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The $5 Rule.

When Husby and I got married, I had a good little "nest egg" (I hate that term, I really do) thanks to my grandparents and parents and the savings account they started for me when I was a wee one. As a child, it wasn't that fun to hear "we put $50 in your savings account" from anyone because I would rather have had plastic high heels and little tiaras to prance around in. But when I stepped into the "real world" with my Husby on my arm and no jobs for either of us, we didn't have to just "live on love". We had my savings.

It saved our tails.

A few months ago, I decided it was time to start a little savings account for Levi. And by account, I mean in a hidden place in our house.

Since Husby is in Medical School, and I am a SAHMom, money isn't exactly pouring from our ears or falling off of our trees. There are few little things I do for extra income (this blog and these great Ads being one of them), so we knew we were going to have to start off little. But in our minds, little is better than nothing.

I came up with the idea that ANY TIME Husby or I have a $5 bill, it has to go to Levi. No cheating. If you break a $10 and they give you a $5 back, it goes to Levi's stash. The other day at Sonic, I broke a $20 and wouldn't you know they gave me THREE $5's back. I just had to laugh.

The rule is, if you get money back in $5's, you just have to forego whatever else you were going to buy. If I was going to run and buy a few of my favorite magazines with the rest of my $20 after Sonic, then I couldn't. All $5's go to Weebie!

I am surprised by all that we already have saved for him just in a few months, considering we don't always have cash on us! On Christmas, Levi received a real (from a bank) savings account from Glam*Ma and Grandpa with a nice little "nest egg" (there I go again) already started. I was so excited because now I have a place to throw my $5's rather than in random nooks and crannies of the house!

I'm excited to see what we can do for Levi in the next year and a half, before Husby graduates and gains an income. I want to continue the $5 rule for as long as possible, even if we throw more in there when we can. It's like a little challenge for me. I actually get excited to get $5 bills now. Weird, maybe. But I know I'm investing in MY wee one's future, just as my family did for me. And that makes me so happy.

Do any of you have any fun rules like this in your household?
I am a modern day homemaker with a passion for family, cooking, celebrating, decorating, travel, and memory making! The Lord has blessed me with the desires of my heart in my husband and our two sons. We recently built our dream home and cultivating a loving and happy haven for my family is where I find so much joy.

Comments

  1. What a great idea! The Preacher Man's parents save $1 bills all year long. They bundle them in $25 and put them away to buy Christmas each year. It's always amazing to hear how much they come up with too. Saving money is awesome.

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  2. rofl. not sure if you read my blog - everyonewantsthis.blogspot.com - but i wrote up the exact same thing today! except the fives arent going to a bubba they are just being saved for me + the boyfriend. couldnt help but laugh when i read it. great minds! x

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  3. On the day my grandkids were born, I opened a savings account with the initial $25 deposit then the dollar and cents amount in the birth weight. Each payday I put $5 in the account. It's not much, but it does add up. By the time they graduate from high school, they will have a small lump to do with what they want. At this point, it will probably only buy one college textbook, but at least it's a start.

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  4. Cute idea. Too bad I NEVER have cash. Ha.

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  5. I've been thinking about doing something like this as a "mommy fund." I dream of being a stay at home mom, but as you know, money can be tight. I think a little savings fund would help me feel more at ease when two incomes become one. Then when a baby finally does arrive we can turn the "mommy fund" into a "child's future fund." This post is encouraging and I thank you for that!

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  6. That's a great idea! We don't have a constant flow into his savings account (which was a piggy bank until we finally opened one over Christmas break), but I'm amazed at how he already gets cash at holidays and on his birthday! But, we appreciate it and if he does get cash, it goes into his savings (or towards something he needs). And we will definitely encourage him to keep putting money in there as he grows.

    We DO have a constant flow going into his college fund, though. It's deducted monthly from our checking. It's an investment account, not a bank account, and thankfully, there's no minimum yearly requirement--which means, if, for some reason, we aren't able to contribute for a long time due to loss of job or whatever it may be, the account stays open and active even if we never contribute anything in it again! We're able to manage how aggressively we want the money invested and it really works well for us. We don't have a ton of money to put in there, but, thankfully, we don't need that much!!

    I never had a nest egg, so I'm excited to be able to invest in Cub's future.

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  7. That is a great idea! I'll start it today. Though I dont have a cub yet. Its never too late to start!

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  8. oops I mean too early to start!

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  9. We can't quite do $5's but we at the end of every day, we split up all of our silver change between the two girls piggie banks. They also each have a savings account we contribute to monthly. It's nothing much, as my husband is in the military and I to am a SAH mom but it's more than I had when I was starting out...which was nothing!

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  10. This isn't really a "rule", but this year we opened a separate account for my paychecks. All of my paychecks and any money from side jobs that my husband does will go towards paying off our debt. It's hard because we have to be VERY disciplined (like not going out to eat AT ALL), but it will be worth it because we should have ALL of our debt paid off (except for house) in July!

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  11. I recently put a mason jar on top of my dryer. Whenever I find $$ in pockets, it goes into the laundry jar. Guess it's my way of getting "paid" to do chores!

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  12. Good idea! I like a little challenge like that.

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  13. fabulous ideas! we started doing that for my nephew - giving him cash for savings instead of just another toy... He's two and has more cash in the bank that I do!

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  14. my husbands all about throwing the cash into savings, and when our little guy came along in August we made a stash for him too. Probably should take it to the bank too, less tempting to steal when we need cash fast, haha. Maybe when our little guys are older they'll have enough to help them buy their car! (whoa, lets not think that far ahead!) Thanks for sharing!

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  15. That's a great idea! We don't have kiddos yet, but, are always struggling to save for us--I'll have to start the $5 rule!

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  16. So smart! I'll have to remember this once Poe Boy arrives!

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  17. What a sweet idea! My parents and grandparents saved for me as a kid, and it has been such a blessing as an adult. Your little one is in such good hands!

    And if you are already establishing this good habit while your husband is in med school, just think how well you will do when you have cash coming in!

    (By the way - that first paycheck he'll get as an intern will be SUCH a delight. My husband and I were ecstatic this year when we got that money. Such a relief to not be living on loans anymore!)

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  18. If you are a SAHM and husband is in school, how do you get an income?

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  19. What a great idea with the $5 bills! So clever!

    We opened a savings account for Beanie a few weeks after he was born because my husband's family celebrates anything by giving cash, so we found ourselves with a little nest egg of our own in honor of Bean. We put that into his account and then I set up an automatic transfer from our checking account into his savings account every month. Its not much, but it does add up. We plan to keep collecting in a savings account until we have enough to put into a mutual fund for him. Hopefully, the nest egg will get nice and fat for him so that when he goes off to college or gets married or whenever, he has a nice little...well...nest egg.

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  20. When my husband and I got married (and before babies and pregnancies) we started an ING account that takes out $10 every month from our account and accrues interest. It isn't much, but we figure it will add up by the time our baby leaves the nest. When he/she is born we will increase the amount here and there when we can.
    I love your $5 idea!!!

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  21. I NEVER have cash on hand...it's very rare, but this is a good idea for those that do! We just transfer money every month to Bub's account. I'm all about online banking!! Lifesaver.

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  22. I save my change and sometimes a few lonely dollar bills for when we go on a vacation. sometimes is enough for the a meal in a nice place or something like that but I think I'm going to start the $5 rule for whenever we have a baby.
    love your blog!!

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  23. This is definitely not on topic, but I love you. I want to be you. Every time I read your blog (which I pretty much do on a daily basis), I leave feeling so encouraged and uplifted. I love that this is a safe, godly place. I love that your focus is on serving the Lord, your husband, and your child. I love that you teach me how to clean my house and save money. You are a perfect picture of the Proverbs 31 Wife and I look forward to learning from you and seeing into your life everyday.

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  24. great idea!! im def a debit card person- so not sure how much i would save.. but i might just try it! thx for sharing!!

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  25. Such a cute idea! My parents put all pocket change, no matter what, into one of those big water cooler jugs in the back of their closet. Every time it was full, I was allowed to have it (after counting and sorting it, of course...) It was an easy $500-$600 every time we cashed it in!
    xoxo,
    Lulu

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  26. Such a great idea! I never have cash though :( My husband and I do something similar, we just have an automatic transfer setup to put a small amount of money into savings. We don't really notice the money is gone but I sure notice how it's adding up in savings!

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  27. Im so doing this... from now. My future little one will have a nice little make-believe account when he/she is finally with us.
    Thanks for the idea!
    :)
    Jen

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  28. this is a great idea! i might just have to steal this one for my little one!

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  29. That's a really great idea! I've been reading your blog for awhile, but I've never stopped to think that you guys (may) have no income coming in, with Husby being in med school. I'd be interested in hearing if you have any creative ways to cut spending a little.

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  30. that is a really cute idea!

    we rarely have cash, so we just have money automatically deducted from our checking account every month. even a little bit can add up fast if it is set up to run every month! plus birthday money from relatives helps as well!

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  31. We've been doing this with just pocket change. To make it more fun, we have a vintage glass 5 gallon water bottle, you know, like for office coolers? It's a great game to give the baby money and have him walk over and drop the coins inside. I like to think this is the start of teaching him how to save!

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  32. I'm just catching up on some of your older posts, and saw this. When I was a kid I was SO excited about my "education" fund. Everytime I got money as a kid, I would split the ammount in half and have some for now and some for later (later being my fund) My parents and grangparents also put money in there, but even a $10 bill I got from friends at birthdays or from doing chores would go in there. I'm so weird!

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