SmartyPig

I learned about this new banking website via a student paper. A girl in my first period class wrote her current event article about this 'SmartyPig' site. I had never heard of it and it sounded cool so I had to check it out. And it really went well with what we were discussing. We'd just finished looking at the vicious cycle of credit card debt, and how difficult it is to get out of it. It really is pretty cool, allowing you to set up a monthly deduction from your checking account as well as allowing other people to put money into your account. For people whose employer can't or won't split their direct deposit into two accounts, it's a great way to automatically put part of each paycheck directly into savings. (Pay yourself first, as they say!) SmartyPig's accounts are FDIC insured and earn 4.3%, which is better than any savings account at regular banks. On top of that, it is based in Iowa! You can check out their blog to hear of some unique uses of their accounts, like moms using them for allowances! I can't do it justice here, so just watch the short demo video.