There's something very personal and very optimistic about setting a financial goal using SmartyPig (or any goal for that matter), whether it be a weekend vacation, presents for holidays, an emergency saving account or the down payment on a new home. No matter the size, the goal belongs to you. You created it for a reason - to get from here to there without the heavy burden of debt.

We're sincerely touched to read testimonials and receive phone calls from SmartyPig users letting us know just how the site has positively affected their lives. From the parent overjoyed that their child finally understands the importance of saving money, to the soldier overseas who cannot wait to get home, to the happy just-married couple who are starting life in better financial shape than they'd hoped, these stories are more than uplifting and make us strive to make SmartyPig everything it can be.

Recently, though, one story we read was of particular interest to us. A gentleman named Sam Mahlstadt has started using SmartyPig to change not only his life but potentially the lives of many others. Recently married, Sam and his wife moved halfway across the country to Winston Salem, North Carolina to ensure that his goal becomes a reality.

See, Sam is helping to build a church in his community and he knew that SmartyPig and its use of social media could help him reach his goal faster. Sam said that rather than a "big ask" of reaching out just once to friends and family for money, he could link his goal to the social media sites he frequents and to his blog where others could continue to read about and potentially contribute to his goal.

Sam, like many of our users, has an uphill battle. But we don't set goals that are easy. We set goals to make our lives better, to push ourselves. Sam's goal will affect many for years and years to come because he has been able to participate in something that he values greatly: the helping of others. Understanding that it is always easier to accomplish something when there's a common cause is the secret to our social way to save. Hearing a story like Sam's, well, that makes it all the more sweet.

So go ahead and "lower this" should the opportunity present itself. It's kinda like giving yourself a gift! Well, sort of...


Mike Ferrari, co-founder

Congratulations to infocuspartners, JenniferRyther, and MIphotography! Please make sure to DM us your address via Twitter so we can send your $100 SmartyPig gift card!

Here are those that made it into the top 20 - thank you for playing and better luck next time! thirtynholding, gretchasketch22, egglng, lisa_lewis, merrylake, lynndro, afalker, RitaYangLu, urvile, jessc098, nelswadycki, bagmomma, kateschneider, sweetjean, AmandaZinger, joshgroth, chasehunter.

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 be bringing back a trusted method 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, April 23rd 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!

After hearing about SmartyPig through a friend, Shannon Swilley knew our site was something she had to check out. Established in her career and recently engaged, she and her fiancee understood registering for gifts at a department store wasn't something they were looking to do. They wanted to jump into life both feet first and buy a home. When they came across SmartyPig, they knew it would work for exactly what they wanted. Swilley was delighted that friends and family could contribute to this goal knowing that she and her fiancee were saving for the house as well. It was the ultimate gift - a life changer. Seeing SmartyPig as a total package, she set up a public goal and added the SmartyPig widget to her blog for readers to see.

As home mortgage rates dip to all time lows those interested in purchasing a new home have never found a better time to do so. But being financially prepared to purchase that new house by having enough money socked away is paramount to a successful start - especially in a market like this. So we've made it simple for you to save for a down payment on a house like Shannon by adding the new category, House Down Payment. Even better, with the social twist of SmartyPig, your friends and family members can help out!

It's likely the second biggest decision Shannon has ever made. Using SmartyPig made it a bit easier. We congratulate her and all of our first-time home buyers!

The SmartyPig mobile site can be found at m.smartypig.com. It provides a secure and easy way to quickly access your account information on the go.

View Your Goals
Saving money with SmartyPig is easy. But we all need encouragement now and again. With SmartyPig's new mobile site, you can quickly access and view the status of your goals and review your past transactions.

Add Money
So you have a couple goals setup, and you are diligently contributing to that goal each month. But what if you feel like you can actually add a bit more to a goal and you are nowhere near your computer. No worries. Our new mobile site makes adding additional funds to your goals quick and easy.


Friends
Sometimes it's fun to see what your friends are saving for. It gives you motivation to continue on the saving path. Our mobile site allows you to view your friends on SmartyPig, quickly see what they are saving for, and view the progress they have made.

Security
At SmartyPig we take security very seriously. The SmartyPig mobile site utilizes VeriSign® SSL 256-bit encryption, is certified daily to pass the McAfee® SECURE Security Scan, and has undergone comprehensive security auditing and testing by Primeon, a leader in enterprise-wide application security. Primeon works with 50 of the largest financial services enterprises in the United States.

And a big shout out to Brian Fling at pinch/zoom who helped us with the mobile site. He's one wickedly talented mobile Web designer and developer.

We look forward to building additional features into the mobile site. And as always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.

Mike Ferrari, co-founder

Uncollected debt hit a record high, increasing 3% from February 2008 to February 2009. Write-downs increased 8.82%. Delinquency rates also rose above 6%. And aside from it all being grim news, what is even worse is that these numbers are expected to rise. In this piece from CNN, Moody's credit card index predicts, "... The overwhelming influence of the negative economic environment should continue driving delinquencies to record-high levels by mid-year." Pretty scary and disheartening, yes. But, more and more, our customers are telling us and the people they know that SmartyPig can help prevent these problems... permanently.

We understand that current economic times are more painful than ever, and many of us are nowhere near where we'd like to be financially. But we also know that two years ago, the average American spent $101 for every $100 he or she made, and today that same person is spending $95 and saving the other $5. That is tremendous progress; and it shows that there is no time like the present to begin creating good habits for the future. Saving money for bigger purchases instead of charging them and creating emergency funds for unexpected expenses are crucial elements in restoring financial stability across the country.

Credit lines are dwindling, available credit is shrinking and credit card companies are closing accounts in order to stabilize their bottom lines. Simply put: things will never be the same. It's time to start saving for purchases, saving for emergencies, or simply saving to start becoming a saver. Charging now and paying later has helped to tip over an already wobbly economy.

Jessica at pjmommy.com recently wrote that she and her husband use their credit cards for a majority of their purchases and they, luckily, are able to pay their entire bill each month. But after she found SmartyPig and she realized that saving for purchases is all the more rewarding once you've met your goal, charging to plastic just isn't all that great anymore. SmartyPig puts the fun back in your funds. And while you earn one of the highest APY's on the market, your money does the work for you. Setting up your account is simple, and once you've started saving for your goals, you'll wonder why you hassled with high interest rates and credit card payments in the first place.

How many times have you told yourself that you'd like to save more? That you want to use the extra funds in your checking account to get started? That it's time to use the ease of the Internet to help guide you to a more prosperous future? That there is no better time like the present? And the... it goes nowhere. A few credit card charges here, some spare cash tossed around there and all of a sudden, you're back to wishing that "whole new you" will take charge - next month.

In a recent guest post on Timothy Ferriss's blog (The Four Day Work Week), Ramit Sethi (of I Will Teach You To Be Rich) stresses the importance of automating your finances. Sethi points out that taking even the tiniest of steps forward in automating your finances may be the push needed to jumpstart good financial habits. It's as easy as just trying. Like the infomercial says, "Set it, and forget it."

With SmartyPig, you decide how much you want to save, when you want to save it by, and SmartyPig does the rest. It's automatic. On the day of the month that you've chosen, SmartyPig will pull those funds from your existing savings or checking account and place the money toward your goal while earning one of the most competitive APY interest rates in the country. Need an emergency fund in these trying times? We do that. Need to get away for a weekend wedding of a friend? We do that. Need to simply start saving first before you buy something? We do that better than anyone, and make it more worthwhile than ever before. And if you do have extra cash, you always have the option to add money at any time, as well. With SmartyPig, we work tirelessly to make it as simple as possible for you to sit back and watch your piggybank fill up.

So what are you saving for?