Is there anything that can't be done online?

Recession Mama Michele Ashamalla: Now you can get rid of your piggy bank and save up with Smarty Pig until you reach your goal. You set the goal, you authorize money to be transferred from your checking account each month, and when you've reached your goal, you can pull your money out. All of that occurs at no cost to you.

The interest rate is one of the best around for savings accounts and the money is held in a long-established, FDIC-insured Iowa bank. You can have more than one piggy bank at a time if you are saving for different goals.

Here's the part that's the real deal: if you choose to have your savings paid out in a gift card from one of their partner retailers (like Macy's or Barnes and Noble) you get an extra bonus of up to 12 percent. If you were saving for a specific item at one of the retailers or for general holiday shopping, that's a nice bonus. The gift card can be used any time (of course, I would try to use it on a sale day!) and can be combined with coupons. This might just be the push I need to started with online banking...

A former state deputy attorney general and current stay-at-home mom, Recession Mama Michele Ashamalla has three kids and ten years of experience stretching one salary to cover the necessities and more. She's all about saving money whenever you can, so you have it to spend on whatever you want!