Save like a pig!

Today's topic is savings: You can save like a pig with an online savings account from SmartyPig. I LOVE SmartyPig because I can save a little each month for an end goal. My first goal I started saving for was Christmas. Like Dave Ramsey says, you know Christmas is coming so don't wait until December to say "man, I wish I had money to shop for Christmas". HELLO! It comes the same day, every single year.

Don't celebrate Christmas? That's okay. What about vacation?

A down payment for a vehicle?

New furniture?

The best way you'll save hundreds (maybe even thousands) of dollars a year is to pay cash for everything. Now, I can't say I am the best at this. SHAME ON ME! But, I am getting better. For instance, we're saving for a trip to Disney World in June 2012! How exciting!!

Here's an example for my Christmas account:

I calculate how much I want to spend on each person for Christmas. This is generally somewhere between $20-50, depending on how much I love them. Just kidding. Keep in mind, my older boys have 4 sets of grandparents, endless amounts of great-grandparents, 2 moms, 2 dads, and a plethora of aunts and uncles, so they get a maximum of $250 each spent on them by us.

I take my total and divide it by 11 (I start in January and like to be done saving by Thanksgiving for awesome Black Friday deals).

$1100 (for grins)/11 = $100/month. I go to SmartyPig and create a new goal. Every month, on the date I choose, $100 comes out of my checking account. Then, when Black Friday hits, I have the money to do my shopping. A lot of times, this cuts my Christmas bill significantly and I put whatever is left in savings.

Let me know if you decide to create a SmartyPig goal and for what you're saving!

Happy SmartyPig-ing!