Indiana Man Saves Pennies and Buys a Truck

Paul Brant of Frankfurt, Indiana bought a brand new Dodge Ram for $26,670 in December. The catch is that he paid for it all in change. He collected change for 13 years and then decided that he needed a truck. The man who lives a short distance from Lafayette is quoted as saying:
“I reckon I was just brought up that way,”

He empties his pockets out daily and goes out of the way to pick up change on the ground. He saved the cash in coffee cans, piggy banks, and used jugs of muscle milk. I give the man credit change does add up, but I have to say this guy

IS A DUMBASS.

He had the right idea in saving the money but keeping the money in coffee cans is slightly stoopid. Assuming he collected $2051.53 a year ($26,670/13). He could have put this money in a the safest possible investment a savings account. The ING Orange Saving rate is now at 3.4% after the Fed has cut the rates so this rate was higher before. He would have had $33,967 after 13 years which is $7297 more or it would have only took him 11 years to get the truck. If he had invested in say the S&P 500 which averages a 10% return he would have had $55,340 which by my calculations is more than double.

What to take away.

Don’t keep your change in a piggy bank, get it into some kind of investment. For college students, don’t keep more than one or two thousand in your checking account. You are losing money if you keep it this account longer than a year since the rate is below the inflation rate. Also, keep an eye on your savings account rates. Some are also really low.