The $5 Golden Savings Rule Challenge- I challenge you!
ayla whitehead
Ok, so I have to tell you a secret I learned from a couple at one of the farmers markets I attend. This couple always comes and pays in cash. One of the times they came I was out of $10’s in my change box and asked them if it was alright if I gave them back their change in $5’s. The wife was very excited and said, “Yes! We are always happy to see $5’s”. I was very confused and asked them what the significance of a $5 was. What she said was a game changer.
She said for their budget each week they each get $100 for their gas, lunches, snacks, extra spending, etc. They get that balance in cash. This method is easier to track spending as you can see your dollar amount going down with each purchase rather than endlessly swiping a card with no visual reference to how much money you have gone through. Now- for the good part- she said that when they get their change back from their purchases if they get back a $5 they take it home and put it in a jar. The $5’s are a no spend bill. All of the other bills are good to spend- just not the $5.
She said the $5 is small enough you don’t really notice it missing but large enough that when you get enough of them it ends up being a lot of money. So what they do with the $5’s- are you ready for this!?!?!
From the first day in January to the last day of December they save up all of their $5’s in their jar. The last day of December after Christmas is over and the house is quiet they get out their jar and count out what they saved. They said it is unreal how much money you can save- hundreds and sometimes thousands with combined forces. Once their saved total is counted they both sit down and decide on how to spend it as a second present to themselves. Sometimes it is spent paying off a debt for a fresh start to the new year, sometimes it is spent on home renovations or installing a garden oasis, sometimes it is spent on updating old kitchen appliances, and sometimes it is spent on an exotic cruise or on a cabin getaway for just the two of them. That’s the beauty of it. The sky is the limit on to what you earn for yourself. There is no online scheduling transfers to remember, there is no budget balancing trying to figure out how to put more money in your savings account, it is just easy as taking your “no-spend bill” and dropping it in a jar then getting to do something that you never thought you could!
So, now for the fun part- I challenge you to this golden $5 savings system. Put a picture of what you are working toward on your jar so you have visual reference for what you will be gaining! If you don’t have $100 in the budget per person per week no problem! Just factor what you pay for gas, your coffee, lunch, and all the other spending (go off of your actual bank statement to get that balance spent- you may be surprised as to how much you are actually spending) and then take that amount in cash per week. This is going to be fun! I can’t wait to see what you earn for yourself!