I think that the best personal finance tip my parents ever gave me is this: It all adds up, and pennies count. Because they were in the habit of putting any loose change they had into a jar every week, I got into that habit as well.
Many years ago, my son was an infant, and my husband had just lost his job. I was able to roll all my change, take it to the bank to exchange for bills, and wound up doing 2 weeks worth of grocery shopping. Of course, I think I had been saving the change for a year, but the money was there when we needed it, and because it was a habit from childhood, it was easy.
