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The SmartyPig Blog
December 23, 2009 • Posted by Macaire O'BrienSmartyPig Mobile Web Site Launched!
At SmartyPig, if there is one thing we try to over deliver on each and every day, it’s listening and reacting quickly to our customers’ feedback and suggestions. Not a day goes by where we don’t discuss new and exciting suggestions from SmartyPig users. So when we told folks we were in the process of developing a mobile site, they were quick to suggest that we focus not only on the iPhone and iPod Touch but other mobile devices as well, such as Android G1 and the upcoming Palm Pre. So rather than develop a specific app for one mobile device, we set out to develop a mobile Web site that would try and retain the unique iPhone look and feel and deliver that to as many of the newer mobile devices as possible. And don’t worry, for those phones that don’t support more advanced mobile web browsers, the site will work just fine. It just might not be as pretty as the images below.
The SmartyPig mobile site can be found at m.smartypig.com.au. It provides a secure and easy way to quickly access your account information on the go.
View Your Goals
Saving money with SmartyPig is easy. But we all need encouragement now and again. With SmartyPig’s new mobile site, you can quickly access and view the status of your goals and review your past transactions.
Add Money
So you have a couple goals setup, and you are diligently contributing to that goal each month. But what if you feel like you can actually add a bit more to a goal and you are nowhere near your computer. No worries. Our new mobile site makes adding additional funds to your goals quick and easy.
Friends
Sometimes it’s fun to see what your friends are saving for. It gives you motivation to continue on the saving path. Our mobile site allows you to view your friends on SmartyPig, quickly see what they are saving for, and view the progress they have made.
Security
At SmartyPig we take security very seriously. The SmartyPig mobile site utilizes VeriSign® SSL 256-bit encryption, is certified daily to pass the McAfee® SECURE Security Scan, and has undergone comprehensive security auditing and testing by Primeon, a leader in enterprise-wide application security. Primeon works with 50 of the largest financial services enterprises in the United States.
And a big shout out to Brian Fling at pinch/zoom who helped us with the mobile site. He’s one wickedly talented mobile Web designer and developer.
We look forward to building additional features into the mobile site. And as always, we welcome your feedback and suggestions.
Mike Ferrari, co-founder
Upsize Your Life
You’ve got to love a contest, especially when we Aussies emerge victorious. We may not be the biggest country, with the largest population but we can still pull our weight when required. Granted, we may not win the most medals in the Olympics (what was that about an Olympic cash funding crisis?), and we came oh so close to pulling off our first Rugby Grand Slam in 25 years (yet missed it… by that much). But don’t despair, there is still reason to celebrate. We, fellow Australians, are now the proud owners of a very prestigious record indeed. Yes, grab your glass of bubbles and raise it to your mortgaged-through-the-roof because Australians officially have the world’s largest houses. So we say thank you to everyone who’s ever built a McMansion – because of your determination to “supersize”, collectively as a nation, we’re all wearing the crown. Brilliant.
So what’s it all mean? Well we’re outdoing our British cousins by the tune of three to one. Yes, they may have the Ashes, but when it comes to the size of our properties, Australian houses win hands down, and we’ve got three times the space to prove it. We must also send our sincere apologies to all those disappointed folk in the good old US of A. Despite the fact that you are, without doubt, the traditional owners (and origin) of everything big (well, apart from the Pineapple, Banana, Prawn and so on), this mantle is now ours.
Of course, the research does go onto to say that with our propensity to supersize, we’re also accommodating more people. It’s apparently got something to do with the fact that kids just aren’t leaving home anymore (well, who can afford to rent?) and our desire to share accommodation. So for the first time in 100 years, the number of people in each household has also risen, from 2.51 to 2.56. Maybe there is a down-side to the up-size.
Which leads us to the all important question: if we’ve got our hearts set on owning our very own 214 square metre ‘castle’, how are we going to get there, especially with interest rates on the rise again? Well unless you’re planning to win Tattslotto or inherit a small fortune, there’s really only one way: determine your goal, set yourself a budget and be absolutely dedicated to the cause. It won’t be easy, especially with all the financial temptations and outlays of Christmas and those luscious Boxing Day sales already on the doorstep, but hey, sometimes you really have to work hard to get what you want and deserve.
‘Til next time
Team SmartyPig
Christmas Giftcard Giveaway – The Results Are In!
*Phew* – who can believe it’s been a year since we launched in Australia? Anyway, with Christmas and our first (Australian) birthday, we thought it a good time to give away a bonus to all our giftcard giveaway players, so this month the first person drawn has won a whopping $500 giftcard. The two “runners up” have won a $100 giftcard each.
This month, Daredevil Rob is BACK by popular demand! So, without further ado, here’s the video for this month’s draw:
Are you a winner? If so – please send us your name and mailing address via DM or using the comments below (we won’t publish them, obviously) so we can get your card in the post. We mail them via express post, so you should have them in your hot little hands before the big day next week!
‘Til next time, have a terrific Christmas and an even spectacular new year. Good luck with those new year’s resolutions!
Team SmartyPig
Solving The Last-Minute-Gift Dilemmas
How’s the shopping going? Run out of ideas, patience or money yet? (Oh, all three? Perhaps it’s time for a cup of tea and a lie down…). If you’re about to step into the parallel universe of last minute Christmas shopping be warned – it’s a nightmare out there! So, in the interests of saving your sanity and avoiding the inevitable Christmas melt-down, we’ve put our thinking caps on and done a little research for you. Just call it our path to Christmas salvation and it’s designed to help you navigate your way through the festive season and provide some tips to help solve some of your last minute gift dilemmas. Best part is you don’t have to actually get out of your chair to do it.
Ok, so there are less than two weeks ’til the big day. Got your list? Excellent. A budget? Splendid. An overwhelming desire to get this over and done with as quickly and painlessly as possible? But of course. So here goes:
- Give an experience that will last a lifetime. Check out www.freemanx.com.au or www.redballoon.com.au for a great range of ideas (at any budget) from cooking classes to V8 racing, skydiving, parachuting or swimming with the sharks. Whatever takes you (and your loved one’s) fancy. Choose to receive your voucher via email for printing and voila! You have an instant gift. (Didn’t even have to raise a sweat for that one or wear your comfy shoes!)
- What about a magazine subscription? Now this is a gift that keeps giving for 12 months! Just visit www.isubscribe.com.au, search for the magazine title you want, subscribe and let the Postie do the rest.
- Interested in changing a life instead? (and we’re not talking about clothes, shoes or the latest gadgets here!). World Vision offers an entire catalogue of smiles, each designed to share the love and bring a smile to you, your gift recipient and to someone, somewhere in an undeveloped country.
- Naturally, we’ve saved the best until last. What about a gift that will kick-start someone else’s goal or dream or life-long wish? We like to call it the Gift of Savings and all you need to do is purchase a SmartyPig Gift Card. If only everything in life was so easy. (And don’t forget, our monthly Twitter (www.twitter.com/smartypigau) giftcard giveaway is on at 3pm AEDST tomorrow – the 18th of December and we have a Christmas bonus to give away!).
You know, you don’t have to run yourself ragged doing the December Dash this Christmas. There is an alternative… just let your fingers take care of it for you.
Until next time
Team SmartyPig.
A Compound Christmas Tale
In the true spirit of the festive season and all things Christmas we’re here today to talk about presents. Not just any presents, but those you get from your “true love”. You know the ones we mean. It’s the drummers, pipers, lords, ladies, maids, swans, geese, golden rings, calling birds, French hens, turtle doves and that ubiquitous partridge in that pear tree. (Goodness knows what you’d do with that lot but hey, who are we to knock back a gift?!) Anyway, there is a point to this story and we will get to it shortly. But first, here’s a little Christmas quiz, so grab your calculator and listen in. If you were to receive all the presents of the Twelve Days of Christmas, how many would you receive in total? Would it be:
(a) 78
(b) 225
(c) 364
Had enough time? Well pens down, ladies and gentlemen, let’s reveal the secret. The answer is actually 364. Now, if you’re like a lot of us, you may have answered (a) because on first look, you’d just add the numbers. So 12+11+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 78. Fair enough. However (and it’s a big however), that doesn’t take into consideration a very important factor. You see, over the 12 days of Christmas, your presents are actually compounding resulting in a total number of 364. So on Day 2 you’re actually receiving three presents (one partridge and two turtle doves); which is added to your haul for Day 3 (six presents consisting of one partridge, two turtle doves and three French hens) which is added to Day 4 and so on until you get to the 12th day and a whopping total of 364 presents. So here’s a thought: just imagine if it wasn’t medieval (and completely un-PC) gifts compounding but interest on your savings. Now that’s got your attention, hasn’t it?
A few months back, we took a closer look at how interest compounds. In case you’ve forgotten, compound interest is something our friends at Wikipedia say is, “…the concept of adding accumulated interest back to the principal, so that interest is earned on interest from that moment on. The act of declaring interest to the principal is called compounding (i.e., interest is compounded).” To help you find out how much you can actually earn, check out one of the compound interest calculators online (such as the Australian Securities and Investments Commission calculator). All you need to do is key in how much money you have to start, how much you hope to save per year and over how long, and add in the interest rate (for example, SmartyPig‘s current interest rate is 4.5% per annum). Voila! Just look at the results! Seems like there’s a lot to be said for this compounding caper.
Which brings us back to our Christmas Carol and that ever-growing pile of pressies. Just to really put the theory to the test, we thought we’d share what would happen if the tradition was actually the 30 Days of Christmas. After just a month, the total number of gifts received would be 4960. Stretch your gift-gathering period out to 100 days and you’d better clear out the spare room because there will be 171 700 presents on the way. Now, while we’re not sure about all those partridges in pear trees, we’re quite happy with the golden rings.
So next time you’ve gathered around the Christmas tree or singing along to Carols by Candlelight, casually throw out your new piece of festive trivia and teach everyone a thing or two about compounding in the process!
Until next time,
Team SmartyPig.
PS – don’t forget, this Friday (the 18th of December) is our monthly giftcard giveaway… AND, we’ve got a wee Christmas bonus in store! Make sure you’re following us (www.twitter.com/smartypigau) and have access to Twitter at 3pm AEDST.
Putting our money where our Pig is…
How time flies when you’re having fun. All year we’ve been gently pushing and prodding our followers about the benefits of setting up a SmartyPig goal and realising dreams, whatever they may be. We’ve told you about the great bonuses that can be reaped with just a little commitment, a smidge of perseverance, and the determination to see things through. All well and good, you may say, but where’s the proof? Do we practice what we preach and put all this good advice into action? Well, we’re here today to lay our cards on the table and really give you the facts: SmartyPig really works. Seriously. We like to call it putting our money where our Pig is.
So we’ve called on a member of the SmartyPig team – our guinea pig AC – to take us through the process. Back in August, she set herself a goal to save $1000 by Christmas. Called the “Give the Plastic a Rest Fund” it was designed to put the kybosh on the Christmas credit frenzy in preference to good old-fashion cash. After making an initial deposit of $200, SmartyPig calculated AC needed to save $158 per month to reach the all important goal of $1000, just in time for Christmas. Granted, it’s an aggressive timeframe and it would definitely take some sacrifice to find $158 every month, but the offer was just too good to ignore. Every month AC received monthly updates on how her savings were tracking and on reaching her goal in December, she would be guaranteed $1000 to fund Christmas!
Sounds good so far doesn’t it? But this is the point where it became really interesting for AC. Once she reached her goal there was the added bonus of interest of 4.25%. But that’s not where it ended, because you see, if you’re really clever and know exactly how you want to spend your cash, there is another way to claim your savings back and make your money work even harder. And all you need to do is just choose to redeem your goal as a gift card from one of our top retailers and you’ll automatically receive an amazing value boost of up to 8% (yes, that is in addition to your interest). So that’s exactly what AC did, she selected to take her money out in the form of a gift card instead of cash. The surprising result was a $1050 gift card to spend at a national retailer, plus an additional $40 paid back to her transaction account. In total, her $1000 savings goal turned into $1090. Not a bad effort for five months of savings! So AC now has her Christmas sorted and will start the New Year without a hangover of the credit card variety. You can’t ask for much more than that.
As to the moral of this story? Our guinea pig was indeed the Smartypig when it came to Christmas planning.
Until next time
Team SmartyPig
PS: and just in case you were wondering, AC is hooked! Another savings goal has already been established for Christmas 2010, plus a seperate holiday goal for a mid-year break!
