Meta Description: No bank account and no steady income, yet my friend saved $690.50 in 7 months with
tiny daily deposits. Here’s how to start saving money too.
A while ago, a friend came to me with a simple request. He had no bank account, and he told me, “I want to save money with you.” I said OKAY. Every day he brought me whatever he could, and I kept it safe for him in a box.
I also wrote down every payment on paper, so we both knew exactly how much he had saved. He had no regular income, so the amounts changed constantly. One day he saved $1.30, another day 50 cents, and the day after that $10.
After a while, he told me he was saving for a new phone. The phone he wanted cost $650. I laughed. I couldn’t help it. His deposits were so small, and the phone was so expensive, that it seemed impossible. He just said, “You will see.”
Seven months later, he came back and asked me to calculate his savings.
I told him there was no way he was close. He said, “Just do it.”
So I counted. The total was $690.50. He had more than enough for the phone.
The Moment That Changed How I Think About Money
At one point I asked him why he bothered saving cents. I told him he could just spend them, since they’re not much. His answer stuck with me:
“If you don’t respect dimes, you will never save thousands.”
That one sentence is the best saving advice I’ve heard. Cents matter more than you can imagine. Something else impressed me. On the days when he had a good income, he didn’t ease up or celebrate by spending. He saved everything that came in, because he wanted his dream to come true.
My Friend’s 3-Step Saving Formula
Looking back, my friend followed a simple formula without even calling it one. I have used it myself ever since, every time I want to save money for a specific purpose. Here it is in three steps.
Step 1: Name your target. Choose one specific purpose and write down its exact price.
Saving “some money” was not his goal. His goal was a $650 phone. A named target with a price tells you when you are done.
Step 2: Save every day, whatever the amount. Some days it was $10, some days $1.30,
some days only 50 cents. He never held back a deposit because the amount was small, and on good-income days he saved everything that came in.
Step 3: Record it, keep it separate, and count at the end. Every deposit was written on
paper and kept in a box, away from his spending. Then, when enough time had passed, he counted. The total was $690.50.
The formula in numbers: $690.50 over 7 months comes to roughly $3 a day on average.
That’s an amount most people can find, and for him it came in as cents on some days and a few dollars on others.
Formula: Clear target + daily saving (even cents) + written record in a separate place = goal reached.
How to Save Smartly: Lessons From His Method
Saving money is not about luck or a big salary. My friend’s method was simple, and every part of it can be copied.
- Set a clear goal. His goal was not just “save money.” It was a phone that costs $650. A
goal with a name and a price gives every coin a purpose. - Make the goal reasonable. His goal matched his life: a phone, not a house. A realistic
goal feels possible, so you keep going. Start with something you can reach in months, then set a bigger one. - Have a plan. Decide how you will save, where the money will be kept, and how you will know when you have reached your goal. He had all three: daily deposits, a safe box, and a written record.
- Be consistent. He showed up every day he could, even on low days. Consistency beats size.
- Write it down. I recorded his payments on paper. Seeing the numbers grow is motivating, and a record shows you the truth. Paper, a notebook, or an app all work.
- Keep your savings separate. Money in a box, or in a separate account, is much harder
to spend by accident than money in your pocket. - Save your good days. When extra income comes, put it toward your goal first. Good days are what speed up the finish line.
- Respect every cent. Small amounts are not too small to save. They are what the big total is made of.
- Be patient. Don’t judge the result on day one. His first week looked like nothing. Seven months later, it was $690.50.
I Used His Tactics, and They Worked I need to be honest: his lesson was not only for him. It was for me too. When I watched how carefully he treated every coin, I started looking at my own spending.
I realized I was spending too much on dining out and subscriptions. They felt small, but they were adding up, just like his savings, only in the wrong direction. He woke me up.
I started using his tactics myself: a clear goal, a written record, and cutting
what I didn’t need. Since then I have achieved a lot of goals that I would not have reached otherwise. And it started with a friend who had no bank account.
How to Start Saving Today
- Pick one goal and write down the price. A phone, an emergency fund, a trip.
- Make it reasonable so you can finish it in a few months.
- Make a simple plan: how much, how often, and where it will be kept.
- Save something every day you can, even if it’s only a few cents.
- Write down every deposit and watch your total grow.
- Check your leaks. Look at dining out and subscriptions, and cut what you don’t need.
- Save all of your extra income on good days.
Final Thoughts
My friend started with no bank account, no steady income, and a goal that made me laugh. Seven months later, he reached it because he respected every dime.
Don’t wait until you have “enough” to start saving. Start with what you have today and let time do the rest. What small amount can you save today?