SmartyPig

As we recover from the worst economic crisis in decades, it’s important that everyone understand the effect of their financial decisions. April is Financial Literacy Month, the 30 days devoted to reevaluating your money needs, past experiences and setting goals for the future along the way. So we ask you, how are you improving your financial wisdom this month?

Finance blogger Melissa Hincha-Ownby suggests expanding your financial smarts by reading one finance book a month. But as a newcomer with limited time, I focus on blogs to help increase my knowledge. Popular sites like Yahoo Finance, MSNMoney, WalletPop and The Simple Dollar. Others recommend e-mail newsletters, the good old-fashioned newspaper and news programs. It doesn’t matter where you get the information, the important part is getting it. And as you learn more, it’s easier to set goals and make smart decisions for your money.

We already know you’re on the right track because you’ve chosen to keep some of your money with SmartyPig. Choose to improve your financial wellness this month by adding an article or two to your weekly must-reads. This new-found knowledge could pay off in a big way!

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman
SFoss@SmartyPig.com

Reverse budgeting. What is it? It’s a management method for those who simply want to save money, but aren’t concerned with gaining insight into their spending habits. The folks at Savvy Sugar discuss this method and several others in an article this week entitled, “Budgeting your Bucks.”

The experts discuss the basic budget approach, the popular right now envelope technique, and down to the dollar budgeting. We chat about all of these often, but reverse budgeting? Not so much. Say you have a trip you’re saving for next fall. You know you need to save $200 a month to reach your goal, and while this trip is certainly a luxury for you, you don’t have many other lavish expenses in your life. Simple problem, simple answer: You set your SmartyPig savings goal to deduct the money you need each month, and you use your leftover funds for miscellaneous spending. And the best part is, SmartyPig takes the work out of it for you with automatic deductions, and keeps your money just slightly out of reach to devoid of temptation.

Next time you have a big goal in site, we suggest you give this method a try! And don’t forget to tell us about it. We can’t wait to hear of your success.

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman
SFoss@SmartyPig.com

April is financial literacy month. And a great time to do a financial “spring clean.” It won’t take long, and we promise it’ll be painless, just ask the folks at MSN Money who put together this quick video to help you get your days of warmer weather off on the right flip-flopped foot.

It’s a great time to summer proof your home, say the experts. Have your AC checked out, give the house some extra TLC, and you’ll reap the benefits when your energy bill is delivered. Now is also a good time to stock up on your dividends, says that same staff of experts. And lastly, save. Did you get a tax refund this year? Pay down your debt and use the leftover to start or add to an existing emergency fund. SmartyPig is the best place for those types of goals; slightly out of sight, but with the ultimate earning potential and easy access in the event you need them. But we hope that you don’t!

Wishing you successful saving..and cleaning!

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman
SFoss@SmartyPig.com

“One of the more tiresome habits we personal-finance writers have is lecturing people about the difference between wants and needs.” Says money expert Liz Weston. Food? A need. 700 channels of satellite TV? A want. Or so I recently explained to my husband. He begrudgingly agreed to cancel service when I noted the $600 plus dollars we would save by postponing our  plethora of unwatched television. I noted our normal $100 payment could instead be transferred to our SmartyPig “electronics” goal. And by the time football season rolls around we’ll have the cash to purchase the new TV my husband’s been lusting after.

The point is this: Gadgets kind of worm their way into our lives and suddenly become a “staple” when they are really more of a luxury or unnecessary items – like landlines, CD players, even desktop computers. So why not opt out of buying any of these that are not really necessary in the future and put some old items on Craigslist? Suddenly you have a little cash on your hands AND you can save up for something else. You can go my family’s route and replace a lot of old with something new or something necessary. And best of all you can make the saving easy with SmartyPig. Just take the amount you’ll be saving by cutting back, $100 in our case, and put it toward a goal. Your budget will stay the same AND you’ll get a reward to look forward to in the not-so-distant future! That’s what we at SmartyPig call a win-win.

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman
SFoss@SmartyPig.com

Like gas and travel, the price of groceries is also at a current peak. And while you can skip your spring break vacation, keeping food on your table is a must for families. Like most women I know I’m fully aware of what our household staples should cost: Trader Joe’s for milk and eggs, where to buy organic, and what to buy in bulk. My husband on the other hand, let loose in a grocery store, is a budget disaster waiting to happen. Turns out, it’s not entirely his fault.

51% of men are taking on the household shopping, and supermarkets are taking notice. Making items more “man friendly” with displays, quick or pre-made make meals, and easy to see “macho” products. It’s also been said that men are more prone to impulse buys and pay full price without further price comparison. Can their overspending really be to blame with all of that temptation?

Making a budget, using shopping lists, and being consumer savvy never hurt, especially when your savings account reaps those cost cutting rewards. And saving just $10 on your weekly shopping trip means another $520 to put towards your next vacation or gift for the man that does the shopping in your life.

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman
SFoss@SmartyPig.com