I do have people give me money as a gift from time to time. A few years ago, when I was saving up for a watch, I did a great job of putting all of the money I was given in a savings account earmarked especially as my watch fund.
I finally got my watch. It was sort of a combination 35th birthday present to myself and a present to myself for successfully serving as acting principal for six months. It was 100% worth the wait and I loved being able to purchase it with cash.
Since then I haven’t done as good a job of squirreling away money that I receive as gifts. I have gotten into the bad habit of depositing checks in my checking account and moving forward or, if it is cash, spending it on things along the way.
I know in my head that every little bit counts, but when looking at paying off a $228,000 mortgage seems so overwhelming. It has seemed to be that a little bit here or there isn’t going to make a difference, so I haven’t made it a priority.
It is time to get back to savings. The $20 here or there really does add up over time and I know it. So what if $20 is less than ten-thousandth of what I ultimately owe. Paying that toward the mortgage not only moves up the date that I will have the mortgage paid off, but it will reduce my total cost as well.
