I want to discuss what low-hanging fruit means and provide some low-hanging fruit examples.
Have you heard of that term before in relation to your finances? The first time I heard about low-hanging fruit was when I read Money: A Love Story by Kate Northrup (check out the book here). She discusses that part of attaining financial responsibility or financial freedom is to take care of some of your low-hanging fruit.
What is low-hanging fruit, you ask? Below, I will discuss some low-hanging fruit examples.
In short, low-hanging fruit are opportunities with small monetary value that you must act on to either get paid or reimbursed.
For example, the other night I was hanging out with friends at the bar. We were in the Castro District in San Francisco. Apparently, a few bars at the Castro offer buy one get one free for drinks.
My friend who invited us told me that sometimes, instead of getting a second drink, he’ll exchange it for a token because the drinks will start to be too much. Now, he has about $500 (rough estimate) in drink tokens.
As soon as he told me, I considered that to be a low-hanging fruit. Now, I know he cannot exchange it for money. But he could definitely use it as money when he goes to the bars again for free drinks. He said last time, he and his friends had what they called a “token night”. They went bar hopping around the Castro and paid for all their drinks with coins, carrying dollars only for tips.
I asked him if he knew what low-hanging fruit meant, and proceeded to explain to him the concept of it.
Other low-hanging fruit examples can include rebates you haven’t cashed in, returns you haven’t done, and, like in the case of my friend, tokens he hasn’t used.
If you’re on a positive financial journey like me, think about things around your home that you know you can cash in on.
Do you have clothes you’ve been meaning to sell? This may be a bit more than low-hanging fruit, since it does take a bit more effort to sell. But it still holds monetary value that you haven’t taken action on.
But think of the quick and easier ones first. Like lotto tickets lying around that you’ve been meaning to cash in for the winnings. Gift cards you haven’t used yet.
I almost forgot! My girlfriend told me about this site for the state of California, where you enter your first and last name, and it will tell you if you have unclaimed property (money) you can claim.
When she told us about this, I checked my name and found a few small checks totaling almost $100. They were reimbursement checks from insurance companies. I never cashed them, apparently. Or refunds for overpayments on my utility bills and credit cards.
Click here if you want to check if you have unclaimed property in California. If you live in another state, I’m sure you can Google unclaimed property for wherever you reside. Check it out. You might be pleasantly surprised by the money you’re entitled to or owed back.
Another low-hanging fruit example in my home is a jar full of coins I need to take to the bank to deposit. Do you have loose change you can collect to either use or deposit into your bank account? What about reimbursement checks or settlement checks that need to be deposited? Even if it’s less than a dollar, money is still money. To attract more money, all values need to be appreciated and respected.
Take some time and think about what financial low-hanging fruit you have around your home. To get the ball rolling in attracting more money into your life, start with something as easy as low-hanging fruit.
I think I want to create a separate series from my journal entries. In my journal entries, the point is to share my journey on financial literacy and financial freedom. Want to learn more about my financial journey? Click here to read. However, I want this portion of the blog to be more educational for readers.
If you have any other low-hanging fruit examples, please share them below. I would love to hear about it.
Thanks for reading!
Love, Sutivi
Books I’ve Read and Love
