travel | Online Savings Blog

Using SmartyPig As a Honeymoon Fund
04.24.08 | Online Finances | 0 Comments | by Tom Valenti

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As you may have read, I'm planning on getting married next year. We'll be paying for this all by ourselves, so we have to be cost-conscious.

My fiancée has already started thinking about what to put on her bridal registry, and she told me some of her married friends had signed on with travel agents so they can collect contributions to a honeymoon.

This sounded like a great idea to me, as a honeymoon will not be in our budget most likely. But, I've never dealt with a travel agent, as I like to plan things myself. So signing up with one of them is out of the question for us.

I searched for a similar type of site that collects money for a honeymoon, and I found many (Google "honeymoon fund"). But all of them had exorbitant fees just to donate to the fund, which I found unacceptable.

Then I came across SmartyPig, which is in a beta phase. With this, you can set up a savings account (that currently gives you 4.30% APY) and establish a goal for it (the amount you want to save and the deadline).

Friends can contribute to your goal for just a 2.9% processing fee, which is reasonable. It also requires the owner of the account to make systematic deposits. When the goal is reached, you can take the money saved in the form of a gift card or check.

I set up my account last week. I had a couple of questions, and the customer service has been great so far (the co-founder actually resolved one for me).

Some functionality has been not been available when I needed it, but this is understandable since it's a new company in a beta phase.

Tom Valenti is a marketer and project manager who currently works for a financial institution in New Jersey. Read Tom's blog at http://thriftyhomeowner.blogspot.com or learn more about him at http://tomvalenti.com.
Travel Reimbursements Are a Pain. Seriously.
04.04.08 | Money, Work | 2 Comments | by junger

I've been traveling a lot recently for work — during the month of March, I traveled for three straight weeks; Boston the first week, Orlando the second, then back to Boston the third.

Normally, I don't mind traveling, but three weeks in a row is stressful. It doesn't help, though, that I have to deal with getting all of my expenses reimbursed.

Now that's stressful.

For some reason, my travel expenses are always coming under scrutiny by the accounting department.

THEM: "These receipts don't add up."

ME: "I don't have receipts for a $20 group lunch I paid cash for — I wrote it on the expense report."

THEM: "You need receipts for everything."

ME: "I got a $1.50 soda from a vending machine. How am I supposed to get a receipt? Call up Coca-Cola and ask for one?"

THEM: "If you spend over $55 any day, you have to pay for the rest."

ME: "So if I spend $65 one day then nothing the next, I still have to pay the difference? What kind of sense does that make?"

There's a problem when you're worried that the money you personally put forward for the company may not come back to you. I lose interest on every penny I spend for the company.

I'm not trying to rip them off, I'm just trying to get my money back. But they make it seem like I'm a thief for wanting my money back.

This month, because the accounting person was on vacation when I booked a hotel room, they apparently charged the room to me — even though the company has a corporate account. Too bad my receipt didn't note it. Now I have to carry a balance or transfer money around because I need to submit a second expense report.

There's got to be a better system than employees putting their money first and hoping to get reimbursed. Why not a pre-paid card good for X amount of dollars for employees who travel? If there's any large purchases that exceed the pre-paid amount (like group dinners), you charge it and submit an expense report.

How do you deal with travel reimbursements?

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