When I walk outside, I often find myself picking up pennies. Many people overlook them, but I’ve come to realize the value of a penny. It’s a lost art to appreciate something that seems insignificant in the moment. But the truth is, these small steps add up to significant achievements over time.
Small Investments Lead to Big Results
In finance, this principle is especially powerful. When you invest small amounts, you’re not going to see massive returns immediately. Often, the returns come in pennies, dimes, and nickels. For example, when you buy a share of Coca-Cola, you might get back a couple of dollars a year in dividends.
These dividends often start as small amounts, but over time, they accumulate. Fractional shares and dividends might seem insignificant at first, but they grow and compound, turning into larger sums over time.
Life Lessons from Financial Growth
The beauty of this process is that it mirrors life: small, consistent efforts can lead to big results. Recognizing the value in these small steps can transform your financial journey. It’s all about appreciating the little things that add up to the bigger picture.
My Journey with Fractional Shares
When I began fractional share purchases, I remember thinking how insignificant it looked to reinvest $0.05 over and over again as I accumulated shares in companies. However, over time, I noticed something when going over my cost basis sheet. Those 5 cents were turning into 10 cents, and those 10-cent fractional dividends were turning into 20 cents which eventually grew into dollars.
Don’t Forget Where You Started
If you’ve ever been broke like me, you’ll know the struggle of needing and wishing you had an extra 25 cents at your disposal while trying to buy food. It’s a funny thing how often we forget just where we were at one point in our lives when small sums mattered so much. Once we get past that hurdle, we tend to overlook their value.
This is why I always say that when picking up a penny, it’s a penny I once didn’t have, and now I do. Small wins, whether it’s finding a penny on the street or seeing those dividends grow, remind us of the power of consistent effort and appreciating every step forward—no matter how small it may seem at the time.
The Power of Spare Change
Ever been asked for change when walking to your car or destination? I have, and it isn’t always for a dollar. There are some people that are really grateful when you give them your spare change in the amounts of pennies, nickels, and dimes because just before then, those were pennies, nickels, and dimes they didn’t have before.
Remembering the value of a penny will get you far in your wealth-building journey because you’ll learn to value the seemingly small sums that don’t seem all that much at first.
The Value of a Penny in Play
Here is an example of how pennies accumulate over time in wealth building: Imagine buying your first share of McCormick stock. You don’t have enough to buy the full share at $70, so you buy $10 worth through fractional investing. Since you didn’t buy the full share, you don’t get the full dividend; however, you still get a fractional share of the dividend, which at first amounts to pennies. Come dividend payout day, you find $0.20 pending in your account as reinvestment. You think nothing of it until you find it has grown to $0.50.
A year goes by, and you keep buying fractional shares—$5 here, $10 there, $7 another time—and each time, those fractional dividends are set to reinvest. Over time, those seemingly small amounts compound, growing your investment steadily without requiring significant upfront capital. This is the power of a penny in play: it’s a reminder that even the smallest contributions can lead to substantial results when consistency and time are on your side.
The Broke College Student 
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