Woman saves $12,000 by collecting Fives

A sum like $12,000 doesn't usually make the news, but one Boston Globe reporter has managed to trick herself into saving that amount by adopting a creative way to save. With two daughters in college and a mortgage to pay, Marie Franklin and her husband didn't have any extra money to put into savings. While perusing online, she came across a saving trick that suggested saving every five she acquired and depositing them into a separate savings account.

Once she's collected ten fives in her wallet, Marie deposits the $50 into her designated savings account, and once that account has $2,000 she purchases a CD to earn higher interest. After three years of saving all of her fives, she has accumulated $12,000 in savings. Marie acknowledges that this method of saving requires discipline, but her unconventional habit has obviously worked for her.