Holiday Gift Guide 2009: Money Savvy Pig – Review & Giveaway

Every year, there are new trends in popular toys – products that will later be nostalgic to a specific age group (Like my Power Rangers action figures!) . Then there are toys that are classics: iconic items that every generation seems to have, such as building blocks, dolls, and army men. Another item that every child seems to own is a traditional piggy bank – how would you like to tuck this timeless gift under the tree this year? One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a Money Savvy Pig, so read on!

About The Money Savvy Pig:

Here’s some information that Money Savvy Generation sent me about their piggy bank:

“With today’s American family struggling to make ends meet, how can parents teach their children–especially during the holiday season–that it’s time to cut back and give back? With the must-have gift for 2009 – the Money Savvy Pig®, of course!

Created by Susan Beacham, founder and CEO of Money Savvy Generation, the Money Savvy Pig comes in a variety of colors and retails for $14.99 (there’s a cow and a football for those who have an aversion to pigs). The bank has been featured on The Oprah Show, The Today Show and The Dr. Phil Show.

The Money Savvy Pig includes a guidebook to help you talk to your kids about their money choices (its blue transparent plastic is divided into four labeled compartments: save, spend, donate and invest). Each compartment has its own slot on top and plug at the bottom and it comes with a curriculum aimed at teaching kids the basics of money management.”

My Take:

When Money Savvy Generation sent me one of their piggy banks to review, I was glad, because I actually needed a new bank to store change in! I normally keep my change in a jar, but it never seems to be big enough. The Money Savvy Pig is cute and convenient – he has four different sections to put money in towards different goals. I could see this being a fun tool to use in talking with your children about finances. In fact, the basic concept is similar to how I have my bank accounts set up: I have my checking account (spend/donate), savings account (save/invest), and tax savings account – okay, there’s no compartment on the pig for that one, but unless your children are self employed and need to withhold part of their earnings for taxes, you’re probably OK!

I decided to use the pig’s handy compartments to serve another helpful function: I use it separate pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters! It’s extremely useful to me, since you can open up each of the pig’s hooves to access the money from each section, keeping everything organized. And since the bank comes with a sheet of customizable stickers, I was able to mark each compartment as “1 cent”, “5 cent”, etc. You can even choose the color of the pig’s eyes (I opted for green!).

Win It!

One lucky Contest Corner reader will win a Money Savvy Pig! This giveaway ends on December 17th, so I can’t guarantee delivery before Christmas, but we’ll do our best! Here’s how to enter:

1. For your first entry, click here to check out Money Savvy Generation’s other products. Then come back here and leave a comment mentioning another that you like!

This step is required to qualify for the drawing. Be sure to leave an email address with your comment, so that I may notify you in the event that you are the lucky winner!

Want extra entries? Do any of the following, and leave a separate comment for each one:

2. Write a post on your blog linking to this giveaway and Money Savvy Generation. Then come back here and leave me the link!
3. Write about this on Twitter, then come back and leave me the link to your tweet! One Twitter entry per person.
4. Subscribe to my blog updates by entering your email into the “Subscribe” box in the sidebar. Then come back and leave me the email you subscribed with!
5. Become a follower of my blog by clicking the “Follow” button in my sidebar! Then come back here and let me know in a separate comment!
6. Grab the Holiday Gift Guide badge and put it on your website’s sidebar or links page – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:

<a href="http://contest-corner.blogspot.com/2009/11/holiday-gift-guide-2009.html"><img decoding="async" src="http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/supercoupongirl/gift_guide_09.jpg" border="0" /></a>

7. Post my regular button on your website’s sidebar or links page – just copy and paste the following code, and let me know where you put it:
<a href="https://www.contest-corner.com"><img decoding="async" src="http://i691.photobucket.com/albums/vv279/supercoupongirl/contest_corner_border.gif" border="0" /></a>
Rules, regulations, and other important stuff: Giveaway ends on December 17th at 11:59 PM, PST. Winner will be chosen the following day via Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond to my notification email, or a new winner will be chosen in their place. Giveaway is open to US residents.