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Smarty Pig Bank Review

  August 6

This post may contain affiliate links.

Just a few short months ago, I told you about my initial experience with Smarty Pig, an online bank that encourages you to save for specific items. Well, I’m really excited to write in and update you on the process because I just finished my first goal!

But wait, let’s back up so I can tell you how I came across this cute little pig. For the longest time, I looked for a savings account that would let me separate my funds into different piles. I’m not the type of person that can have a lump sum in savings and know where it should be allocated. By signing up with Smarty Pig, I was able to clearly define my goals. I knew that if I took something out of my savings account, I was lengthening the time it took for me to reach my goal. This actually encouraged me to keep all of my funds safely tucked away in there and led me to save for a new Macbook Pro computer in only 4 months. I read many reviews of Smarty Pig before signing up and was encouraged to give it a try, especially because the nature of their site makes saving fun and even allows you to share your goals on social media.

Here is what my account looked like right when I started saving:

 

 

And then, a few months later, I was cutting up with Larree, the Apple expert who sold me my computer. (For the record, she is making an “M” for Mac, and I am making an “S” for Smarty Pig….because we’re awesome like that.)

Smarty Pig and Budget Blonde

Of course, as I am writing this only 4 months after I opened my first Smarty Pig goal, I can’t help but think, “Why didn’t I do this before?” It always seemed so difficult to save for big ticket items before I bought them, but after this experience, I am never going back. Plus, my savings earns 1% while it sits in my account, and I was not charged any fees.

Ultimately, I can’t even tell you how good it felt to go into the Mac store and walk out of there with a computer, without worrying about how I was going to pay for it or if it was going to max out my card. And, I was excited because I saved almost $50 by purchasing it on tax free day and then saved another $100 for being an educator.

Still, there are more goals to save for and more side gigs to complete to make them happen! I can’t wait to share the next one with you, although it might be a while!

How do you save for your big ticket items? Does anyone else use a high yield savings account?

 

*note: This post was sponsored by Smarty Pig in order to support this blog. All opinions are 100% my own.

15 responses to “Smarty Pig Bank Review

  1. Congrats on saving up for your MacBook. That’s such a smart way to splurge without feeling guilty. I always incourage people to set up such account to avoid the guilty feeling. I usually call them my “splurge accounts.”

    Enjoy it!

    And good luck with saving up for your trip to Europe!

  2. This is awesome and congrats to you for saving up and finishing your goal! I’ve heard some great things about SmartyPig but I’m so in love with ImpulseSave I don’t think I can rip myself away to try something new. They do offer a really cool service, and it’s awesome to see people like you saving up and paying cash for things you really want. More debt free power to us!

  3. Sounds like a great program to help people get focused on saving for specific items. I have a “Savings Buckets” category in my budget and actually created a whole spreadsheet to track my different savings goals. This seem a bit easier, though 🙂

  4. That sounds like a fun way to save. This is a great sponsored post because you actually have some history with the product. I usually just save the boring way – money in an envelope, tracking the money in a spreadsheet, etc.

    What does Smarty Pig pay for interest? I would love it if banks got back up to 3% again. Ally was at 5% when I first joined and it was great! Those were the days ….

    1. You can deposit it back into your checking account or you can get a gift card to a place you like and they add a percentage on to it which would have been awesome if they had a MAC gift card. 🙂

  5. My boyfriend uses Smarty Pig and loves it! I’m still using multiple ING savings accounts, but may make the switch. I didn’t know that you could get gift cards…I definitely need to look into that.

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