Financial Tip of the Week

While I am certainly no financial expert, playing with my money for me is a hobby.... and a game. The game I play is how to get earn more money from the things I already do, or from the things I already have. The more that I can get from not working means the more that I can use for fun and for giving away to others ( one of my spiritual gifts is GIVING ).

So I want to share my thoughts with you. You can take them or leave them ... they are just my thoughts.

Financial Tip #2

Be a Penny Pincher.... Never Spend Your Pennies or Any of Your Change

Several years ago, while we were still living paycheck to paycheck, I woke up one morning and realized that I was closing in on 40 and we did not have any savings. I read a tip somewhere about the potential impact loose change can have on your savings. From that day forward, I do not believe that I have ever spent a dime, at least a real coin on anything. Those who know me well would agree.

My strategy is to empty my pockets each day after work and place the change in a bowl. Each week I scavenge the cars, the counters at home, Kris's purse... everywhere change can hide, even the laundry area for those coins that remain after washing clothes. But that is only the start...

I then go to the bank weekly and deposit all the loose change I can find into my checking account. If I can find a couple loose dollar bills that Kris would not miss, I take those too. The objective is to get them into the bank! Having the money sit in a jar at home doesn't advance the cause of getting the money to work for me! I know of others who gather and save coins, but they often allow them to sit at home "under the mattress". So, kick them thar coins out of the house, and make them work.... just like your kids.

In the early days, I would bring home coin wrappers from the bank and wrap my coins to make the job easier for the tellers who all got to know me personally (after almost 20 years, Janet who is an officer at my bank still does the same). Kris and the kids even got me my own coin counting machine as a Christmas gift one year. As of late, my bank has a self service coin counter, which customers can use for free. Never, never use a coin counter machine that makes you pay!!!!

Then, importantly, after the deposit into my checking account, I transfer the money into one of my interest accounts. Do not let the money sit the checking account. You will use it and loose it. (See Tip #1)

By following this tip, you can save up $5 to $15 per week... it really works. If you consider say $10 per week in collected change, that adds up to over $520 per year! This is money you will never miss! Then if you make sure it is making money for you, that $520 will turn into over $531 at 2.2% interest (the rate you can most likely find currently...although much less than 3.5% to 4.5% that I have averaged over the past 15 years)

One further tip... never miss the opportunity to pick up a penny, dime, quarter, etc. Yep, I stoop for pennies. We just talked about this a work last week. There is someone who periodically drops a definite trail of pennies and other coins in the parking lot... I love that guy. Kris and I just listened to a repeat show on the Marketplace Money podcast that interviewed individuals and families who made a habit of picking up coins they found... imagine in a year finding an extra $20 to $100 just for exercising your knees.. (one family reportedly found over $1000 over one year). Here is a link to that brief transcript-

http://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/08/13/change_hunters/

Remember, I play the money game because it allows me to have more resources for fun and to share with others.... allowing me to more effectively use my spiritual gift of giving. You play for your own reason.

Play well !

Jeff