I can’t be the only one who always thinks this is an ING commercial until the last ten seconds (and then feels a little disappointed).

In my opinion, ING has done a much better job of tying their brand to the color orange than AT&T has and they are now reaping the benefits of another company’s advertising dollars.

I know that whenever I see this commercial, I’m reminded to make a deposit into my ING IRA.

And for whatever it’s worth, I’m a Sprint customer.

ING or AT&T?

This week’s Thrifty Tip comes about from a purchase I made this weekend.

I know, I know. Not thrifty, but I like to think of it as an investment.

I collect Buddha statues, so when I was out shopping with my mom and sister (who were in Austin visiting from Chicago and New York) I couldn’t pass up a Buddha piggy bank from a junk store to add to my collection!

I think piggy banks are great for kids and adults. My husband and I have used a piggy bank since we got married and we cash out the change to use as our spending money on vacation every year.

I may even have two separate piggy banks; one for silver and one for pennies.

Here are my criteria for a piggy bank:

1. Big (to hold a lot of cash)
2. Cute (to hold my interest)
3. Cannot be opened without smashing (to keep me honest)

Do you have a piggy bank? What are your rules for

Have a Thrifty Tip? Join in Thrifty Tip Tuesday at I Am A Money Magnet!

Thrifty Tip – Piggy Banks

The opposite of MTV Cribs? The Anti Crib?

Either way, that house is adorable and we would buy it.

Is MTV Cribs still on television? Given the current state of the economy, do people still like to see celebrity indulgence? I don’t see it as fun and lighthearted when that lifestyle is so unattainable.

Are there any stats on how many celebrity cribs have been foreclosed on? Especially those featured on MTV Cribs?

Not that I would laugh at celebrity misfortune. Oh no.

Hahahaha.

Un-Broke: The Seth Green Cribs Edition

America Saves Week 2010 is next week (February 21-28) and First National Bank of Omaha (Member FDIC) is getting the word out with a few simple steps to saving more…

• Pay down debt by an extra $25 a month
• Set up an Emergency Account
• Set up a Medical Deductible Account
• Establish a Car Deductible Account
• Create a Vacation Account
• Save Tax Refunds
• Open an online savings account

FNBO also has a great Pay Yourself First calculator that asks a few simple spending questions and shows you how cutting back can add up to big savings. It’s mind boggling to think that cutting back on my daily half price Sonic Slushie habit could help me save over $16,000 over 20 years.

What are you doing to step up your savings?

This is not a sponsored post. I do not have an account with FNBO and am not endorsing their services – only their willingness to get the word out about America Saves Week.

America Saves Week

Congrats to the winners…Laura and Rose!

Our vision insurance covers new lenses every year but only covers new frames every other year. Needless to say, paying out of pocket for new frames isn’t in our budget.

Ficklets are fun eyeglass accessories that slip over the arm of glasses with a small rubberband to transform their look! They make glasses hip and cool so that kids aren’t so self conscious about wearing glasses – because lets face it, when you’re in 3rd grade, wearing glasses isn’t exactly the cool thing to do – but I think they are a great way for adults to prolong the life of their frames.

Ficklets add a hint of style that can be changed on a whim and cost a fraction of new frames. I added the silver petals to my glasses for an instant update!

And I have two sets of Ficklets for two lucky readers!

Main entry – that means you have to complete this entry to win!

• Visit Ficklets and tell me which Ficklet is your favorite.

Extra entries – you can complete any or all of these for extra entries!

• Subscribe to my blog by RSS feed or email subscription.
• Follow @CorrinRenee and @Ficklets on Twitter.
• Tweet the following:

Tired of your eyeglasses? Update your look with @Ficklets! http://brokeasaspoke.com/ficklets

REMEMBER to leave a separate comment for each entry!

The fine print… Entries will be accepted until midnight, Sunday, December 27th. One winner will be chosen at random and announced on Monday, December 28th. Winner will be contacted by email and/or Twitter and will have 48 hours to respond. Please use your real first name or web moniker and a valid email address when entering. I am not responsible for incorrect contact information. Prize will be shipped directly from sponsor. Good luck!

This is a sponsored giveaway. I received product samples in order to craft my review. Please read my site policy if you have any questions.

Update your look with Ficklets!

Congratulations to our winner…Katie!

Here are your random numbers:

15	

Timestamp: 2009-09-05 12:17:15 UTC

Growing up, my sister and I did not get an allowance. We were expected to complete chores as part of a contributing member of the household, and when we wanted something my parents were generous enough to give us cash.

Times are different and allowances are becoming the norm, but kids still need guidance. The Money Savvy Pig is an excellent way to teach kids how to manage their allowance and do more than just buy candy and comic books.

The Money Savvy Pig actually shows kids exactly how their birthday and baby sitting money is being divied up. The bank is divided into four chambers – save, spend, donate and invest – so that kids can begin making choices about how to allocate their money.

The Money Savvy Pig even comes with goal setting stickers so kids can tag their spend chamber with exactly what they are planning to buy and work to pay cash for their purchase. Excellent lesson for everyone!

The Money Savvy Pig is from Monday Savvy Generation where you can find all sorts of information on teaching kids and teens the value of a dollar. They have also been generous enough to offer one of my readers a Money Savvy Pig of their own! Here’s how to enter:

Leave a comment and let me know what you do to teach your kids the value of money? If you don’t have children, how did (or didn’t) your parents teach you the value of money?

As a bonus, there’s also a Twitter giveaway for a $25 Barns & Noble gift card and a complete Classroom Solution curriculum. Just follow @susanbeacham (the genius behind Money Savvy Generation) on Twitter and send a tweet using the hashtag #MoneySavvyPig.

You have until September 5th to enter. Good luck!

The fine print… Entries will be accepted until midnight, Friday, September 5th. One winner will be chosen at random and announced on Saturday, September 6th. Contest open to US residents. Winner will be contacted by email and/or Twitter and will have 48 hours to respond. Please use your real first name and a valid email address when entering. I am not responsible for incorrect contact information. Prize will be shipped directly from Money Savvy Generation. Good luck!

GIVEAWAY Money Savvy Piggy Bank

Personal savings increased to 6.9% in May – the highest it’s been in 15 years – after hovering around 0% in 2008. The increase is being credited to the whopping $10 extra that many are seeing in their weekly paycheck courtesy of the $787 billion stimulus plan. We did put $500 into savings in May, but have not had any extra this month to stash away.

Have you noticed extra in your paycheck? Have you increased your savings? Or are you going hog wild with that extra $10 a week?

Personal Savings Rate Increases

We are trying so hard to save money so that we can move and buy a house in the next year. We’ve cut down on dinners out, decided not to book our fall vacation, and are working as much overtime and taking on as much freelance work as we can, but who can resist a Discount Television?

My husband has been petitioning for an HDTV for the past few months, but I keep reminding him of our savings goal to deter him from making the big purchase. With www.onlenstore.com an HDTV isn’t such a big purchase. They have discount prices on all the latest Sony, Panasonic, Sharp and other HDTVs.

At least a new TV will help us stay in on Saturday night and not spend any money, right?

Big Purchase

This little guy is simultaneously memorizing and creepy (I think it’s the slurping noises that add the creep factor) but whatever it takes to save that extra change, right?

Japanese Piggy Bank

Consumer Reports estimates that the average household can save $500 a month (that’s a whopping $6,000 a year) by paying attention to six things:

1. car insurance – the average household can save $65 monthly
2. life insurance quotes – there’s $110 monthly to be saved
3. grocery shopping – sales and coupons can save $200 monthly
4. phone bills – there’s $35 a month to be trimmed from this utility
5. bank fees – knowing your bank balance and withdrawing appropriately can save $25 a month
6. credit cards – the average household pays $65 in interest fees monthly

The two big items that stand out for us are grocery shopping and credit cards. Contrary to my recent bank fee debacle, we have the other four items nipped in the bud.

Can paying attention to those six items save your family $500 a month? What’s a realistic savings amount for your budget?

Average Household Can Save $6k Yearly