As the economy continues to hopefully stabilize, it's critical that we do not fall back on old habits - spend more than we earn, abuse plastic, etc. Researching and reading up on websites and tools for your best options are a ticket to financial success. Following personal finance bloggers helps to establish a strong understanding of your own personal finance interests and needs. Blogs like The Simple Dollar and Wise Bread share insight and tips for creating fiscal fitness. They also let you know that primarily many of us are in the same boat. The times have been scary, yes. And the damage has been fierce. But we at SmartyPig share in the belief that with a renewed interest in saving, and an overall attitude adjustment toward money, there is light at the end of the tunnel.

These experts implore their readers to create a plan and stick to it. SmartyPig was built on this exact way of thinking. We offer a competitive APY, the option to make your goal public so friends and family can help and cash boosts from top retailers to help you get the most money for your money. And from beginning to end the process could not be simpler for people who want to crate a plan and stick to it.

We have even added the latest and greatest in Web 2.0 technology and created partnerships with terrifically innovative companies to help you even more. By using SmartyPig's Visualizer, you can see how much you've saved and your total progress. To contemplate the bigger picture of your finances and how SmartyPig positively affects them, we offer integration with sites like Mint, Thrive and Wesabe.

Your personal finances are a journey. And there is a lot of help available out there to make it a more pleasant one. SmartyPig is just a small part of it. But we feel strongly that if you implement the idea of saving up first, of owning what you have, that getting from here to there will be a lot easier and more rewarding. Good luck with your goals!

We have received a significant number of requests from our customers indicating they want to be able to upload/integrate their SmartyPig account into their preferred financial money management site. Well, starting today you can! SmartyPig now integrates with sites like Mint, Wesabe, Yodlee, Buxfer, Thrive, MoneyStrands and Microsoft Money. Geezeo and Rudder are coming soon.

There were two ways we could have integrated with these online money management sites. One would be to allow these sites to "screen scrape" - a technique in which a computer program extracts data from the display output of a Web page. The key element that distinguishes screen scraping is that the output being scraped was intended for display to an end-user, rather than as input to another program.

The other method would be for us to invest in an OFX (Open Financial Exchange) solution, a unified specification for the electronic exchange of financial data between financial institutions, businesses and consumers via the web. With more than 5,500 financial institutions using OFX, the specification is the most widely adopted open standard for the exchange of financial information between consumers and financial services providers.

We chose to invest in an OFX solution with one of the industry leaders in OFX technology, Access Softek out of Berkley, California.

At SmartyPig we recognize how important it is to securely manage your finances, set goals and help change the mindset of "buy now, pay later." And being able to aggregate all your accounts in one place is a critical step in taking control of your finances.

Did we miss integrating with your money management site? If so, please let us know!

Mike Ferrari, co-founder

We've also added a new "Features" page in the "About" section that will highlight new features as we roll them out in the future.

And lastly, many of you have suggested it would be nice to see when your next monthly contribution will be initiated. You can now locate this information in the goals detail section of your account.

In 1st quarter of 2009, we will be rolling out a new mobile application and we wanted to give you a sneak peek so here you go! And yes, very soon your SmartyPig account will integrate with sites like Mint, Geezeo, Wesabe, Rudder, Yodlee and more...

Thank you to everyone for making 2008 a terrific year at SmartyPig. We are looking forward to 2009 and with your help, suggestions and feedback, we will continue to improve upon what we believe is the simplest and most rewarding way to save.