In Today's Economy Every Penny Counts

Small Change

It's the little things that make all the difference in the world. Decide to make a small change today, and in a few months you'll look back and wonder why it was ever a big deal to make that change; it just seems so "normal."

Contine Reading Gail Vaz-Oxlade Website

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A small piece made a big difference last Saturday night.

My wife and I had been able to find a respite worker to let us take a breather for a few hours from caring for our special-needs child. But after a few hours out, and a few minutes later after dropping the worker off at her residence, we noticed it seemed a bit cool in our house.

The furnace was not working.

A few minutes later, armed with a flashlight, I determined that whatever was wrong with our furnace it wasn't something I could solve.

Now this wouldn't have been an urgent problem earlier in the month, but last Saturday was the coldest day so far this season, with the wind chill getting around -30 C.

A quick call to Manitoba Hydro and -- kudos to the utility -- about an hour later a serviceman arrived to tell us the diagnosis: the element had cracked.

Luckily, the serviceman had a replacement element in his vehicle. A few minutes later, our furnace roared to life and we had a warmer overnight than we could have had.

Gone are the days of a pilot light. Today's furnaces use an element that heats up, much like the coils in a toaster, until it ignites the natural gas.

The part itself is small, little more than the size of the pink eraser you send with your child to school.

But while small, it makes a big difference. And it could have been worse: if we had been on vacation it could have led to burst water pipes and tens of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

So small things can cause big headaches.

But small things can also lead to good things, too. I'm talking now about pennies.

A single penny isn't worth much these days. But while a single penny doesn't buy much, put five of them together and that makes a nickel. Ten of them is a dime. One hundred is a dollar.

You can continue to do the math, but here's some staggering figures which can show the power of giving..

Read More Here In This Article

The West Virginia University Department of Health Care collected more than one million pennies during its "Penny Wars."

The pennies amounted to $11,868.70 this year, the fourth year of the event in Morgantown.

Penny Wars is a fundraiser for the Mary Babb Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University.

Each year, their goal is to collect more than one million pennies in eight weeks, to provide temporary financial support for patients undergoing cancer treatment at MBRCC until they can attain funds through community, state and national resources.
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GMG Students Raise Over $900 For Pennies for Peace

April 8, 2011

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In just two short weeks, the elementary students and staff collected $922.23 to help support the Pennies For Peace project. Pennies for Peace is a service-learning program designed to broaden our students' cultural horizons while teaching them about their capacities as philanthropists-one penny at a time. Pennies for Peace is a program of Central Asia Institute (CAI), founded by Greg Mortenson-author of Three Cups of Tea and Listen to the Wind. CAI is a registered nonprofit organization that promotes and provides community-based education and literacy programs in remote regions of Central Asia. How can a penny bring peace? It doesn't buy much in our community. However, in the villages of Pakistan and Afghanistan, a penny can buy a pencil, start an education, and transform a life. Congratulations GMG students, parents, and staff for showing how much you care!

Pennies For Peace

You Can Make A Difference

We need your help as we urge retailers across the country to adopt plastic card recycling policies. Join the effort by inviting your favorite locations to place a Plastic Pennies card collection bin!

Getting a bin placed in your favorite location is simple. Print out our placement form and distribute them to the managers of your favorite locations. Be sure to include your name and email at the top. You'll receive an email on how to track your bin's donation progress. We'll recognize you as the founder and bring attention to the nominated organization you're most passionate about.

Each bin does the following:

Reduces amount of PVC waste in landfills
Helps raise awareness for nominated charities
Allows a sponsor to support the effort
Tracks donation progress for you to share with others

Watch A Short Video About Plastic Pennies

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Top Ten Reasons To Own A Piggy Bank:

1. Rainy Day Fund
2. Ice Cream Fund
3. Toy Fund
4. Weekend Fund
5. Vacation Fund
6. School Fund
7. Car Fund
8. Adventure Fund
9. Hobby Fund
10. Hopes & Dreams Fund

Piggy Banks

"If you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny willliterally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies,you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days.
~Annie Dillard-

Here is an interesting story about coupon clipping that saves you a lot of those pennies.Read More Of This Story

This blogger is saying that A Penny Saved is Worth More Than A Penny .

Let's read his article and find out why he is of this opinion.
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We sold over $25,879. worth of our
little plants right from our driveway in a matter of about six weeks--
Learn How To Duplicate This

"The new Lincoln bicentennial penny has become one of the hottest items in the collecting world" according to an article in the NJ.com website

I am talking here about the website GOOD SEARCH where every time you do a search using their search engine, you get to collect approximately a penny for your favorite charity.
Now, you may think "So what? I only do a few searches a day, that wouldn't help much."

But what if thousands and thousands do the same action every day of the year even if it's only a few searches. Can you imagine the possibilities?

There is an example of how much your organization can earn right on the site.

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A Good Way To Visualize Big Number Of Pennies

How much would you earn in a month if you accepted a salary of 1 penny a day, to be doubled each succeeding day?
Day 1 - $.01
Day 2 - $.02
Day 3 - $.04
Day 4 - $.08
Day 5 - $.16
Day 6 - $.32
Day 7 - $.64
Day 8 - $1.28
Day 9 - $2.56
Day 10 - $5.12
Day 11 - $10.24
Day 12 - $20.48
Day 13 - $40.96
Day 14 - $81.92
Day 15 - $163.84
Day 16 - $327.68
Day 17 - $655.36
Day 18 - $1,310.72
Day 19 - $2,621.44
Day 20 - $5,242.88
Day 21 - $10,485.76
Day 22 - $20,971.52
Day 23 - $41, 943.04
Day 24 - $83,886.08
Day 25 - $167,772.16
Day 26 - $335,544.32
Day 27 - $671,088.64
Day 28 - $1,342,177.28
Day 29 - $2,684,354.56
Day 30 - $5,368,709.12