The $5 Vacation

Forty-four-year-old Alan Duffy of Brooklyn had a good idea that he shared in Real Simple magazine. And it kinda makes sense to me.

He pays for everything in cash, and saved every $5 bill he received in change, putting them into a special envelope.

Once he had 10 bills, he deposited them into a special savings account, at a different bank from his other accounts, eliminating the temptation to transfer savings into his checking account.

In about a year, he’d saved $2,000, and then used the money to take his wife and kids to Cape Cod for a week’s vacation this past summer.

He’s doing it again, and has a $350 balance in the special checking account.

I might try this. Then again …