A lot of people aren’t sure what to do with all those pennies they get back with their change. One man had a plan that not gave him quite a return but he made a reminder to pray.
A literal penny pincher cashed in his pennies after saving them for 45 years. Otha Anders, 73, is the embodiment of the famous proverb coined by Founding Father Benjamin Franklin: “A penny saved is a penny earned.”
Anders told USA Today, “I became convinced that spotting a lost or dropped penny was an additional God-given incentive reminding me to always be thankful. There have been days where I failed to pray and more often than not, a lost or dropped penny would show up to remind me.”
Anders, from Ruston, Louisiana, filled 15 five-gallon plastic water jugs with around 500,000 pennies. USA Today reports the total amount of money he collected was $5,136.14.
(Photo: Frededreia Willis/The News-Star)
Anders first started collecting pennies after he found one on the ground and decided to save it as a reminder to pray and give thanks. From then on, he made sure to save every penny he received as change back on a purchase.
Ruston Origin Bank Vice President Jennie Cole said the bank was happy to help Anders, who is a longtime customer, although the scale of the number of coins made for an unusual day at the bank.
It took five hours for the bank’s machine to count all the pennies. Anders sat next to the machine while it counted.