Wednesday, April 8, 2009

5 at a Time *Works for me Wednesday*

Since being FRUGAL is the new trend, I wanted to share an idea that has worked very well for our family the last couple of years. We have a mason jar that sits in a highly visible spot in our house. It is our "5 at a Time" jar. And it gets filled up with ONLY 5 dollar bills!

How?

Well, as most of us know, we all spend less money if we use hard-to-part-with-cash instead of our slippery debit cards! So, the first tip is to carry cash for your spending.

Then......

EVERY SINGLE TIME that you are given a 5 dollar bill back in change, it goes directly into the 5 at a Time jar! 5 dollar bills are not allowed in your purse, wallet, pockets, or nightstands. And you certainly can't spend any 5 dollar bills! ;)

So, simply make a habit of stuffing your 5 dollar bills in the jar and watch it fill! It will be a fun project for your family and you will be AMAZED at how much you can save that way....within a short time, you'll have an extra 300 bucks!

Will this work for you? Let me know and check out other Works for me Wednesday ideas here!


15 comments:

Mike said...

Great idea. I put loose change in a can each night. Two days ago, my wife hauled it to Coinstar and we got $170.


Mike
http://somethingaboutparenting.typepad.com

Twitter: AboutParenting

mub said...

I like this idea! I think I'm going to start a 2 euro coin jar for myself!

sunshine said...

What a great idea! I think a $5 jar set aside for a special little vacation would be fun too, and good motivation!

My favorite, non-painful, frugal idea is to cut dryer fabric softener sheets in half as soon as I open a new box. They work just fine with half a sheet. Works for me!:)

Mrs. Petrie said...

Ooh, I've never considered doing this with "big" bills like $5! I bet you'd collect money really quickly. What kind of stuff do you do with your haul?

Emily said...

What a great idea! I happen to have a $5 in my wallet right now. I'm going to give this a try!

annies home said...

while I know collecting change and dollar bills amount $5 to me would be to much for me to just put up but if you can afford it what a great idea

Mominin said...

We collect coins, but have never considered collecting the big stuff. It would be a great way for saving up for something big.

Jerralea said...

LOL, and here I've just been trying to save quarters! Sounds like a great idea.

Roan said...

Thanks for visiting my blog!
What a great idea! I think I may try that.....maybe I should start with $1 though... :)

Carissa Houston said...

ha I would save lots of $$ by not spending just to avoid having to put precious fivers in :) Good for you!

Niki Jolene said...

Wow, neat idea!

Our budget is rather tight right now..I suppose I could do a $1 jar though, eh?

:)

caveman said...

The cool thing about $5's is it causes us to "feel" the savings a little more than if we saved coins or $1's. It's easy to save the "extra" but taking it just one step further and having to sacrifice a little causes the savings to grow exponentially. Thanks BlueEyes!

Anonymous said...

you have the best ideas!

Angie @ Many Little Blessings said...

This is a great idea! I don't think I could afford to do it with $5's, but I sure bet it adds up quickly!

Extraordinary Ordinary Life said...

This is a great idea! I am going to have to talk to my husband about trying it! Do you have specific things you use the money for?