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

Proverb

 * 1) If one takes care of little things one at a time, they can add up to big things.
 * 2) * 1750, Chesterfield, letter 5 Feb. (1932) IV. 1500:
 * 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.
 * 1) * 1999, ‘H. Crane’, Miss Seeton's Finest Hour, xi. 92:
 * ‘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.’
 * 1) * 1999, ‘H. Crane’, Miss Seeton's Finest Hour, xi. 92:
 * ‘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.’

Translations

 * Chinese:
 * Mandarin:, ,
 * Finnish: senteissä tuhannen alku, pennissä satain alku, markassa tuhanten
 * French:
 * German: wer den Pfennig nicht ehrt, ist des Talers nicht wert
 * Hungarian:
 * Irish: is é cosaint na pingine a chruachas na puint
 * Japanese: 一銭を笑う者は一銭に泣く
 * Korean: 푼돈을 아끼면 큰돈은 저절로 모인다
 * Polish:
 * Russian: копе́йка рубль бережёт, а рубль го́лову стережёт (lit: a kopeck saves a rouble and rouble guards the head)
 * Slovene: zrno na zrno pogača, kámen na kámen palača
 * Spanish: un grano no hace granero, pero ayuda al compañero