Loose Change

Oh, my boyfriend does this.
I used to do it too, when I lived alone, everytime I would buy anything, I'd put the change in a box, including the 1$ and 2$. Now, I keep the change on me and try to use it to buy stuff. But my SO just does not have the patience and is handing a bill at any cashier as soon as the cashier tells us the price so there goes me using my coin money (and by coin I don't mean very small change for big purchases, I mean also for when we buy something that cost 3,75 and I want to fish out my 2 euro and fifty cents and it would take only 10 more seconds but there he goes and he has a 5 already handed out.

So I put my very small change in his jar.
Whatever.

 

I usually let my change accumulate for when I have to park on a meter. Other times I like being able to pay for things in exact change so that I don't break large bills - you know, the if you break it you will spend it thing.

 

I have a coin jar where all my coins end up. I normally buy everything I need in cold, hard cash. Discovered that I spent more money when I used a debit card to pay for the things I bought. So for me the savings in the coin jar add up quickly. I normally empty the coin jar around June and use the money to buy Christmas gifts for whoever I intend to get a gift that year.

 

I keep a bag of loose change and always take some out with me to use up by paying the exact amount. The best place I use up my change is in the self-checkout as you can take your time and I feel as if I haven't really paid for groceries when I use up all the loose change.

 

I usually save my loose change. Keeping your loose change will make things a lot easier for you especially where I'm from. Whenever you ride a public vehicle, you can just get in and out smoothly, without worrying about your payment. Also, some vendors and cashiers aren't kind enough to let you buy anything unless you pay the exact amount. Spare them the annoyance by using your loose change to purchase stuff.

 

This is what I do too! I always seem to have so many pennies in my purse and I don't like counting them out in front of the cashier - it makes me feel like I am wasting their time. The self-service machines are great though, you can just drop the lot in and the counting is done for you.

When times were more prosperous, I would save my loose change in a jar and take it to the CoinStar machine once a year, usually just before Christmas. These days, I have to watch every penny.

 

In the past, I would have saved up my loose change and spent it at Christmas, however since the invention of self scan checkouts, I simply empty my purse into those every time I use one, which is something that I have found very helpful for me so far. During the week, I might gather up a fair amount of change, so being able to spend it on the weekly shop just means that I don't have to pay a huge amount of money for it, which is a great thing for me, as my change adds up quickly. I would always say that you should save your change up, because there are many people who just let it go, and that is silly because you will lose a lot of money over time by doing that.

 

Yep, I have a change jar... although I'll admit that nowadays there isn't much in it. Most of the time I use credit cards or debit cards nowadays, so I don't have anything to get change from...

 

No I don't have loose change, but I do keep my coins secured in a jar of sorts. The most I have ever accumulated was around 50 dollars in the past, but that was when I used to buy a lot of doodads and spend my my money frivolously. Also, I usually keep most of my coins in my wallet and use it whenever I can now, even if it takes me to hold up the cash register line.

 

I put my change in a large jar so that by the time Christmas rolls around I have change to go shopping. It adds up much faster than you think it does. I miss the days I worked in the restaurant as a server, I would come home with hands full of change that I saved up. It was easy to have $100 of dollars in change at the end of the month.

 

I think there's like 5 different containers around my house where my family drops/puts in whatever extra change they have. I have one in my bathroom, which probably has a good amount of money as I almost always have change in my pockets every day so it just ends up collecting. I liked using the machines to convert to cash, but then I realized they take a pretty big cut of it unless you exchange it for gift card or something. I want to just bring a jar of coins to just pay for my stuff at Walmart or something, but I think I would be too embarrassed by some of the looks people would give me for bringing in what seems like a piggy bank to pay for groceries.

I have a friend who puts her change into a 5 gallon water jug. I don't know when she started it or if she still actively puts in a lot of change, but it's like 1/6 full maybe? She says it's for her wedding dress, but that's a looong ways away. Given that she's moving super far away in a few months I wonder what she's going to with it since it's probably more pain than it's worth to move it...

 

I used to, but nowadays I am a lot more impatient and I tend to use all my change before it builds up. I suppose ultimately it is the same thing but I do like getting a bulk amount at the end if I save it up long enough. The problem is I don't really want to deal with large amounts of change anymore so I tend to use them before it builds up and I always need to buy small items at the convenience store so I always have use for loose change almost immediately so I don't find it necessary to save it until it's a big enough amount.

 

My husband is a collector of coins ever since. There was a time when we were hard up and was on the drawing board in making plans to cut on costs and my husband came up with a big jar that was full of coins. To me, it was like a gift from heaven because it amounted to something substantial which alleviated our tight financial situation. We still collect loose change until now and right now we have more than a jar full of coins. One full jar can take care of our food budget for a week.

 

I try to use up my coins as much as possible, as opposed to saving them up in a jar. I just don't have the patience to keep bringing them all home, then letting them accumulate, and then have to sit there and roll them all up to cash them in. Not to mention, you have to buy the rolls too (unless your bank happens to offer them to you for free).

I tend to look at it the other way around, if I can avoid breaking another dollar or two by using up the coins in my wallet when making a purchase, then that's another dollar or two I now have in my wallet. Same difference I suppose. When I am about to buy something though, before getting to the register, I do try to make sure I have my change all counted out to save the cashier some time. I don't want to be one of those people who ties up the checkout line while fumbling around for change for 10 minutes.

 

I would save up my change and any dollar bills I would have and it would add up rather quickly. I would cash it in and put it in the bank or use it for something that I wanted but just had not bought yet. Right now I am not able to do this and I do not like not having it. It was like having an emergency fund available whenever I needed it.

 

I still do this, but not as frequently as I used to do. I should do it more often.

I still have a change jar, but I just don't always think of it. It does add up though, so it's worth doing.

I used to do this especially when I did waitressing and bartending years ago. It really added up quickly back then. I saved every bit of my change and rolled it up at the end of the month. It really helped with paying the bills.

It's a great idea to save all year for Christmas shopping or for a special occasion. I should do this for my anniversary, since we like to try to get away for a weekend if we can.

 

I never done this, but if it makes my purse less weighty I might do it! I ride the bus so my purse is very heavy for we need to have a lot of things with us during the day. Loose change in a jar to save money...great! Thanks for the tip!

 

I have a coin jar but don't tend to use it often anymore. I usually need every bit of money I have regardless of how small the coins are. I'd rather they were in my purse for when I need to pay for something than sat at home in a jar I can't get to when I need to pay for things.

 

I do collect loose change but I often end up spending it before it can accumulate too far. I have never had huge amounts of money in loose change. One thing I do like though is that my credit union has a free coinstar in the lobby. Also, the one at the grocery store using the machine is free if you redeem it for a grocery gift card.