Money In a Jar
Digging Out Of Debt - Posted: 5/11/2008
By: Lee Martin "You have got to be kidding me", I said as I sat at the calculator, wide eyed in amazement. My wife, bless her heart has started this money jar idea. Her reasoning was if at the end of the day we put all out loose change in a jar that at the end of a certain period of time we would have this huge amount of money that could be used for things we need.
Now I like being married, so I went along with the idea. Of course it didn't last very long, but I tried. Then she had the idea that perhaps I could just stop going to the coffee shop each morning. Well now she is beginning to get a little too personal and I was determined that my morning routine wasn't costing me much anyway.
With pencil in hand I sat down to figure out just how much money I "wouldn't save". I was flabbergasted at what I learned about my spending habits. Since I am a creature of habit it wasn't difficult to figure out: 1 cinnimon crunch bagel, 1 cup of hazel nut coffee and a local newspaper and the total is $4.40. I usually go the coffee shop 5 days a week so now I have spent $22 a week and I go probably 50 weeks a year which would make my total $1,100 per year. I have been doing this for the last 6 years, which mounts up to $ 6,600.
Now lets put this in perspective. That price equals 2 years and 13 weeks worth of gas for my pick up and at todays gas prices that's a pretty big deal. It's also twice what I give to my church, and I'm a minister.
I wonder how many jars it would take to hold $6.600?
