take care of the pennies and the pounds will take care of themselves

alternative take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves

1. If one takes care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.

   Little things, Master Mally. Look after the pennies, Master Mally, and the pounds will look after themselves.

   1979, R. Cassilis, Arrow of God, iv. xvii

   3 more examples

   Old Mr. Lowndes, the famous Secretary of the Treasury, ‥used to say‥Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves.

   1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500

   It is these little things that matter, Pickering. Take care of the pence and the pounds will take care of themselves is as true of personal habits as of money.

   1912 (date written), [George] Bernard Shaw, “Pygmalion”, in Androcles and the Lion, Overruled, Pygmalion, London: Constable and Company, published 1916, →OCLC, Act II, page 132

   ‘Yes, it sounds on the melodramatic side,’ he said cheerfully, ‘but in wartime you can't be too careful about the smallest detail. Think of it as along the lines of taking care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves.’

   1999, ‘H. Crane’, Miss Seeton's Finest Hour, xi. 92

   Synonyms: a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step, many a mickle makes a muckle, every little helps