The Bottom Line

Remember when we were little and had those plastic or ceramic piggy banks? Remember how we were told to save the random change and dollars received for doing chores or being good in that inanimate little swine? What happened to the good old days of piggy banks, where we saved up to buy that new toy?

Piggy banks now exist for adults, AKA “big kids.” Hello, smartypig.com.

The premise is pretty simple: save a little bit here and there, via predated and predetermined monthly bank account deductions, towards a fund designated for the purchase of some good or service, such as a Wii or next year’s spring break trip. Sounds familiar, right?

Well, here’s where the “big kid” aspect kicks in: the piggy bank account pays interest at 3.05% APY. If you remember my kvetching on how interest rates suck right now, you’ll know that 3.05 is pretty impressive. AND it’s FDIC insured, so your money’s safe even if the economy tanks further.

The other cool thing about smartypig is that once you’ve reached the goal amount you set, the amount plus interest paid out can be given back to you in three ways:

1. MasterCard debit gift card
2. transferred directly back into your savings or checking account
3. gift card to one of smartypig’s many retail partners

I’d recommend the last option because, if you’re buying a good, you can probably get it on Amazon, which sells everything and whose certificates are available as a form of redemption. Additionally with the gift card option, you can also receive even more interest on the amount you’ve saved, up to 6% extra interest just by choosing the gift card option. That’s like free money, people!

So, what are you waiting for? Start saving for something while these interest rates last.

Angela Hu Uncategorized interest rates, saving