SmartyPig is a great tool for savings. It’s a bank account, but different. I’ve been using it for 6 months now and it’s helped my finances quite a bit and let me buy a few toys without feeling bad about it. It works pretty simply.

You create a FDIC Insured Bank Account with SmartyPig.

You create a savings goal with a date, ex. $400 for a new iPhone in July 2010

SmartyPig determines your required monthy contribution (-2% interest you make on the account.)

SmartPig will automatically withdraw that amount from your bank account every month until your goal is met.

Then you can:

• Transfer the money to your bank account to use
• Receive a debit card for the account from smarty pig
• Receive a gift card for the Amount with a chosen vendor. Each vendor adds a percentage to the account. ex. Amazon adds 4% to the total.

If something goes wrong and you need the money:

• You can cancel any automatic payment
• You can withdraw your funds from the account

You can also share savings goals through facebook or twitter, you can have others contribute to the account. This feature doesn’t really interest me and I don’t use it, however I could see running a charity drive through it or saving for a vacation or college with family … maybe. I still don’t like the idea of being too public with your money.

In all though, I love it. It’s like a Bank meets Layaway, and it’s way more responsible than a credit card.