The Singles Way to Saving
Posted by Randy at 10/30/2006 7:41 PM and is filed under Control,Change Your Thinking,Passive Income 
Every now and then Neal Boortz, the syndicated radio talk show host, takes about 15-20 seconds to mention that one of the simplest ways to save money is to not spend one dollar ($1) bills. In doing this, a person can have more available money at the end of the month than he thought he would/has. Try this (only but one variation of the "save singles saving plan"):
- Get yourself a safe. These are heavy, fireproof, and deter criminals looking for a fast pick-and-run break-in. Secure it to the wall or foundation of your home. Find a way to remember your combination and/or where you hide your key.
- When you make a purchase with cash, spend only bill denominations greater than the ones with Washington's face on it. That is, make your payment with 5's, 10's, or 20's (I don't know why you would be walking around with anything greater than 20-dollar-bills, unless you're going straight to the bank to make a deposit).
- If you don't have enough cash to make a purchase without using the singles in your wallet, then perhaps you don't really need that item. Otherwise, go to the atm or use your debit card for the purchase if it's a purchase that can't wait.
- When you get home immediately empty your purse or wallet and take out the "ones" (singles, Washington's, etc.)
- Place the singles in your safe. Keep the other bill denominations in your wallet/purse for future purchases.
- Repeat this everytime you go to the store and make a cash purchase. Spend only bills greater than one-dollar-bills. Save the singles in your safe. Break only the fives. tens, and twenties.
- After one month from the time you started, and every month thereafter, count how many single dollar bills you saved up for that month. Record it in a spread sheet or other method. Be amazed at how much money you have by actively saving and conscientiously putting forth the effort to take a few seconds each day to do this.
Now, what to do with the money. Since I'm in the practice of creating systems of passive income, then I know that for myself, the money gets invested in those things that will make more money (e.g., my IRA, money market, my businesses, etc.). But it's not uncommon for many people to believe that they deserve some type of immediate reward for saving. Well, go ahead and buy that chocolate mint latte, or take your significant other to a nice dinner and a movie; or make a big donation to your church. The principles of this exercise are that you can discipline yourself to save, live within your means, learn to invest for the future, and be a better tracker of where your money goes. Perhaps the greatest lesson is that you don't have to spend every single dollar you earn.
-RY
- Get yourself a safe. These are heavy, fireproof, and deter criminals looking for a fast pick-and-run break-in. Secure it to the wall or foundation of your home. Find a way to remember your combination and/or where you hide your key.
- When you make a purchase with cash, spend only bill denominations greater than the ones with Washington's face on it. That is, make your payment with 5's, 10's, or 20's (I don't know why you would be walking around with anything greater than 20-dollar-bills, unless you're going straight to the bank to make a deposit).
- If you don't have enough cash to make a purchase without using the singles in your wallet, then perhaps you don't really need that item. Otherwise, go to the atm or use your debit card for the purchase if it's a purchase that can't wait.
- When you get home immediately empty your purse or wallet and take out the "ones" (singles, Washington's, etc.)
- Place the singles in your safe. Keep the other bill denominations in your wallet/purse for future purchases.
- Repeat this everytime you go to the store and make a cash purchase. Spend only bills greater than one-dollar-bills. Save the singles in your safe. Break only the fives. tens, and twenties.
- After one month from the time you started, and every month thereafter, count how many single dollar bills you saved up for that month. Record it in a spread sheet or other method. Be amazed at how much money you have by actively saving and conscientiously putting forth the effort to take a few seconds each day to do this.
Now, what to do with the money. Since I'm in the practice of creating systems of passive income, then I know that for myself, the money gets invested in those things that will make more money (e.g., my IRA, money market, my businesses, etc.). But it's not uncommon for many people to believe that they deserve some type of immediate reward for saving. Well, go ahead and buy that chocolate mint latte, or take your significant other to a nice dinner and a movie; or make a big donation to your church. The principles of this exercise are that you can discipline yourself to save, live within your means, learn to invest for the future, and be a better tracker of where your money goes. Perhaps the greatest lesson is that you don't have to spend every single dollar you earn.
-RY
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11/7/2006 2:54 PM
Bryan C. Fleming wrote:
It’s election day here in the United States. Did you get out and Vote? We’re finally back this week the Carnival of Personal Growth. We’ve almost hit another record with 33 good quality submissions. Keep up the good work! E... -
11/11/2006 11:01 PM
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Hello everybody, finally Towards Better Life Carnival first edition is up. Thanks for everyone who had submitted the articles to this carnival. Without all of you, this carnival would not be able to launch successfully. There are altogether 38 great ar...
Great tips. I have been practice this but not for 1 dollar. Normally I will put the extra coins in the safe. I'm going to try it for 1 dollar this time.
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Great tip. Now I just need to get a safe.
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Very nice idea to use the dollar bills. As Victor mentioned, I have done this for some time with all of my loose change but I like the idea of using dollar bills as well.
IMO, the safe is a little overkill but that is because I am cheap and would prefer to just get that money in the bank quicker.
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My New Choice,
Yeah, the safe was a bit overkill for the post, but that's just because I use one and was posting how I did it. Plus, nowadays I don't get to the bank as often as I used to, so that's what I use until I have the opportunity to make it to the bank. Thanks for viewing the post. Feel free to view and comment on the others.
-RY
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