“See a penny, pick it up. All day long you’ll have good luck.” Although this phrase is commonly used when one finds a penny on the ground, when it comes to the money, pennies are often undervalued. But I don’t see why. If you have a $1Million in $100 bills or pennies, you still have $1Million dollars. There’s a popular question circling math/financial circles…
If you could have $1Million now, or a penny that doubles in value every day for 30 days – which would you take? Most people would take the $1 Million dollars. They think the penny is incapable of having real worth. After all, its value is only 1 cent – and that’s an odd number. But if you do the math, the penny doubles on the second day and is now worth 2 cents. The third day it’s worth 4 cents. You continue doing this and for most of the month and watch the amount steadily increase – slowly but surely. It’s not until Day 18 that the penny is worth more than $1,000. It takes an additional 10 days (day 28) to be worth more than the original $1 Million, but by Day 30 the penny will be worth $5,368,709.12.
While most of us don’t have the resources to turn a penny into over $5 Million in savings, the story of the multiplying penny teaches us a good lesson. Anything, no matter how small can hold value. And if you add small steps up over time, they can have a big impact.
Our children don’t instantly become independent just by entering through our doors. There is no secret ingredient that magically makes someone successful, or rich. It takes hard work and perseverance. It’s pushing through those small moments that ultimately drives big results.
So next time you see a lucky penny on the ground, don’t disregard it. Pick it up. This is what the creators of Lucky Penny Day want you to do. I believe a penny isn’t inherently lucky – it takes good karma. So here’s my recommendation… Start a lucky penny jar. Every time you find a penny, place it in a jar, when the jar fills up – cash it in and donate it to Hope for Hearts. Every donation, large or small, gets us closer to lifting another child from poverty to prosperity through education. And it’s a heck of a lot better than letting these pennies go to waste on the ground.
Wishing you much luck,
Cristen
