Social networking saving

This seems to be a trend. Attach “social networking” to any term nowadays and -bam!- you’re the next hot thing. Take Smarty Pig, a savings site with a social networking twist. I read about it my daily WaPo tech blast, and while it sounds kind of cool at first, when you really look into it, no, not so much.

PC World says the accounts are free, but when you reach your savings goal, the site wants you to first consider spending that money with its partners. If that doesn’t work out, they want to convert it into a debit Mastercard. Oh, and if you absolutely must have cash, you must wait for it in check form.

Yeah, I’m not thinking this will last long. The site seems to be capitalizing on the social networking bandwagon and the soft economy, but dude, I still have my checking account, savings account and PayPal accounts that friends can tip into — in fact, isn’t that just about exactly what Smarty Pig is touting?