Minding My Pennies

If you mind your pennies the dollars will take care of themselves.  And I find this to be true.  It may seem foolish or a waste of time to some people, but I do watch the pennies.  They really add up, quickly too.

I use a gas rewards card to receive a 5¢ per gallon discount every time I fuel my vehicles.  It only took me about 5 minutes to sign up for it online and in the past year I have accumulated nearly $20 in fuel discounts.  Add that to the fact that this station consistently offers fuel at 10¢ a gallon less than other stations around town and my discount is now tripled.  The fact that this gas station is also conveniently located across from where I work is another bonus.  I regularly look for these type of opportunities.

I use store rewards cards at two of the grocery stores I frequent.  By signing up and swiping my card each time I shop I get additional discounts at the register on the items I am buying and rewards points for each dollar spent.  I often redeem these points for free items or additional discounts.  Since I shop and use the card these stores send me coupons, give me special digital coupons for items I use most often, as well as additional free item offers on a regular basis.

I save my change.  Whenever I pay with cash I keep my change and put it in a jar.  After a year I'll dump it out, count it up and place it into coin wrappers.  I usually accumulate around $50 and a quick trip to the bank puts it into my savings account each time.  Doing that for several years helped offset some of the cost of our trip to Disneyland.

I look for ways to tuck away extra money to save for the things we need, want and for our future.  It has always amazed me how I can find that extra little bit in our budget to fund our Christmas, a vacation, an upcoming expense or our emergency fund.  You can always find a way.

I track my expenses.  I track my spending.  I know to the penny what is in my checking account, wallet or savings account at any given moment.  I keep an annual financial statement and update it every year so I know what my net worth is.  I run my home and my finances like a business.

It may seem ridiculous, but if you mind those pennies, the dollars will appear.  They will take care of themselves.  I encourage you to actively seek out ways to spend less, especially on those things you purchase the most, like fuel and groceries.  It may not seem like much at first but over time it will add up.