Have you tried the $5 bill savings plan? It’s a simple concept, and a fun way to save a little extra money.
The tip works best when paying cash for everyday expenses instead of pulling out a card. (A side benefit is that we’ll generally spend less when we pay cash instead of charging things on a credit card.)
The five dollar bill savings plan is simply the act of removing and saving $5 bills whenever one lands in your wallet. What I’ve discovered is that this practice is a simple and painless way to save.
I try to pay cash for as many expenses as possible. After I’ve accumulated six or seven five dollar bills, I deposit the cash in my credit union’s high-yield money market account. If I average about $35 a month, in a year I’ll have accumulated $420 plus interest.
It’s not a huge amount, but we all know that little savings can grow into significant amounts with persistence and consistency.
Spare Coins and $5 Bill Savings Can Add Up
As I wrote previously in “7 Free Things You Can Do This Week to Simplify,” another painless way to save money is by emptying the coins from my wallet into a container periodically. We always keep our eyes open and scan the ground for loose change, too.
When the coin jar is full, we deposit the contents in my son’s savings account. This year — after about five years of collecting coins — he was able to buy his first $500 certificate of deposit (CD).
We did the same thing with our daughter, and purchased her college computer with the savings we accumulated from loose change.
You might also enjoy going on a money diet for a couple of weeks or a month to make quick progress on your financial goals.
For more savings strategies, these 7 quick financial tasks can help you save hundreds.
Do you have any simple ways to save money? Drop a comment below with your strategies!
Happy saving, and let me know if you try the $5 Bill Savings Plan!
Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
I started doing this saving plan four weeks ago. Every Monday when I get paid. I automatically transfer $5.00 to an online savings account that offers 1% interest. I’m saving my loose change and $1.00 in a jar. I also have a Acorns Account that round ups my spare change on every purchase I make from my checking account. I also just started a 26 week plan by adding money into it weekly until I reach $1,000. I might do the one for $5,000 instead. Every little bit counts.
I’ve always saved change but, after seeing the $5.00 plan on a daily talk show, I decided to give it a try. This was about 2 months ago. My eyes sparkle every time I get a 5 dollar bill in my hands. If I find a 20.00 or a 10 in my purse that I didn’t know was there, I throw that in too. Ones always go in as well.
They say you should have, at least, 2 months wages put away for a rainy day fund so, that’s the first thing I’m saving for.
I occasionally buy scratch off lottery tickets and, if I win, I put the original investment back in my purse and the remained goes in my jar. To date, I’ve saved over $200.00. We don’t make a lot of money but, this is so doable!
I started this several years ago [ I never could save any money ] well the first time I did this I saved 5,600 dollars in five dollar bills and purchased a 1931 ford that I always wanted but couldn’t afford, I’ve still got the car and now have another 3,500 dollars for something not sure what but when I see it I’ll be ready with cash in hand This works real easy for me and it doesn’t hurt P.S. When I purchased the Ford my wife said we can’t afford that so I showed her my five dollar collection [and she said go for it ] wife approved now we cruise around in style
I’ve been saving my $5 bills for about 10 years. I took my family on a Disney cruise in 2020 and we’re leaving for Hawaii at the end of march with our $5 trip. 10/10 recommend!
I love your story! Thank you so much for sharing your experience, and how saving consistently over time can lead to great results. Have a fantastic time in Hawaii! ~Eliza