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Wondering what to do with pennies?  Read on to learn how they are more powerful than you think!

When I was a teenager, I was super interested in finance.  I devoured books about being frugal and saving up your money.  I know, I was a bit of a weirdo.  But, to me, it was fascinating!

I watched where my dollars went, but I also kept track of my change.  I’d pick up the penny on the sidewalk.  When I put it together with its friends, they added up to something.

Then I got married and had a pile of kids.  As time went on, I became less concerned about saving money and more concerned about how to get some sleep.

In many ways, I was still very frugal.  But I spent more time trying to save big chunks of money and less time worrying about what to do with pennies.

It’s not that I had forgotten the importance of small savings.  But that season of life was too busy for worrying about what to do with pennies.

Wondering what to do with pennies? Here's how to make a little penny into a powerhouse.

Deciding What To Do With Pennies

These days, I (thankfully) get the occasional full night of sleep!  I’m ready to keep track of my pennies again.

But that doesn’t have to be as tedious as it sounds.

I think that generally, people realize that pennies do add up.  When we are grocery shopping and we have a full cart, we are careful to choose the cereal that costs 50 cents less.  Or the generic version of an item, because it saves us 10 cents.

We realize that when we are checking out, those small amounts of change will add up to a large amount of savings.

What’s A Penny Really Worth?

I once read this interesting article about the value of one penny.  In it, the author discusses a $10,000 loan at an 18% interest rate.  That means that you’re making monthly payments of $150.

You would never pay the loan off, because you are only paying the interest on the loan.  You’re never paying anything towards the principle.

But… if you add just one penny to that monthly payment, you will have it paid off in under 54 years.

Now, paying on a loan for 54 years sounds awful, but that’s missing the point.  Consider how powerful one penny can be.  It takes a loan from never, ever paid off (to infinity and beyond!) all the way down to 54 years.  If you compare those two, it’s pretty amazing.

What’s the Point?

Well, every penny you pay towards debt is one less penny with interest compounded on it.  Those few pennies you’re spending to supersize your meal could instead be turned into a powerful repayment plan.

Instead of letting them leak away, why not put them to work for you instead?

Brace Yourself for Some Math

(Ok, I am not a big fan of math.  You may be more ambivalent towards the subject.)

One night my husband asked our boys if they would rather have a million dollars or one penny doubled every day for a month.  One of the boys immediately said he’d choose the million dollars, but the others knew there must be a trick here.

Aha, there is a trick!  That wimpy little penny turns out to be pretty powerful.

What is a penny doubled for a month?

If you were smart enough to choose the penny doubled, you’d have a tidy sum of $10,737,418.24 in the end.

And you were going to settle for $1,000,000!

This chart isn’t something any of us have access to, but it is a fun way to consider the power of interest.  And if you want to teach this lesson to your kids, this book is a fun way to help children understand this concept.

Pennies In the Real World

Just in case you never face a tough situation like having to choose between a million dollars and a penny doubled over a month (although if you have experienced that, please tell me your story!), let’s talk about how this applies in the real world.

When you’re faced with a mountain of debt, it’s easy to be discouraged.  It might feel like you will be paying on debt for the rest of your life.

Instead of feeding those thoughts and emotions, remember that every penny you can find to send towards your bills is another tiny step towards being out of the bonds of debt.

That means that choosing to not buy that bag of candy that you found on clearance for just 25 cents is really a victory in your debt payoff plan.  Put that quarter with the others you saved by avoiding overdue fines or collecting change in your pocket instead of losing it in your car.

Enough of those pennies put together can become powerful.

And it isn’t just the pennies themselves, but the new mindset you’ve gained.  Each small purchase you choose to make matters.

Some days, buying that candy bar is just another silly splurge.  Putting that small amount of money towards debt instead will make you feel great.

Then, on the rough days when you really need that candy bar, it will taste sweeter knowing that you made the honest decision that it was worth your hard earned money.

Now you know what to do with pennies.  Make them work for you!

These days, it’s easier to remember the power of a penny.  Remember these stories when you’re tempted to leave those pennies on the ground!

If you like making pennies powerful, you’re gonna love seeing what your dollars will do!  This chart is perfect for helping imperfect people save $1,000 in a year.

Finally...A Money Saving Chart Everyone Can Use

 

If you find a penny on the ground, do you usually pick it up?