SmartyPig

“Whether or not the economy is moving forward, people continue living as though it’s not.” Says the Today Show host Matt Lauer during an interview with personal finance expert, Jean Chatzky this past week. Chatzky is a well-known proponent of living below your means and suggests simple ways to help Americans tighten their belts. Carpooling to work, using refillable water bottles and coupon clipping top her list of cost-saving measures.  And while 50 cents here and there might not seem like a lot, these small acts could add up to $1,000 a year.

Additionally, Chatzky notes these 2011 consumer changes:  a 5% increase in the purchasing of generic brands, a 7% increase in fewer hairdresser visits and a 6% jump in consumers choosing to hold off on morning coffees. Lauer and Chatzky agree that while these types of cutbacks are not great for the economy, they are quite beneficial for individuals.

So what does this mean for you?

$1,000 a year would make for a nice addition to any vacation fund. Especially if that money comes from the simple act of sharing a ride to work or ditching your morning coffee. Living below your means doesn’t have to mean deprivation. These small cutbacks allow you the extra money to put towards your goals – the things you want or enjoy most. Which means a simpler lifestyle…and more of the things you want, too.

Wishing you successful saving.

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

We’re smack-dab in the middle of wedding season. Checks are being written, bills are coming in and it’s likely that most brides, grooms, and their families are feeling financial pressure in one way or another. For example, take newlywed Julia. She and her husband-to-be took out a personal loan for $20,000 at a 10% interest rate and put the rest on a credit card that initially had a 0% rate… but now charges 12%. Both Julia and her husband had high incomes and assumed they would easily pay off their debt in a short period of time. But her husband lost his job, and paying off their wedding lost priority to other debts like mortgage and car payments.

The days of Daddy picking up the tab are, for the most part, over, leaving many couples to fund their own weddings. They are taking out loans and using plastic with the intention of a quickly paying them off. But then something happens. A new baby, an accident, a lost job. And that manageable debt becomes quite suddenly unmanageable.

So if you have not yet to take your vows, you should set up a goal now. You can learn from the many successful SmartyPig wedding or honeymoon savers like Steffany or Brianna and Logan. You can own your wedding when the day comes (instead of your credit card company owning it), and using our social networking tools allows your friends and family members to contribute to your goals, like your honeymoon or a down payment on a new home. Wouldn’t that beat a new set of towels?

SmartyPig is your one-stop shop for saving for the big day, while avoiding wedding debt.

Wishing you successful saving.

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

Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. It’s Murphy’s Law, and mostly the story of my life right now. First it was the lawnmower, then the dishwasher and now the dryer. Fortunately I have some handy family members who need just a few new small parts and a little bit of time to get these machines back up and running. As luck would have it SmartyPig and Sears PartsDirect are offering one heck of a deal to help get my household necessities back on their feet.

Through next April my household and yours have the opportunity to take part in the Sears PartsDirect 10% Cash Back promotion! Are you getting excited? With this offer you can earn cash back when you shop for parts for major brands of appliances, lawn and garden equipment, tools and more! Best of all, the offer is available when you shop in-store, online or over the phone! And because much of your free time will be spent fixing or updating your appliances, we’re going to make this transaction easy. Simply use your SmartyPig Cash Rewards Card to purchase the part needed to get your power saw or microwave running, and bam! The cash back is instantly awarded to you through your SmartyPig account. It’s as easy as that!

Ready to repair? Login to your SmartyPig account and click “Cash Back Offers” for more details.

How to Earn

Login to your SmartyPig account and click “Cash Back Offers” to earn 10% Cash Back at Sears PartsDirect^TM stores, when you call 1-888-405-8942, or shop online through the SmartyPig Cash Back Offers page.

Offer Details

Offer expires 04/13/2012. Offers are subject to change. Cash back is earned based on the net price of eligible goods and services purchased, excluding tax, shipping and handling or any special services. Cash back applies to qualifying purchases using your SmartyPig Cash Rewards Card on the SmartyPig Cash Rewards website only. This offer cannot be combined with any other offer, coupon code(s), or promotion, unless available through this site. It can take up to 30 days for cash back to appear.

To redeem in store, simply use your SmartyPig Cash Rewards Card. The cash back will automatically be redeemed to your SmartyPig account.

To redeem online, login to your SmartyPig Account. Users must click through the Sears Parts Direct link located on the list of available retailers on the SmartyPig website. The discount will only be applied by clicking through this link.

Say you need to do some spending while you save? Don’t we all! The SmartyPig Cash Rewards Card offers cash back at thousands of local, regional and national retailers. And today that list just got a little longer.

We’re excited to announce this new batch of retailers:

• Office Max
• Red Lobster
• Advanced Auto
• Outback
• Barnes and Noble
• Burlington Coat Factory
• IHOP
• Budget
• Avis

Keep checking back – we are updating these lists constantly!

Wishing you successful saving.

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

Yet again it is time for our monthly $100 Smartypig gift card contest on Facebook and Twitter! Today we asked, “In percentage, how much did home sales fall in June?” The answer according to The New York Times: 0.8%

To choose our winners we has a little frisbee golf fun in the sun:

Congratulations to our winners: Jason Sigal, @Christiereid, and Jennifor Work!