My dad and I stood in line at the bank.  I was about 10 years old.  When it was our turn, my dad handed over a few checks he wanted to deposit.  Then he reached into his pocket, pulled out a few rubber bands, a paper clip, and a handful of coins.  Carefully he extracted the rubber bands and paper clips and put them back in his pocket.  

 

"What's this," the surly teller asked with disdain, glancing at the coins.

 

My dad looked at me, then back at the teller.  "You work at a bank, and you don't know what this is?"  

 

I couldn't stop giggling.  

 

My parents saved and invested consistently. Although they never did have a big score, they managed to provide for seven kids, and my 90 year old mother is still living off the dividends from their stocks.

 

I learned along the way by watching.  

 

Hundreds of websites are out there with strategies on how to save money.  Advice on everything from forgoing coffee to using coupons.  It doesn't matter what you do or how you do it, only that you do it consistently.  Start now.

 

One thing that has worked for me is that when I do laundry, I snag the coins in my husband's pocket and put them in a jar.  Over the years, I've accummulated many thousands of dollars.

 

And I buy Suave.  The savings goes into my jar too.