The Almighty Dollar

Hmmm.  What's so big about a lousy dollar.  We easily plunk it down for junk food, coffee, quarters for a game, and other such insignificant things.  One dollar really doesn't amount to much these days... or does it?  Have you ever stopped to think just how many of these little dollars you spend each day, month, year?  Did you realize that most Americans waste about 10%-20% of their hard earned money on meaningless this, one dollar at a time? 

One thing I have learned is to be accountable for every penny I spend.  I had no idea how much fifty cents here and a dollar there, actually added up to at the end of the month.  I found it invaluable to take a few moments a week to review my reciepts and log how I was spending money.  Now I find myself second guessing how I spend money.  Things that I would not think twice about plunking a simple dollar down for, I reconsider because I wonder if it really is worth losing that dollar.  Once you spend it, it is gone - forever! 

So, if you go as far as reconsidering how you spend that dollar, what should you do with it?  Easy, invest it.  There are many high yeild savings accounts you can access.  Have a money jar or some other place where you can put that extra money (this includes money you save when using coupons when shopping) and when it has a nice amount, go deposit it and never look at it again. 

OK, never is a bit of a stretch but pretending the money doesn't exist, helps to curve the temptation to spend it later.  Why save it?  Well, many reasons really.  Emergancies - real ones, retirement, college funds.... you get the idea.  High yeild accounts, over a long period of time, if you leave the money in, will pay off well.

After all, you (and/or your significant other) worked hard to earn that money.  Too often we wonder where it all went and why we keep working so hard for money that never ads up to much.  A dollar might seem insignificant at first but when you take time to realize how all those little dollars add up, you may begin to appreciate each and everyone.  Hold yourself accountable for every single penny you spend. 

You may have to sacrifice the 'little pleasures' in life to a degree but wouldn't it be wonderful to see a big reward for that frugalness?  I use to not think so but then I learned that there are many ways to cut the 'little pleasures' to a degree.  I still have coffee but I do not buy it anymore from the shops.  For the price of two cups of take out coffee, I can buy 1 bag of premium coffee and a favorite creamer or two that will last for weeks or months.  What do I do with the money I save?  Well.... at the moment, I am using it to get out of debt, however, once that is accomplished, it will go straight into a high yeild savings account.  Now don't put your savings account off, make at least one to two transactions (deposits) a month.  Paying bills is important but you may have an emergancy pop up and you do not want to go into further debt to take care of that emergancy.

Cheers!