Smarty Pig is a new idea, started by two individuals, Mike Ferrari and Jon Gaskell. The basic gist of it is this: you want a new ipod, a Hawaiian vacation, a new bike, etc. First you start a profile on the site, then you establish your savings account and goal, and figure out your monthly contribution. Then you have the option to share with friends and family your savings goal so they can track your progress and make donations if they would like. Start saving, and before long you’ll meet your goal! There are no fees, you earn interest on your balances, and it’s FDIC insured, just like a high yield online savings account. What a great idea! The minimum savings goal is $250, and the maximum is $100,000. To get the account started, there has to be a deposit of $25 made to the account. Interest accrues daily but is posted quarterly. Once you reach your savings goal, you can request a Smarty Pig MasterCard® Debit Card which has the funds loaded on that you’ve saved up. You can [...]

In today’s world where 43% of marriages end in divorce, it is important to make sure you’ve got your finances in order before you tie the knot. The number one cause for divorce today? Money. Before you get married, there are a few steps you can take to make sure you are protecting yourself and your future spouse. Consider having an attorney create a pre nuptial agreement. A pre-nuptial agreement is a contract entered into by the two people getting married. The main purpose of the pre-nuptial agreement is the division of the assets in the event of a divorce. Call it marriage insurance if you will. Try handling a joint account together before you get married. Before my husband and I got married, we kept our separate checking accounts, but started a joint account for bills. At the time, we were making almost the same amount of money, so we’d each contribute the same amount to cover the bills. When rent or the electric bill came due, we would write the check out of that account. It was a [...]

It’s no secret that since the economy took the plunge banks have started tightening up on their lending standards. Many people are excited about lower rates, but just exactly how many of them can get approved for a loan in this economy? In February of this year, many banks were still lending at 100% loan to value (LTV). Basically what this means is that they would allow you to tap into more equity in your home, but it would cost you a higher rate than if you went with the standard 89.9% LTV. For example, if your house is worth $300,000, and you don’t owe anything on it, before you would have the possibility of a Home Equity Line of Credit or a Home Equity Loan of $300,000 if you wanted to go 100% LTV. Today, the most you could borrow out of your home’s equity would be $269,700, which is 89.9% of $300,000. The reason banks are doing this? To cover their assets. I know many banks went crazy lending money to anyone who wanted it about 1-2 years [...]