Have you tried the $5 bill savings plan? It’s a simple concept, and a fun way to save a little extra money.
The tip works best when paying cash for everyday expenses instead of pulling out a card. (A side benefit is that we’ll generally spend less when we pay cash instead of charging things on a credit card.)
The five dollar bill savings plan is simply the act of removing and saving $5 bills whenever one lands in your wallet. What I’ve discovered is that this practice is a simple and painless way to save.
I try to pay cash for as many expenses as possible. After I’ve accumulated six or seven five dollar bills, I deposit the cash in my credit union’s high-yield money market account. If I average about $35 a month, in a year I’ll have accumulated $420 plus interest.
It’s not a huge amount, but we all know that little savings can grow into significant amounts with persistence and consistency.
Spare Coins and $5 Bill Savings Can Add Up
As I wrote previously in “7 Free Things You Can Do This Week to Simplify,”another painless way to save money is by emptying the coins from my wallet into a container periodically. We always keep our eyes open and scan the ground for loose change, too.
When the coin jar is full, we deposit the contents in my son’s savings account. This year — after about five years of collecting coins — he was able to buy his first $500 certificate of deposit (CD).
We did the same thing with our daughter, and purchased her college computer with the savings we accumulated from loose change.
You might also enjoy going on a money diet for a couple of weeks or a month to make quick progress on your financial goals.
Do you have any simple ways to save money? Drop a comment below with your strategies!
Happy saving, and let me know if you try the $5 Bill Savings Plan!
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
