smartypigSaving up for the visits, long distance phone calls and gifts that help us to survive the distance can be really expensive. With so much cash needed just to maintain our relationships, it can be really frustrating not having the cash that you need when you need it. Fortunately for us, there’s services that can help us to reach our long distance cash goals.

Do you need a way to keep track of your LDR savings? What if you could set up a way to fund your LDR for free while getting donations from friends, family and other supportive people? If you would like to try an innovative new way to reach your LDR goals then we’d like to introduce a cool tool called smarty pig to you!

So what is SmartyPig?

Smartypig.com is a site that allows you to save money and keep track of your progress in percentages. Basically, as the name implies, its an online piggy-bank! Well, a piggy-bank with a ton of features that take this service way beyond just a piggy-bank. And best of all, it’s totally free to use!

How SmartyPig works

After you make a SmartyPig.com account, you can set up direct deposit to your checking or savings account which will allow you to easily deposit money into your Smartypig account at your leisure. You’re required to submit a minimum of $25 to your fund to get started. From there it takes two days for contributions to transfer to your Smartypig.com account. There is also $10 minimum on deposits, but they can be made at any time.https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5781/23021355520_322b424459_o.png

Why should I use Smartypig.com?

  • Smartypig.com is  free and FDIC insured.
  • There is a 0.75% APY.  Your account with them garners interest with time in the same way that a savings account would.  So you can watch your money grow While you save for your LDR.
  • You can keep track of your progress in percentages and share your progress with your friends family, and followers.
  • SmartyPig.com allows you to accept donations from others on popular social Networking sites like FaceBook and Twitter.

Pretty neat, huh! We’d definitely recommend this service to a couple who would like to seriously save for their goal to close the distance or for someone who just needs a more concrete piggy-bank options to encourage them to save more consistently!

Do you know of any other online Piggy banks and money saving services? Share them with us in the comments below!