After great success in the USA, a new saving program has launched in Australia- SmartyPig!
SmartyPig is all about setting saving goals and saving in a fun way. Like setting up a bank account, your SmartyPig account accrues 4.00% interest but goes one step further and calculates your monthly direct debit based on your goal amount and time frame.
I trialled the program last week with a $10 gift card and after a little initial hiccup verifying my identity (really never a bad thing when dealing with banking!) I was on my way choosing avatars, setting goals and experimenting with the social tools the site provides.
Your account tracks your progress by way of a little pig with percentage- just like a virtual piggy bank!, You can upload your photo as an avatar and share your goal with your friends and family.
As an incentive, upon reaching your target Smartypig also allows you to choose gift cards from retailers such as David Jones, JB Hi Fi, Freedom Furniture, Adairs and Myer.
If you’ve chosen to have a honeymoon fund for your gift registry, the public fund feature on SmartyPig makes it really easy for your guests to contribute in the one spot. Guests can purchase “The Gift of Savings” also known as a SmartyPig gift card which allows you to put it into your fund and if you’re ahead with your goal, reduce your own contributions.
Should you choose to make your goal public, friends can see what percentage you have saved and you’re able to embed a nifty little widget onto your Facebook, Blogger or even IGoogle (over 30 different sites to choose from!). Should your friends sign up for SmartyPig, you can track how they’re doing and help them along the way.
I’m $10 on my way to my new goal and I don’t have to think about it! Find out more about SmartyPig via their website.
SmartyPig have given Polka Dot Bride a $100 Smartypig gift card to give to one lucky reader! All you have to do is let me know in a comment on this entry your ultimate savings goal and you could be $100 closer to it!
Entrants must be residents of Australia aged 18 or older. Competition closes 5pm Australian Eastern Standard Time on the 15th of August 2009.
surprisingly, my ultimate savings goal isn’t my wedding!
i’ve love to be able to start saving for a holiday back to the UK to see my amazing internet friends. i’ve made one trip over and want to go back and see them again!!
My goal is to save for my honeymoon/1st year anniversary to Tuscany next June!
I’m currently saving for 3 things, but I would say the ultimate one is the down payment for my first house which is a massive goal so every little bit helps. Thanks
Thanks for the mention… and good luck to comp entrants! 🙂
My guy and I love to travel. We’ve been saving this year for a tropical cruise to celebrate our anniversary and next year we’re going to save for an Antarctic cruise. Neither of us can wait to start saving and buying the little bits and pieces we’ll need!
My fiance and I are saving for one awesome of a honeymoon, hopefully Hawaii!
To pay off my car in order to be debt free, it’s been a while and I am soooo close!
Wow what a great idea! We were thinking of having a honeymoon registry, but going through an agent and paying for the service is yet another cost. Our first wish would be to go to Hawaii, but since I’m still a student and we’re paying off our first home already, we have now scrapped that idea and are thinking of Vanuatu – it sounds so relaxing!
btw – closing date 15th July? Typo?
Hi Melly- yes closing date 15th August!
I will definitely check out that website! We have our honeymoon registry through Honeyfund, but if we don’t meet our lofty goal I think SmartyPig would be a great way to make up the difference! (We’re hoping for 4-5k for a trip to Iceland next year!)
This is an awesome idea! We’re currently saving for our official honeymoon. We paid for much of wedding expenses ourselves and have had to postpone the honeymoon until next year. We’re planning a trip to Iceland. Hot springs, wild horse roundups, the northern lights and partying all through the night since the sun never sets (at sometimes of the year.) I’m so excited to go on the trip of a life time.
@ Dana – Looks like Iceland is a popular destination 🙂
This is such a great idea! I’m getting married next year and my baby sister will be living in the UK (the man of her dreams unfortunatey happens to be English). I would love to be able to fly her out for my wedding because she won’t be able to afford it and I can’t even imagine getting married without her!
I am ultimately saving for laser hair removal on my armpits. Not nearly as glamorous as some of the other comments, but life would be boring if we all had the same goals!
My ultimate savings goal is to finish paying off student loans and contribute increasingly more money to my first house fund.
Our parents are both quite generous in planning our wedding. We really should count our blessings. But, since we also just bought a our love nest, we need to save up for home improvement. Right now our ultimate savings goal is upgrading the fuse box to circuit breakers. Welcome to the 21st century house.
I’m saving up for the look on my children’s faces when we arrive at Disneyland for our first ever overseas family holiday. Priceless!
This is an awesome giveaway! I’m saving to get a yummy lens for my camera. I didn’t know they were so expensive! The $100 would really help with that!
Woohoo! SmartyPig SmartyPants!
We’re currently saving for a gorgeous big sun deck for the front of our 1950’s weatherboard home. We’re saving as hard as we can and an extra $100 would REALLY give it a kick.
My ultimate savings goal is to save for my future children. What is more precious than being able to afford a great life for my kids.
My fiance and I are saving up for a down payment to buy our own home to start our lives together in 🙂
I have a secret, strong belief,
That gifts are best when not received,
And so the reason I take part,
In this comp by Piggysmart,
Is on behalf of my dear sister,
Bride whose budget is too bitter,
To allow for any excess,
(Now two hundred from dream dress)
And if I win I’ll give her all,
And match it too – she’ll have a ball!
I’ve been stuck in the same dead-end job of bookkeeping for a small company for five years. I’d put the prize towards my distance learning fund – when I earn my degree, I can move on and move out! XX
I love the idea of a SmartyPig account which tells me how much to save to achieve my goals within my timeframe! It’s fantastic that my family and friends will be able to see exactly how I’m tracking – and provide motivation when I’m tempted to spend on something else… My current ultimate savings goal is a digital SLR camera. One of my sisters is getting married soon, and another sister is going to have her first baby. There will definitely be a million precious moments to photograph so I can keep those memories for a lifetime!
I put my partner on to this for our honeymoon registry. He has already signed up and we are on our way to saving for the honeymoon. Fingers crossed our guests find it as easy as we have!
After 10years, dog,car,kids(2) and house in that order, my fiance and I are getting married and would love to surprise her with a lovely small gift to show what is in my heart that she has always had.
I found out on christmas morning that my mum had been hit by a car and killed she was only 46,although me and hubby were going through a tough time already in our relationship he never left my side and was like my rock. I couldnt have got through it without him. I would love to buy him a ps3 and a big screen tv as he has wanted one for many years just to say thanks for being my one and only
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