Oct 15th, 2012 by Jennifer Lynn
Because, who doesn’t love a Broke-Ass Monday with free stuff? Enjoy this special edition—the Snowflake ‘Save Small Amounts’ Giveaway!
Enter below to win a chance at five $5 Paypal Cash prizes or one prize of $25 Paypal Cash!!
What is the snowflake savings method?
The snowflake savings method illustrates the importance of saving small amounts of money and the impact it can have on one’s financial journey.
When initially starting out, building a solid amount of savings can feel tedious and overwhelming, which is why I am a huge fan of the snowflake savings mentality. This model basically highlights how every spare amount of change is like a unique snowflake. Scrounging up a few cents here and there to throw into savings doesn’t seem very powerful at first, and yet suddenly those numerous snowflakes merge together to become a mighty snowball of goal-orientated fury.
Itty bitty amounts of savings do eventually add up, and do matter!
To further illustrate:
I grew up in a family where we never really took vacations and money was pretty tight. Nearly every evening my Mom would take my older brother and I (then four and five years old) for strolls along the river after dinner. During these walks she would scout leisurely for discarded bottles and cans along the riverbank and gather them in order to return to the local market for a small deposit. She did this for months and then used those accumulated profits to purchase us weekly musical lessons and instruments. Any leftover surplus after that was used for small, delicious treats for us all at the local ice cream counter.
Today, due to having piano and guitar training at such an early age, my talented brother—who is deeply musically-inclined—is preparing to embark on his second successful band tour, this time throughout Europe.
Every page in an elaborate novel is written word by word.
And every financial fortune is built one cent at a time.
Using creative methods, those bitty amounts of savings compile together and pack a financial wallop!
Now you can join in on the fun for the third installation of the Snowflake Method Giveaway, with our Save Small Amounts Edition!
To celebrate this concept, Jeffrey at SavingAdvice.com is hosting a ‘Save Small Amounts Through Snowflaking’ giveaway by giving $5.00 in cash through Paypal or Amazon gift card to five lucky readers and one prize of $25.00 in cash through Paypal or Amazon gift card.
Here is how you may enter for your chance to win:
Enjoy your Broke-Ass Monday and good luck to all participants!
=^..^=
(If you are a blogger and interested in participating in future Snowflaking financial giveaways for your readers, you may learn more here: Snowflake Project.)
What an inspiring snowflake story, thanks for sharing!
My favorite way to save small amounts – drive right past a fast food restaurant even when I really really want to stop in!
First really love the name of the site. But so true that saving smalls amount do add up. My mom did something similar with me growing up. When she bought something she would always put the change in a bottle with the top covered. When it was full we would rolled up the change usually to the tune of $100 of more.
Thanks, Pauline. I will always remember those walks!
Lena, that is a fabulous piece of advice. I love it! Do you shuffle the money you would’ve spent on a McChicken sandwich into a savings or investment account?
Thanks for the compliment, Thomas. $100 or more in compiled change is simply awesome. Change is fun to roll up because there is always that slight chance of discovering some discarded silver pieces thrown in the mix.
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That is SO amazing about your brother! And kudos to your mom! What band does he play in??
I try to do the little things. Like your mom, I do it mostly right now to get by, but hopefully when I'm done with school we'll be able to use that money to contribute to mega vacations or helping out extended family or saving it towards college etc.
I love stories of savings. Money was tight for us growing up also, but dollar by dollar I too saved up for my electric guitar and amp! I was so proud when it all finally came together, and I think it gave me the courage to save for much bigger goals!
What a nice story, and a perfect example of snowflaking. Cheers!
This puts my snowflake story to shame! Thanks for sharing
I love this – "Every page in an elaborate novel is written word by word. And every financial fortune is built one cent at a time."
Such profound advice!
Hey, saw you on TFB and just wanted to let you know I passed by. I love stumbling on a parent finance blogger.
"Every page in an elaborate novel is written word by word.
And every financial fortune is built one cent at a time."
I love this! I love your mom! I had 8 brothers and sisters and my mom raised us alone with no help. We never had vacations either. But I have to tell you when she had enough money to send us to the "corner market" for a half gallon of ice cream! We felt like the richest kids on the block!
[...] Broke-Ass Mommy-$25 Cash Paypal or gift Certificate & five $5 Cash via Paypal or gift certificate -six prizes total (ends October 24) [...]
track our earnings for one thing
I cook at home and eat leftovers instead of eating out.
always carry snacks and a water bottle.
I try to match up coupons with store sales.
In order to save money at home, we measure food to ensure that we are never unfreezing more than we need, and we also shop sales. For example, when Kroger does the 10 for 10 sale on pasta, we stock up on all the pasta we'll need for the next few months! It works great.
shop sales ads
I shop for generic foods.
BTW, I'm linking to your giveaway on FamilyMoneyValues this week…
[...] Broke-Ass Mommy (not my words) is giving away paypal cash! You have 6 more days to enter. [...]
I try to reuse whatever I can in order to save money.
Melissa
Cut out unnecessary purchases like coffee some days
I combine errands into one day when possible to save on gas. I make sure to use leftovers. I use sites like retailmenot.com and ebates.com to save/make a little $ on necessary purchases.
Saving money can seem like a huge task.. but starting off slow can allow people to ease into it and let them get used to saving and then eventually increase the amount
I clip coupons and look for sales.
Small things that save money can really add up! I re-use cups at 7/11 to get re-fill prices on soda or coffee. Doing this saves us about $2 a week… or $8 a month… or $96 a year! We also pay cash price on gas whenever possible since it saves us an average of 5 cents a gallon. Recycling bottles with cash back value notice on them (the only kind our local market takes) saves us about $6 a month (or $72 a year!)
Use manufacturers coupons; use B1G1F coupons for meals; read the ads.
I save time and money by using Amazon subscribe and save.
I don't splurge on expensive drinks when I feel like it. I will go home and make myself a smoothie or tea or whatever it was that I wanted to indulge in while out
I don't go out to eat as often.
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