Random Savings
Pull out a $1 bill and look at it. Just to the left of the portrait is the Federal Reserve Bank seal. In the center of the seal is a letter which designates in which city the bank is located. Examples (based on what I just found in my wallet):
B = New York
E = Richmond
F = Atlanta
H = St. Louis
K = Dallas
L = San Francisco
We'll use San Francisco for this example. If you live near San Francisco (Northern California, Oregon, Washington), most of the bills in your area will have the letter "L" on them (corresponds to the nearest bank location.) A random survey of bills should have more "L" bills than "non-L" bills.
Once each day (or whenever you get change back) look at the $1 bills in your possession. Any "non-L" bills, put aside. Put them in a special place; a piggy-bank, a cookie jar, the family bible, your personal copy of the Complete Unabridged Roget's Thesaurus or Bartlett's Quotations, wherever works for you. You will be amazed at how quickly they can add up.
It is a completely random, "luck-based", way to save money for something you particularly want to get; a trip to Disneyland, a pony, that new hip you're going to need when you're 45. Just substitute the letter that corresponds to your nearest Federal Reserve Bank letter for "L".
Reserve Bank Locations:
Boston; New York; Philadelphia; Cleveland; Richmond; Atlanta; Chicago; St. Lous; Minneapolis; Kansas City; Dallas; San Francisco.
(Hint: Open a savings account at a local Credit Union. CU's tend to rip off their customers less than national (or international) banks. Try this URL: http://www.lovemycreditunion.org or go to Google and type in “credit union:#####” [where ##### is your zip code].)
(Hint: You can almost always narrow a Search by adding “:#####” [i.e., your zip code, or area code] after the search term with no spaces. Try it, you’ll like it.)
Enjoy.