  I'm 22. I have college loans to pay. But I want to go on vacation this year. I want a new iPhone. And I cannot afford to get upside down with my plastic. So many of my friends are starting out in hole that seems terribly daunting, close to impossible to escape. Life isn't free. They're learning about it the hard way.  

So if you ask me what SmartyPig does - and people always do - I have never changed my answer. Not once. "SmartyPig solves a problem." SmartyPig offers a sensible, smart solution to prepare and educate people like me get started on a sound financial future. SmartyPig is simple to use, as Erin at The Broke Yuppie professes. And the ability to set your monthly contribution at a level comfortable to you means that anytime you'd like to edit your goal, it's just a mouse click away. Setting a goal for years into the future along with automated monthly contributions, paves the way for good habits and a problem solved before it ever began.

Starting early is the key. Ask my friends. You make wise spending choices. Build a nice cushion to fall back on right out of the starting gate. And save up for the things you want. There's no time like the present to start securing your future.

 

Tags: smartypig   •  saving   •  money   •  creditcards   •  college   •  debtfree
1 Comment |
May 28, 2009 • Posted by Erica Adams
May Twitter Contest Winners

This month, we asked what the APY is for SmartyPig and ING Direct's Orange Savings account as of 5/28/09. We needed two answers: SmartyPig - 3.05% and ING - 1.5%.

We have been seeing a lot of new players the past two months and this month was no exception, thanks to everyone for playing!

Here are the winners:

Congratulations to ebranscombe, netcrusher88, markevaul!

Here are those that made it into the top 20 - thank you for playing and better luck next time! ilektrik, CatRocketship, BeverlyDennis, cmebane, swalbers, jessc098, stlcolleen, aaron116, mcnater, PhilKJames, spakys1stp, DwanesWorld, igdesign, wcdel, trenttsd, amoeba09, ashleymc.

Tags: smartypig   •  saving money   •  twitter   •  contest   •  smartypig gift cards
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