Beech Tree News Network

For 2024, I took the Penny Challenge.  It goes like this:  You start by saving one penny on day one (Jan. 1st), two pennies on day two, three pennies on day three and so on.  Each day, you increase the number of pennies you save by one until day 365, when you will save $3.65.  By the end of the year (Dec. 31st), you will have saved a total of $667.95 (greenlight.com).

I saved a different variety of coins, however, as long as they equaled that day’s total.  I put my change in a plastic gallon milk jug, so I couldn’t just reach in and grab a handful on a whim.  I also saved only money I had earned from my side hustle.  It was one of the hardest challenges I have ever undertaken.  Many times, I wanted to quit, but I didn’t.  I made many trips to the bank to convert dollars into coins.  Often, Garey would offer to donate his change to the project.  I wouldn’t let him, because I was saving the money for his Christmas present.  

The present was a Henry Lever Action rifle, the Golden Boy Edition.  I knew I couldn’t wait until right before Christmas to buy the rifle—availability and a background check would be variables—so I borrowed money from one of our joint accounts, with the intent to pay it back when I cashed in my change.

I bought the rifle from our local True Value dealer, Craig Hankins, and our friend, Greg Hampton kept it at his house until Christmas Day.

When the day came to cash in the coins, I was unable to carry that much change, so Garey had to help me.  “What are you going to spend all this on?” Garey asked.

“I have plans,” I said.

He became suspicious.  “Cheryl Hughes!” he said, “You had better not be spending this on me!”

“Don’t you worry about what I’m spending my money on,” I said.

Because I had to cash in the money before day 365, the total for my change came to 

$660.30.  It was enough to cover the rifle and a box of ammo, with some left over.

The weekend before Christmas, I went to Prestonsburg to celebrate with my stepmom and my siblings.  We always play dirty Santa.  I had been trying to think of some little something I could get Garey to go along with the rifle, and when my brother, Carl, opened a Cabella’s shooting rest bag, I kept my eye on it.  When I got my chance, I took it from him.

“It’s for Garey to go with the Henry Rifle I got him,” I explained.

“Yeah, nothing says Christmas like a stolen present,” my brother said.

On Christmas morning, I told Garey that his main present was in the back seat of my car, under a blanket.  (I picked it up from Greg the night before.)  “Before you can open it, you have to read this card,” I said.

Inside the card, I had written, “I can spend my money any way I want to,” Love Cheryl.  I drew a smiley face and a heart.

When Garey pulled the rifle out of the car, he was no longer worried about how I had spent my money.  

The Penny Challenge was hard, because you have to make sure you keep up with the days and the amounts, and you have to keep everything checked off on the calendar.  You also have to keep rolls of coins in the house, in order to assure accurate amounts.  I’m not sure I did it all correctly, but I had enough for the gift, and that’s all that mattered to me.

Benjamen Franklin was right.  A penny saved really is a penny earned.