The $5 Bill Game
A few weeks ago, I sat in my doctor's office, flipping through a magazine. It was just after New Year's Day and the cover articles were appropriately promising...."30 Days to a New You," "5 Ways to Lose 5 Pounds in 5 Days," and the requisite, "10 Steps to Save More Money This Year Than You Ever Have Before."
Silly though I pretend to think these are, I will admit I have a weak spot for bite-sized self-help articles. If you pair the self-improvement aspect with a to-do list, or 10 steps, I'm a goner. I rarely follow through with such silliness, of course, usually because they're made up of recycled information, already read, already tried, but I can't stop myself from peeking... just once more...just in case.
That day, I found it. A small little gem. Something new in the "10 Steps to Save More Money" piece. The $5 Bill Game (my name, not the original author's.....I wanted to give it a little something extra to make it more fun for myself). When you find yourself with a $5 bill - if the cashier includes one in your change at the coffee shop or the grocery store - put it aside. Save it. Every $5 bill. Every time.
And so I am, although it's a little slow-going. It seems I'd gotten more in the habit of using my handy check card than cash in the past couple years. But I've made an effort to get back to the cash standard, if only to be able to play my game.
I do realize I will not fund my Vienna move solely with saved $5 bills. I have no grand illusions, but there is something so satisfying about the accumulation of them in my specially designated $5 Bill Savings purse. It's like a grown up piggy bank. And much more satisfying than checking my bank account online and watching a number on the screen oh-so-slowly increase in my savings account. Real money is so much more fun than virtual money.
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2 comments:
Oh, what a great idea! I'm going to do this for my London trip. Hmmm...what will be my specially designated $5 Bill Savings Purse????
You know Dad started doing that not long after we were married, only it was silver pocket change. That's what payed for our trips to Holland and Rome, of course we were already in Germany at the time. He kept up with it and added the five dollar bills about 15 years ago. That fund is what always paid for vacations, or at least spending money on vacation, over the years. I haven't been so good about keeping it up. I'll have to get back at it. He used to keep it in a mug I'd made for him but moved it to the "Amazing Grace" jar when he got that.
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