Every Penny Counts

You are probably aware that one dollar is a hundred pennies. Ever imagined how many pennies that actually is? Or seen it? Now imagine ten dollars. That would be a thousand pennies. Whoa. But wait, a hundred dollars is ten thousand pennies. Where would you store ten thousand pennies? I think that would be enough to fill a small closet or something. A thousand dollars though, is a million pennies. A million pennies. Imagine, if you saved a penny every second, you would have sixty every minute, every hour you would save three thousand and six hundred pennies. By the end of one day, you would have saved 86,400 pennies. That is eight hundred and sixty four dollars you saved in one day. In 365 days, a.k.a. one year, you would have saved 315, 360 dollars. In just three years you have 946, 080 dollars in the bank, and should be able to live off a 1% interest dividend every three months. After all, that breaks down to a monthly dividend of 3,153 dollars, and sixty cents. That's twice what I ever made in the military. But what's the point of talking about saving 864 dollars each day, when most of us don't make that much in a month? Because it can be a reminder that each and every penny we drop onto the sidewalk, is another piece of your future retirement. Just think about how many pennies people let fall to the ground. "Oh it is just a penny, no real loss" they think. But if you drop a penny every second, it adds up to 864 dollars you 'dropped' in one day. Nobody would drop that many pennies in one day, I hope, it would be hard to have that many in your pocket to begin with, but the point is the same. You don't have to toss your change to the ground hoping it'll be found by those who need it. You can save it up until you can give it away in such large amounts that it changes lives overnight. Sometimes change is good, especially if provided in large amounts. Sometimes it is good for change to slowly build up until it is no longer needed and can slowly be used up. By the way, I'm not just talking about pennies or quarters when I mention change. Changes in our lives is a lot like the change in our pockets. We can use a few cents a day to change a life slowly, or save it up and pay for a book that will change someone's life overnight. There are so many ways to help others, whether with small change from our pockets, or just a change in our hearts. People can be compared to pennies. One person can change someone else's life, but may not be able to change the world instantly. Instead sometimes change will happen one person after another, like small donations over months that add up until the organization you donate to has enough to keep saving lives for another twelve months. Sometimes whole communities, whole nations will change drastically, within weeks or months, so suddenly the rest of the planet is shaken and has to adjust, or change, over years afterwards. Like a big donation that pays for hundreds of books sent into a foreign country to inspire hope and goodwill in people lost in despair and loneliness.

In the end, save your pennies, or give them to someone else who you know can use them to help others, or send them to me! But don't forget to accept the way your life can change for the better, and the ways you can change lives all around you. Even the smallest stone knocked loose can start an avalanche.