Penny Pinching

When to pinch....that is the question.
I am all for helping others in any way that I can.  But at the same time I can be very cheap.  Where to draw the line is the dilemma.
For example, at certain gas stations you can get a 32oz caffeine free diet coke with a double shot of vanilla for 97 cents with tax.  So you pay with $1 and the cashier asks, "do you want your pennies back?"  If you say yes, you sound really cheap.  If you say no, you know it will go into that little dish thingy where you can pick out a few pennies if you need it so that you don't have to break a ten or twenty.
If I say yes, in a little over a month, I can have enough pennies to get a free coke.  That's some serious, and literal, penny pinching, but my point is that it all adds up.... whether you keep it or give it away.
I bet you have a jar or dish at home where you collect all the change from everyone's pockets, don't you? Most homes do.  So what do you do with that change?  If you have ever stopped to count it you realize that it can add up to quite a bit depending on how many people contribute to it and how long it has sat there.  My husband and I keep a jug of change, and when we decide we want to do something fun, like a one day road trip or a mini vacation we cash out the jug and use it for spending money.  We always have well over $100 in there by the time we decide we want to use it, and we never missed it while it was sitting there in the jug.
This year it will not be used for our fun.  Our Pastor just asked us yesterday to contribute every quarter we have in our purses and homes to "Feed the Need" where you can feed a child for only 25 cents.  Needless to say, I'll be taking all the quarters out of our jug for that this week.  At a glance I would say there is at least $50 in quarters in there.
So what's my point?  I'm saying to save your pennies.  They may not make much of a difference now, but added up they will later.  Whether that is more fun for you on a vacation, or an opportunity to help others, only the future can say.  So instead of leaving your pennies at the gas station OR TAKING pennies from the gas station, break your ten or twenty, and put the coins in a jar.  See how much you have this time next year.

Until next time..... The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the Will of God lives forever 1 John 2:17
Franny