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Man Saves Loose Change, Buys New '08 Pickup Truck[$26,670]
The Times ^ | 22 Dec 2007 | Janis Thornton

Posted on 12/26/2007 11:48:41 PM PST by BGHater

Paul Brant calls himself a "penny pincher."

People who know him - including the staff at Mike Raisor Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep - might agree.

Accompanied by a police escort from the Clinton County Sheriff's Office, Friday he drove his old diesel pickup into the Raisor parking lot and bought himself a brand new, 2008 half-ton, shiny red Dodge Ram truck.

What made the $26,670 purchase even more interesting was the manner in which he paid for it.

Brant's payment was made up entirely of quarters and gold dollars he'd been saving since 1994 - the last time he traded enough of his hard-earned coins to buy a vehicle.

Friday, he handed over the coins, neatly rolled and stored in various containers - water jugs, coffee cans, piggy banks - that had ridden in on the bed of his pickup.

Lt. Joe Mink and Chief Deputy Mike Hensley of the sheriff's office were right behind him.

Being thrifty, Brant said, comes naturally.

"I reckon I was just brought up that way," he said.

His father always paid cash, he said, and it's a tradition he carried on.

Besides, he added, "Checks are no fun."

He makes it a habit to save his loose change, he said, explaining that he cleans out his pockets every morning, and doesn't hesitate to pick up stray coins from the ground wherever he goes.

"Once you drop them out of your hand, they're gone," he said. "They don't last very long."

The 70-year-old Clinton County native graduated from Frankfort High School in 1956 and went to work at the Kokomo-based Chrysler plant the same year.

Thirteen years ago, Brant bought a car and a truck from Kincaid's of Lebanon. That purchase cost him $36,000, he said, which he surrendered in coins - 100 percent quarters.

After that, while he continued to stash away his quarters for the eventual purchase of his next vehicle, a couple tellers at The Farmers Bank notified him that they had plenty of rolled, gold dollars available, if he wanted to buy them. He did.

"I just took them home and threw them in the jug," he said.

Keith Gephart, a sales consultant for Raisor, said he'd been after Brant for all those years to do it again, this time at Raisor's. With the numerous spectators and news people milling about the showroom, Gephart said the publicity will likely be good for business.

The truck, with several extras added on, retails for about $35,000, he said. Brant's price reflects his Chrysler employee discount and rebates, plus taxes, he explained.

As for how Raisor's cashier planned to handle $26,670 in coins, Gephart said, "No bank wants to take them. We've got a Loomis armored car coming."

Loomis personnel will count the change, he said, and let Raisor know the total within three days.

"Their count is final," he said.


TOPICS: Local News
KEYWORDS: change; coins; indiana; truck
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To: Eye of Unk
I think that is what everyone should start doing, at the end of every day all loose change and all $1 bills, start a new day and bring home the small stuff no exceptions.

Except those of us who need every dime they can scrape together to make it to pay day.

41 posted on 12/27/2007 5:38:31 AM PST by mtbopfuyn (I think the border is kind of an artificial barrier - San Antonio councilwoman Patti Radle)
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To: Vesuvian
He basically saved $170 a month

If he had invested that in something that gave a 4% return (like a US savings bond) he would have ended up with nearly $35,000

Yup. Sounds very "smart", but it was not that smart. Even earning a measly 4-5% on your cash starts to add up pretty quickly.

My High School math teacher told us that he did this when I was in school back in the 1970s. He said instead of making a car payment every month, he had a bank acount that he made his "car payment" into every month. After about every 5 years, he got himself a new car, with cash.

Ahhh, the magic of compound interest...

The problem with most Americans is they can't save $10 a month, let alone $170. Any saving they get starts to burn a hole in their pocket....

42 posted on 12/27/2007 5:43:19 AM PST by machman
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To: BGHater

at least he bought an American vehicle...but a Dodge, ugh.


43 posted on 12/27/2007 6:10:02 AM PST by representativerepublic (...from my cold, dead hands...)
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To: FocusNexus
just exactly how much must he have SPENT, to get $2000/yr back in change?!

Exactly - and no doubt most of it in Sacajawea dollars, to boot. I would laud anyone with such a fine savings ethic, but this just defies credibility. This has "Ford dealer PR stunt" written all over it.

44 posted on 12/27/2007 6:36:25 AM PST by Nevermore
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To: BGHater

hehe...this is how I got my latest tattoo! Of course, it was significantly less than the $26k this guy came up with. I plan on doing the same thing to help finance the purchase of my next rifle - like many have said here, it adds up really quickly.


45 posted on 12/27/2007 6:52:12 AM PST by Andonius_99 (There are two sides to every issue. One is right, the other is wrong; but the middle is always evil.)
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To: Nevermore

Why. one must ask, would the Ford dealer, sponsor a stunt in which Mr. Brant purchases a Dodge truck?


46 posted on 12/27/2007 6:53:38 AM PST by Mr. Lucky
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To: BGHater

I recently took a half gallon purple Crown Royal bag full of change to the bank.

I was happily SHOCKED to realize $612...(chuckle)


47 posted on 12/27/2007 6:54:02 AM PST by Badeye (The two “no” votes were cast by Ron Paul and leftwing nut Dennis Kucinich.)
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To: BGHater

can almost promise you that if he was pulled over and cops found all the money in his truck, he would never see it again.

Nope the cops would leave it alone that much change would be work to carry around and so they would not bother it

It will add up I throw all my change in jars and once a year roll it up and take to the bank its how I save up for my trip to the state fair. It is not hard to have $600-700 a year.


48 posted on 12/27/2007 7:48:17 AM PST by mouser (run the rats out its the only hope we have)
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To: GAB-1955
I doubt any reasonably trained cop would think that jugs filled with quarters and dimes were the result of drug transactions.

Haven't you ever heard of dime bags?

 Zeugma ducks and runs for cover...
 

49 posted on 12/27/2007 8:20:05 AM PST by zeugma (Hillary! - America's Ex-Wife!)
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To: mouser
Nope the cops would leave it alone that much change would be work to carry around and so they would not bother it

You got that right...

When I was a kid I was walking into the bank with my folks at the same time the security guards were unloading bags of coins. One of the guards caught me gawking at all the money. He told me "you can have any of these that you can carry off"... Needless to say I left broke.
50 posted on 12/27/2007 9:38:34 AM PST by darbymcgill
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To: representativerepublic

“at least he bought an American vehicle...but a Dodge, ugh.”

Your kidding right? All Dodge Rams are made in Mexico. Hondas are more American than GM, Ford and Chrysler. Almost all the big three make their vehicles in Canada or Mexico and then ship them to the US for sell. At least when you buy an Accord or Civic you are supporting an Ohio family.


51 posted on 12/28/2007 12:27:29 AM PST by neb52 (Quid agis, Medice?)
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