Stop Spending One Dollar Bills

I saw this today.  This information came from Neil Broortz at Townhall.com...

Now, here’s what I want you to do if you think that you just can’t save money; that there’s no room to cut back.




I want you stop spending one-dollar bills. STOP … completely. Now. Do it.



Here’s how you do this: When you leave home every morning the only currency you have with you are $5 dollar bills and higher. Not one single $1 bill anywhere to be seen. Furthermore, during the course of the day if you happen to come into possession of a $1 bill you will cram it into a back pocket or some obscure corner of your purse. That $1 is gone. You cannot touch it. When you get home you will put all the dollar bills you’ve hoarded into a jar or stuff it into a box, not to be touched until the end of the month.



I want to be completely sure you know how this works. You’re on the way to work and you decide you need a cup of coffee at the local convenience store for your drive. The lowest denomination bill you have is a $5 bill. You know that if you buy that coffee for, say, $1.90, you will have a dime and three $1 bills in change, and that those $1 bills are, for all practical purposes, GONE. They cannot be spent for the rest of the day. They cease to exist. You put them away. And no .. you cannot use them for a tip or at a toll booth. Pull out another five, or higher, and ask for change. Then you have even MORE dollar bills to put away.



Yes. We’re going to be completely anal about this. If you owe a coworker a dollar for something, hand them a twenty and get change. You’ll have a ten and a five you can spend later, but four $1 bills go into that back pocket. Or you can fish four quarters out of the bottom of your purse.



Now if you can’t afford to do this, the solution is simple. You don’t buy that cup of coffee. Keep that five for the toll and get some of that free coffee your boss provides at work. Oh, sure --- some coworker will have made a pot using two bags because that’s the way THEY like it, but you’re the one who decided you couldn’t go without spending that change from the convenience store.



Once again, at the end of the day all of those dollar bills you’ve been socking away go into hiding. A box would be great --- one you cannot see into. No need to be tempted.



OK, big spender. We’re now at the end of the month. It’s time to see what you’ve done. Open the box and count those $1 bills. Now my experience over more than 20 years of promoting this savings scheme is that most people who would swear that they could not possibly save any real money will have well over $100 in that box. At the end of the year they’ll be approaching $1,500 --- and these are the worst-case scenarios. Many save a great deal more than that.