Kay:

Hey there, Questers, welcome, welcome. It’s Money Monday cha-ching and we’ve got such a cool quote for you today from a Founding Father favorite Mr. Benny G. Franklin.

Shi:

Benny G. Frankie in the house on this Money Monday. It’s a quote you have heard before, and you’ve likely rolled your eyes at it, but we are here to bring a new spin and a new understanding to this oldie but goodie and that is, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Kay:

Now, interesting sentiment coming from the face of the $100 bill…

Shi:

Benny.

Kay:

…but I doubt at the time he knew. Benny probably didn’t even understand that the $100 bill was down the path. But just in case Benjamin Franklin is not a historical figure you are familiar with. He is one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. He was a leading writer, a printer, a political philosopher, a politician, a Freemason, a postmaster, a scientist, an inventor. He did all the things. He practically discovered electricity. He popularized the printing press over on the United States front. He seriously helped the revolution from the ground up. He helped France to gain their independence. Benny Frankie had it going on.

Shi:

Yeah, up there in the soul verse thanks for all the contribution and advancement.

Kay:

Hey, Ben if you’re listening.

Shi:

He’s a long-time listener. Oh man but truly the gratitude to this Founding Father and it’s hard not to judge people through the lens of history based on our current values and certainly we can see areas in places where he was less than exemplary as a human being. But for the times that he was in and the contributions that he’s made, those are undeniable, and this advice is also undeniable. It’s easy to grasp. It’s easy to understand and yet, sometimes it’s hard to implement.

Kay:

Well, saving kind of sucks. I mean, let me just be the first one to say it. I don’t think anyone, well, I won’t say that. I don’t think many of us are like, “woo saving my money!” It’s not something you get really jazzed about. I mean, when you see it…

Shi:

When you see your savings..

Kay:

When you see it accumulating but if you’re starting from zero, starting the saving train can be kind of cool.

Shi:

Think about when you were a kid and you got money, how much it burned a hole in your pocket, or as soon as you got a quarter, you were like, where’s the gumball machine? You couldn’t wait to spend the money. So, this doesn’t always come intrinsically to us. Also, there’s this idea of I want my money to work for me or money is meant to be spent. There is value in those sentiments, but there’s a lot of value in this sentiment here because sometimes we focus so much on how to earn and how to make more that we don’t realize we already have incredible abundance in our lives and resources and resourcefulness and that we can earn by being more better stewards of what we currently have. That’s really the thought behind this quote here today.

Kay:

Well, in the spirit of better stewardship, there are ways that we can save our money that actually earns us money. We don’t have time here in a five-minute podcast to give you financial savings advice but what we can tell you is that it is worth getting educated on things like stocks, on things like even bonds and CD funds, and things of that nature. There are ways to invest your money and to save that money in a sure bet if you will, that can actually make pennies back over time. As we know about consistency, it certainly compounds, but that phrase comes from money compounding and investments over time.

Shi:

I really like this just leaning into this idea here. We’ve spent so much time focusing on that earning piece. How do I earn more? How do I generate more income? I want to have a better lifestyle. So, how do I bring in more, earn more so that I can afford that and another way that we can earn that lifestyle or achieve those goals is by restructuring what we already have, or looking at better ways to utilize our money. If we can save money on insurance or we can eliminate an expense out of our lives or we can find an Avenue to get something at a better rate, then that’s money that can be used in another capacity. So, not necessarily about, I have to do more, to get more, but about doing smarter in order to get more with what you have. I think that this is a really great strategy that’s often underutilized.

Kay:

I’m so glad that you brought that up Shila because stewarding the money that we really do have and finding places that we can save even within our own current nut, can certainly earn us a bit on the back end. So, as Benny Frankie tells us, Mr. Benjamin Franklin, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”

Shi:

All right, now just roll your eyes with us because we know you did it too. It’s one of those quotes. Certainly, most of us heard it as teenagers but it is such a valid quote. That brings us to our money Monday quest today, we wanted to do a little spring cleaning for your savings with us. Spring cleaning activities include, but are not limited to pulling out your banking and/or credit card statement and choosing one charge you can save on this month, whether it’s coffee or cutting out a subscription, you don’t really need. We want you to be intentional about setting aside little extra savings this spring. Where can you save a penny so that you can earn a penny? Are you ready?

Kay & Shi:

Let’s quest!