SmartyPig Offers Smart Goal Social Savings

March 28th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

SmartyPig is the 21st Century version of the piggy bank, only this pig earns you 4.30% APY. The company allows you to set-up a goal-oriented savings account online, and then invite friends and family members to contribute toward a specific savings goal.

The founders of SmartyPig said they were inspired to start the company when they first began a 529 College Savings Plan for their children. Apparently, they were also saving for a vacation, and they got tired of stuffing the money inside the mattress (not really).

They wanted to earn some short-term interest, as well as give the grandparents a chance to chip in like they were for the 529 account. To their surprise, they couldn’t find a financial institution that had this type of goal-oriented, short-term savings option to meet their needs, so they decided to create a company of their own and offer this service. Cool, huh!?!

Basically, the way the program works is that you set-up an account, pick a savings category, set a goal and start inviting friends or family members to contribute. All accounts are FDIC insured.

Once you achieve your savings goal, then you have the option of cashing out to a SmartyPig MasterCard, or you can choose from a variety of retail gift cards. Retail partners include: Amazon, BabiesRUs, Best Buy, Cabela’s, Circuit City, Home Depot, Marriot, Royal Caribbean, Zales and more.

The only downside I see to this program is that you can’t just cash out - it has to be to a MasterCard or Gift Card, which shouldn’t be a problem in most cases. If it is, then don’t use this service for goals that need cash. If you’re planning far enough in advance, they you could buy a 6 month CD, or you might have a vacation savings plan option to utilize at work.

Whether it’s a vacation or new bike for Timmy, SmartyPig looks to be a cool way to save money for goal-oriented parents. You can engage friends and family members to contribute, and you can even search out goals by your friends to give back a little after you hit the lottery.

Now, if only they had a way for me to deposit my spare change through the computer monitor…

Related Posts:

5 Tips to Saving Extra Spending Money for Summer Vacation
Favorite Places and Resources (Upromise - 529 savings option)

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    There Are 3 Responses So Far. »

    1. Comment by Roth Family Adventures on 28 March 2008:

      SmartyPig sounds like a great idea. We have a high yield savings account through American Express that’s great, but it doesn’t have an option for others to contribute. We’ll have to check this one out.

    2. Comment by Mr Lady on 28 March 2008:

      That does sound pretty cool. I’ll have to check it out!

    3. Comment by Jeremy Neal on 29 March 2008:

      Jason - yeah, we have several types of savings plan as well, but none that are goal-specific like this.

      ML - I read an article about this in Mashable and went immediately there to check it out. I’m glad that I did.

      I e-mailed the company, and one of the founders sent me a message back within hours, so it seems like their customer service is good too.

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