Hi Everyone!
Happy First Day of Spring! This is one of my favorite days of the year. I hope yours is going really well.
Today I wanted to do a bit of a combination of posts today – combining this week’s Not me Monday and Tips on Tuesdays. I’m doing this for two reasons:
- The tip I wanted to share today is not mine originally
- I’m a little overwhelmed with lots of projects going on – so yes, this is a bit of a cheat to combine these two.
A few years ago I read an article in Real Simple Magazine. I wish I had the exact article or at least the magazine issue to reference, and while I don’t have that information – the lesson learned from the article really stuck with me.
Basically, the article talked about a guy who saved every five dollar bill that ever made it into his wallet and after a couple of years, he was able to take his family on a great vacation. I want to say to Disney or someplace like that.
I love this idea because it shows how the little bit adds up over time. And by sticking to something, the payoffs are really great.
After reading this article, I starting doing my own version of this. And while I’m not saving for anything in particular, I collect one dollar bills and place them in an envelope in my office labeled “the dollar fund.”
I don’t typically have a lot of cash in my wallet, I normally use my debit card and/or working from home, I don’t find a huge need to have cash on me. But every few days, I’ll clean out my wallet and any dollars go right into my envelope.
Like I said, I’m not saving for anything in particular – but boy is it nice to have a few dollars available should you need them.
For example:
- we pay our son $2 a week for his allowance
- I bought a box of Thin Mints from a Brownie who knocked on my front door last weekend
- whenever we are a couple of dollars short for the babysitter
- if I’m feeling like I want to treat myself to a Chai before a meeting.
The fund sometimes adds up and I’ll have upwards of $50 in there. But it probably sits around $25 on any given day.
It has really come in handy.
Do you have a secret stash like the $5 vacation fund or like my dollar fund? Please share!
Happy Monday and Tuesday to you!
~Amy
Minute by minute 
March 20, 2012 at 10:54 am
We have what we call Quarterdeck money. It’s spare change collected in a jar but the genesis of the idea came when my children were small and I was looking for ways to get them to help tidy up. One day the children found a map and note from “Captain Quarterdeck” about how he’d found a place that was so messy no one would ever find his stash of treasure. It was our house and scattered about with the legos and pattern blocks on the floor was a handful of loose change. It all went into a counting bank (shaped like a jar that keeps track of the amount that’s been put in) and when it got to $10 or so we went out for ice cream. I no longer hide my loose change in messes on the floor but everyone who runs across loose change still puts it in the jar so cleaning out pockets, picking up dropped coins in the street, whatever. It adds up surprisingly fast.
March 20, 2012 at 1:05 pm
I know lots of people keep a spare change jar of some sorts – – that’s a great idea to get kids to clean up!
Pingback: Tips on Tuesdays – – 25 ways to motivate your kids to clean up | Just a minute….