by Doreen Martel

Created on: February 24, 2010   Last Updated: April 09, 2010

You might be surprised at how quickly your pennies add up.  In fact, they are a great way to pave the way to financial freedom.  You might be thinking to yourself "how can pennies help me pave the way to financial freedom?" they are worth so little. You are correct - the value of a penny hasn't changed, they are still worth only one cent (unless you happen upon a collectible one).  Although pennies are worth only one cent, even Bank of America has instilled in us a the belief that our pennies can help add significantly to our savings using the "

Keep the Change" program.  If you don't bank with them, here are some ways you can start your own Keep the Change program at home.

Getting Started

Find a tall jar or bottle - Locate a tall jar (a mayonnaise jar works well) and put it on a shelf in your home.  Label it as "nest egg" or something equally as catchy to encourage your family to use it. For an added challenge, a five-gallon water bottle is also fun to use as it adds a bit of a challenge to your penny savings.

Returning from the store - Encourage all of your family members to empty out pants pockets, coat pockets and purses of all pennies when they return home from the store.  Encourage all family members to at a minimum to add their pennies to your savings jar.  If you can convince them to add all of their change, it would be even better as your pennies will add up even faster.

Cents off Coupons - If you regularly use cents off coupons at the store, take your coupon savings and add them to your penny jar.  This will help your penny savings grow even faster, paving your way to financial freedom.  Coupon savings can vary greatly and can result in significant savings over a year.

Refundable Bottles -  Nearly every home collects some refundable bottles every month. Instead of throwing them in the trash or letting the neighborhood children have them, redeem them and add the proceeds to your penny collection.

Next Steps

Once a month dump out all of your pennies in the kitchen and get your family involved in rolling and counting them.  Once this is done take your pennies to the bank and deposit them in a special savings account.  Make a commitment to not utilize this savings plan for anything since it will help pave your way to financial freedom.

Once a year, take stock of how much you saved in total through the year and find ways to save even more.  You can make it a challenge with family members by encouraging them to cut back on something and add the pennies they save to your financial freedom account.  If your savings has climbed to an amount of greater than $1,000 you should consider moving it to a money market account to add additional interest to your account.

Summary

Savings pennies can pave the way to financial freedom if you make the commitment to save them instead of digging them out of the bottom of your pockets or purses to pay for purchases. Saving your pennies is a good stop to pave the way to financial freedom.  Everyone has to start saving someplace, and pennies are often a painless way to do this.

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