Dimes make Dollars

Personal Finance 4 The People is pleased to team with others who are able to share their expertise in various areas. We hope to combine our efforts to bring a greater financial effort in order to help you reach YOUR Financial Independence. Today's guest post comes to us from J. S. Aikens.


One of my favorite sayings I heard from my mother is “Pennies make dimes and dimes make dollars.”  This applies whether you are making money or spending it.  In my last blog we figured out where our money was going.  If you followed the instructions from the $1 solution you know exactly where your money is going.  Based on what you found, you want to decide where you want your dimes to go.  And if you’ve found you don’t make enough dimes we need to figure out where you can get them.

Get dimes when you purchase.  If you’ve noticed, there are plenty of sites from which you can print coupons.  How many dimes can you save when you buy?  Take the time to print coupons.  If there are items or experiences you already use/enjoy regularly, clip or print out coupons for them. Now when you look at those receipts, take a tally of the dimes you’ve saved.

Get dimes from what you’ve spent.  During a holiday season a few years ago, I bought several roles of Christmas wrapping paper from a couple on Craigslist. The couple who sold them said they had earned roughly $19K that year by selling items they didn’t need on craigslist. I have never forgotten that couple. I realized that they had recycled their purchases. How many times have you thrown away something that someone else would pay a couple of dollars for? You don’t have to sell often or online, but make the decision to recycle what you’ve already bought. Make a simple spreadsheet.  These “extra dimes” will add up to dollars. How will spend them?