Silly though I pretend to think these are, I will admit I have a weak spot for bite-sized self-help articles. If you pair the self-improvement aspect with a to-do list, or 10 steps, I'm a goner. I rarely follow through with such silliness, of course, usually because they're made up of recycled information, already read, already tried, but I can't stop myself from peeking... just once more...just in case.
That day, I found it. A small little gem. Something new in the "10 Steps to Save More Money" piece. The $5 Bill Game (my name, not the original author's.....I wanted to give it a little something extra to make it more fun for myself). When you find yourself with a $5 bill - if the cashier includes one in your change at the coffee shop or the grocery store - put it aside. Save it. Every $5 bill. Every time.
And so I am, although it's a little slow-going. It seems I'd gotten more in the habit of using my handy check card than cash in the past couple years. But I've made an effort to get back to the cash standard, if only to be able to play my game.
I do realize I will not fund my Vienna move solely with saved $5 bills. I have no grand illusions, but there is something so satisfying about the accumulation of them in my specially designated $5 Bill Savings purse. It's like a grown up piggy bank. And much more satisfying than checking my bank account online and watching a number on the screen oh-so-slowly increase in my savings account. Real money is so much more fun than virtual money.
