SmartyPig

The summer road trip is the ultimate family bonding experience. In previous years, packing the family in the car to cruise down the highway for a day or more was an affordable way to take a vacation. With spiking gas prices, however, many families are opting out of this memorable trip, and some even nixing the idea of a summer vacation altogether. Fortunately, with careful planning, some saving, and an extra boost or two from SmartyPig, you can take your trip debt-free and with some cash back, too!

Liz Weston discusses the strain new fuel costs can put on your vacation plans, noting that anticipated prices this summer might require you dedicating 7% to 11% of your vacation budget on fuel alone. While not a huge chunk of change, taking Weston’s tip and “saving a little more” for gas is easy with SmartyPig. Ride your bike to work one day? Drop $5 into a goal. Forfeit a dinner out? Deposit a tank’s worth. A few contributions like this and you’ll make up the difference in no time.

Also, you can’t have a road trip without stops for food, entertainment and lodging, and cashing out your goal to national retail favorites like TGIFriday’s, Olive Garden, Travelocity and AMC Theaters will give you a little extra cash for your vacation fund, too.

And if you still need convincing, why not participate in SmartyPig’s “Summer Retreat” contest? You have a chance to be one of three, $1,000 winners! Wouldn’t that make your vacation fun!?

Wishing you successful saving.

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

It’s a huge misconception that those with large incomes always have the security of a safety net. Most assume (myself included) that because a couple brings in $225,000 a year they would automatically create a financial emergency plan… and a large one at that. I learned about the Mendez family today in an article written by Sarah Max for CNNMoney. This couple earns that nice chunk of change, but instead of using an emergency fund when they needed a new roof two years ago, they dipped into 401(k’s) and used credit cards to help get them by, racking up $20,000 in debt and forfeiting dollars during their retirement fund retrieval.

It’s a precautionary tale we all should take note of.

With dutiful saving and some corner cutting they’ll find their emergency fund baseline in early 2012 and be debt free at the end of that same year. This is, of course, barring any medical emergency, furnace outage, or major car repair. So rather then finding yourself in an unfortunate situation like the Mendez family, start your emergency fund today or drop a few extra bucks in your existing fund.

SmartyPig and your emergency fund can help you expect the “unexpected,” and make it not quite so scary!

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman

SFoss@SmartyPig.com

Are finances like children in that you shouldn’t compare yours to your neighbors? Maybe, maybe not. But either way, aren’t you curious to see how your finances stack up to that of your peers? My curiosity was especially piqued when I spotted this handy calculator over at MSN Money. The questions were simple and most I could answer without digging too deeply into our financial records. Age, income, home value, mortgage balance, debt and car value made up the brunt of the requests.

I filled in my answers and waited with bated breath. The answer format is easy to read and allows you to compare yours to your peers, and gives and the median values for net worth, home value, car value and retirement savings. I exhaled with relief, will you? My husband and my net worth values sparked a conversation and gave us some new goals. We want to grow our worth. Which means we need to save more. The same goes for retirement. Luckily, SmartyPig can help us easily with both – and no fees.

I encourage you to see how you stack up. You may applaud yourself for a job well done, or you may see areas for improvement. And if the latter is the case, let SmartyPig help you get moving in the right direction.

Wishing you successful saving.

Sarah Foss, SmartyPig’s Media Mad Woman

SFoss@SmartyPig.com

Weekends are starting to fill up with high school graduation parties. And college students will soon take flight into the “real world.” As announcements arrive in the mail, you’ll want to provide these graduates with something to acknowledge their accomplishments. High school students don’t need a plethora of towels or laundry baskets to take with them to college, and college graduates might enjoy cash, but the morning after a big night out may leave them with empty pockets.

Help get high school and college graduates started out on the right foot with a SmartyPig gift card. Maybe it’s a goal for the deposit on their first apartment, a trip to Europe, or even their first home. Whatever it is, the first step is a crucial one. And if it is in the direction of good financial habits, that’s really a gift that will keep on giving. Available in $25, $50, $100 and $500 denominations.

Gift your favorite grad the gift of savings this spring. The SmartyPig way.

Wishing you successful saving.

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

The days of cash being an impersonal wedding gift are long gone. Much to the contrary, money is actually the preferred wedding gift of a majority of couples. SavvySugar agrees and adds to the discussion by asking, “How much to give a newlywed couple?” Most agree that somewhere between $50 to $100 is most appropriate. And while adding that cash to a Target gift card is quite thoughtful, it won’t buy you a vacation for your first anniversary or get you any closer to your first home down-payment.

However, putting that money on a SmartyPig gift card will.

The summer wedding invitations are beginning to cover my refrigerator and instead of scoping the newlywed-to-be’s registries, I’ll be gifting them with the opportunity to buy or save for what they really want with SmartyPig gift cards. And if they’ve yet to set up a goal, I’m encouraging them to do that now and share that information with their family and friends BEFORE they tie the knot. You can do it too.

Take a lesson in practicality and give the gift of savings. You’ll help newlyweds start their lives together with their best feet forward!

Wishing you successful saving.

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