A Penny Saved is a Beer Earned

We are not a nation of savers.  It's not clear we ever have been - at least not in recent years.  Don't believe us, check out the chart below. Yes, the marketing folks at Nationwide Insurance claim it's our national pastime but we all know Americans are much better at spending than they are at saving.  Like it or not it's a consumer economy and we're a consumer girl.

Not only are we bad at saving the country is stuck in a recession.  Well, officially the recession is over but few people are feeling the positive vibes.  During these difficult times, stories abound of folks doing their part to cut a few corners and save a few pennies (like these poor souls).  Sure, growing your own garden, bagging your lunch, or renting out the guest house can help but we found something better.  Our friends at the Western Bank in Vietnam recently launched a nationwide promotion that offers authentic German Bitburger beer for making deposits.

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"Tropical Vietnam has a long tradition of beer drinking, introduced by French colonists in the late 19th century....

Authorities have been trying for months to get banks to cut interest rates, both on loans and deposits, so lenders have had to get creative in the fight for depositors."
-Reuters
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Of course, there's a catch.  And like any good lender we're putting the fine print at the bottom.  Depositors get one large can of Bitburger for each deposit of 7.5 million dong (don't worry, it's only $385 US) through November 25, 2010.  You can thank us later for not reducing the font size to 1.5.