I was introduced to the concept of rounding up many years ago, while still in college. I had a part time job in one of the University’s programming offices, and I noticed my boss writing a check and then enter the amount in her check ledger. But when she did so, she rounded the amount of the check up to the next whole dollar.
I asked her about it and she told me that she had been rounding for years. And at the end of each year, she would reconcile her checking account properly, accounting for the rounded dollars, and then invest the full amount into stocks.
I was impressed and made a mental note that one day I would do the same. But I never did. In fact, I was one of the worst when it came to actually balancing my check book and so keep tracking of 40 cents here or 50 cents there just took too much time. So, I never got around to it.
Rounding up isn’t difficult and it’s a good way to save money, especially if you aren’t saving anything. While rounding up your check book manually can be time consuming, today, banks, credit unions and online financial services like Acorns are making it easier to round up and save that spare change. They do all the work for you.
If you aren’t saving anything extra, taking advantage of rounding is a very good place to start. Reach out to your bank for details on how to start.
