Reader Saves $425 By Saving Save Every $5 Bill

Brandon Savage writes that he’s having success with saving by taking the advice in our “Get Rich By Saving Every $5 Bill” post. Since starting in August, he’s got $425 in additional savings this way. Here’s how he does it:

Brandon says,

It’s really easy…if you have the willpower to put $5s in an envelope. At this rate I’d save about $2,500 a year.

It’s a real pain when you buy $4.50 in ice cream and get 3 $5’s back from the cashier. Or today when I got $20 cash back and the cashier gave me four $5s instead of a 20. Sometimes I’ll also supplement it at the end of a day by removing all bills smaller than $20 from my wallet.

The reality is that there’s a good chance I’ll blow $12 on lunch one day…so what’s wrong with “blowing” it on saving? I wouldn’t have missed it if I’d spent it at a restaurant, and I certainly don’t miss it being in an envelope or a hard-to-reach savings account.

Prior to it being deposited in ING, I have a special pocket in my wallet where I place folded-up fives. Then I transfer them to an envelope in my safe at home at the end of the day. Once I reach around $50 I deposit it at my bank and order a transfer by ING

With money, the old “out of sight, out of mind” concept works very well. At least for me. And it’s such a small amount that most people can do it without noticing it. We blow $5 on parking every day. Putting it in savings instead is easy.

I don’t use a whole lot of cash. So if you use more cash, you could end up saving more.

Congrats to Brandon. Have you tried this method? Do you have another unique way of tricking yourself into saving? Let us know in the comments.

PREVIOUSLY: Get Rich By Saving Every $5 Bill

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