SmartyPig

You want a new laptop, fancy road bike, maybe even an engagement ring. You know you don’t have the scratch to pay for it, so you pull out plan B, the credit card. Queue frightening music. But, wait… Why not ask about, ummm, Layaway? This debt-free concept is making a huge comeback and with good reason. Just because you can’t afford that expensive item today and don’t want to use your credit card, doesn’t mean it’s out of reach. It just requires careful money management and a little planning.

Jessica Dickler from CNNMoney.com writes: “There are no interest charges or fees for the service, and the number of payments can be customized.”  Remind you of anything? You eye a new item that exceeds your current cash position, you start putting money towards the item with intentions to pay in entirety, and your credit card stays put safely in your wallet? You got it! SmartyPig! Only difference is that while stores are moving toward having you save up for the things they sell while they hold your money, at SmartyPig you get paid a high interest rate while you save and cash back of up to 14% when you go to shop.

SmartyPig – Simple, Smart… Layaway.

Wishing you successful saving!

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

Are you one-half of one of the millions of American couples who have differing financial values? I know I am. It’s been said that most couples have one “spender” and one “saver.” And while I won’t go so far as to say that my husband and I are polar opposites, we do have differing ideas of where and how money should be spent and saved. It wasn’t until we learned our family was growing that we buckled down and got on the same page.

Liz Pulliam Weston over at MSN.com recently put together an informative take on how to “Rein in the Spendthrift Spouse,” that advises couples on how to approach those difficult financial conversations they eventually have to have. First and foremost, ditch the negativity and attitude. Yes, my husband has chosen to spend, in my opinion, an obscene amount of money on football tickets this year. But I’ll take a deep breath, talk it out, and try to help grow our financial relationship. It’s important to him, so it should be important to me… But it’s still obscene. Second bit of advice: Set goals. He and I might not agree on whether 50-yard line tickets are necessary or whether I really need another pair of shoes, but we do agree on our child’s college fund contributions and our annual vacation destination. What do they all have in common? They are goals we can set and smartly save for.

Using SmartyPig’s goal-oriented savings plan has made these types of purchases simple and smart. Not only can we watch ourselves get closer to our goals by contributions and competitive interest earned using SmartyPig, our family members can also contribute. And when it comes time to book our trip, we also have to option to put our money on a Travelocity or American Airlines gift card and receive cash back to help get more value out of our vacation dollar.

So next time you and your partner sit down to discuss your financial goals, keep these tips (and the many more Pulliam Weston provides) and the benefits of SmartyPig in mind to keep you and your other half in financial agreement. Or at least heading in that direction!

Best of luck with your goals!

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