Save! Save! Save!

As a grown up, I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through experience. Many of them I learned from my aunts. Now I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. You may not agree with all of them and they may not work for everybody, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.

#42 Get a savings account!

When I was five years old I went with my dad to the bank and we opened me up a savings account. He put five dollars from every one of his paychecks into my savings account until I was old enough to get a job and start putting my own money in there. I would love to say that I still have this flourishing savings account and that not only am I not in debt, but I will be able to eventually pay for my kids college educations. I would love to say these things... but I can't.
Life eventually began happening and that original savings account began disappearing. Times got tough. I wanted to see the world. I moved to New York City. I moved to Maui. I moved back home. I moved back to New York City. I saw Mexico. I went to Scotland and England to see a band play. I had a lot of fun, but in the process of gaining a lot of really great life experiences, I also depleted my savings account.
I recently opened a new one. I now am not only a grown up, but I also have a savings account. I was a smoker, which is a whole different topic of conversation. Cigarettes in NYC went up to $13 a pack. I quit buying cigarettes. Now, I stick the $10 that I was originally spending five times a week directly into my savings account. It was amazing how quickly it added up.
I work in an industry where there is no guaranteed money. We recently just escaped from one of our slowest months of the year, SEPTEMBER! Slow season was upon me and I was struggling to make money, but I stuck that $10 into my savings account religiously every time I worked. When it came time to pay the bills on October 1st, I was ready. I didn't have it all in my checking account so I just transferred some over from savings and everything was fine and dandy. I certainly don't recommend relying on this every month, or saving more that you can afford to just to say you saved it. There has to be a nice balance and a method to the way you save.
We save for lots of reasons. Backup plans, vacations, houses, college funds, etc. Whatever the reason, don't be afraid to tap into it if necessary. That's why it's there. To eventually be used.
Recommended Reading: You're Broke Because You Want to Be by Larry Winget

If you see a penny...

As a grown up, I realize that through the course of life I have learned many valuable lessons. Some of them were taught to me by my mom and dad. Some of them I learned in school and through expereience. Many of them I learned from my aunts. Now, I am an aunt and my oldest niece recently started kindergarten. I know that they say everything you need to know you learn in kindergarten. I disagree. I believe that there are some things that one cannot learn in a classroom. These are lessons that can only be learned by living. So, here it is. A year's worth of tiny words of wisdom for all of the nieces and nephews out there, or really for anyone who will listen. They may not work for everybody and you may not agree with all of them, but each is a rule that I either try to live by or wish I did.

# 22 If you see a penny, pick it up.


I know quite a few people who actually throw pennies away. Perhaps they do this because pennies are annoying, and take a long time to save. Pennies are still money, just like nickels, dimes and dollars. Everytime that I find money on the ground, I pick it up and then it goes immediately into a jar. Let's just say that in a lifetime, these people throw away 1,000,000 pennies. This is $10,000. At a bank, with the interest on that, those people are just throwing away a total of $11,000. I don't know about you, but there are a lot of things I could do with that much money.
I always pick up change, no matter how small. It goes into a jar and as a rule, I try never to spend it, sans the few pieces that I try to give away each day. I recently opened a savings account and more than half of my opening deposit was change that I had been dropping in a jar for the last year. It really doesn't take that much effort to save pennies. Why throw them out? Money is good to have, no matter the amount. If you want to throw your pennies away, please just send them my way. I promise to give them a good home.