I had a co-worker who always had a hard time saving money, she tried rounding up in the check book, writing checks for over the amount and putting the money away in a bank and even tried just collecting change to no avail. She always ended up spending it.

Finally, she latched onto to some thing that allowed her to save some of it. It wasn’t anything major, but she finally figured out a way she could save some money without spending it; the two dollar bill. Those same annoying bills that many people think are fake or unlucky, she likes to buy.

Saving $2 bills was something that her uncle used to do and she always thought they were unique because of him. After her uncle died, any two bills she came across, she snatched up and stored them away in her jewelry box as a way to remember and honor him. She didn’t think of it as a way to build up an emergency savings fund, but it has.

Of course her work in the cash office brings her in contact with more of these two dollar bills than the average person, but she has only worked in the office for the last 18 months. Before that she would go to the bank and buy some or ask friends to save them for her.

Over the course of the last 5 years, she has collected over 2200 dollars in $2 bills. It isn’t a lot of money saved for that amount of time. But when she is only saving the two dollar bills, it is pretty amazing that she found something that allows her to save in even when others would think it would be a small, insignificant thing.

One of the jobs that I work is in the accounting office at my local big box store, and recently I had a knock at the door with an employee asking for a customer if we had any Kennedy half dollars or Eisenhower dollars that they could buy from us.

Since we had a few for them to purchase, I asked them if they collect them and they said that they don’t themselves but it is a way to get their grand-kids to save as they don’t think it is real money… yet.

Now if you want to save Kennedy half dollars and Eisenhower dollar coins, you don’t have to go to a retail store to ask, most banks have a few that you can buy – some even have full rolls of coin.

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Dawn C. is site owner of FrugalforLife.com where this is a repost from: Two Dollar Savings Plan. Dawn resides in Colorado with her spouse, Teri, of 12 years.

Photo credit: FrugalForLife.com.