“A penny saved” may be a cliché but it contains more than a grain of truth. Smart savers who sweat the small stuff reap big rewards. Simple strategies like skipping your daily donut or latte, keeping a change jar, or saving a few cents every time you swipe your debit card can build your savings at an astonishing rate. Just decide on a savings method, set it up, and watch your money grow.

To begin, list all of your daily expenses on a sheet of paper. Don’t leave anything out, even if it seems trivial. 35 cents for a toll? Write it down. A few bucks for a coffee on the way to work? Write it down. No expense is too small to record. Once you have a complete list, add everything up and check the total. Now, choose one thing to cut out and make up your mind not to spend that dollar or two. Take the exact amount of the item and deposit it into a jar or piggy bank. Do this every single day and see how much you save!

Gather up all of the loose change in your house and put it in a dedicated “change jar”. Place the jar in a prominent place in your house so that everyone can participate in the family savings plan. Whenever anyone has a spare nickel, dime, quarter – or even a penny – make a rule that they have to put it in the change jar. Every few weeks go to the bank or to a coin changer and redeem all of your change for cash. Put the spare cash into a regular savings account. Again, you’ll be amazed. A jar full of small change can add up to hundreds of dollars a month in pure savings.

Get a debit card that automatically deposits a small amount of money into a linked savings account every time you use it. Check with your bank to see if they offer this kind of service. Most of these cards work by rounding up purchases and depositing a few pennies at a time into a savings account. If you buy something for $9.95 for example, your card will round the transaction up to 10 dollars and deposit 5 cents into savings. It’s a quick and painless way to build a big balance.

Try these simple tips to start on the road to big savings!