Change seems so meaningless to us. What can 1/10 of a dollar do for us? It can't buy anything. Most people I know do what they can to get as little change as possible so they won't have to deal with the hassle of such a miniscule amount of money. However, change adds up. Though it might take a few years, filling up a 5-gallon jug with change is great way to see how much money passes through your hands. No one bats an eye when they lose a dime. However, all the posts dimes in the world could add up to thousands, maybe even millions of dollars. Save that change, and maybe you can treat yourself once the jug is full.
Since I was young I’ve collected my loose change and deposited it into my savings account. Like you said, it adds up. For me it seems to add up slower lately since I don’t carry cash as often anymore, but I’m definitely an “every dollar counts” person, so I doubt I’ll give up the habit any time soon. So yes, I’m still the proud owner of a piggy bank
Much I think coin jars are a great way of saving money without noticing it - they are unfortunately not something that would work very well for me these days - mainly because I rarely if ever have any surplus small change - due to the fact that - as I use my debit card for everything I purchase and only use actual cash to pay for small items like car parking, stamps or a cup of coffee and am generally having to go in search of small change - I doubt my coin jar savings would ever amount to anything - as I would land up continually raiding it whenever I needed small change. However after saying that - I did used to have a coin jar in which I generally managed to save what I thought was a reasonable sum of money - especially as saving was made easier by the fact that it was one of those jars that you had to smash if you wanted to access your savings.
I still save up my change in a change jar and it comes in very handy whenever I have to make small payments in certain trips. I usually get some money from the change jar if I have to pay for parking, for example, and sometimes if I find myself without cash at home I can use small bills and change to pay for deliveries. It doesn't accumulate to a lot most of the time since I almost use it constantly but it is nice to have a place I can get some petty cash from.
We have a change bin here that is an empty biscuit can. We used to have a small jar but it is easily filled so we now use a biscuit can. We use the coins during the Christmas season when there are carolers. Those children always expect something from us so we never fail them because we have a lot of coins intended for that purpose. But when the coins are really a lot, we exchange them to the bank for bills.
I have a change jar. When things get lean I always end up spending most of it though. I just got paid recently so I put a lot in it...but by next month I bet it will be down to pennies. A lot of banks don't take coins here as such, but many have free cash machines in the front that will count the coins and issue a voucher to be redeemed for cash. in the grocery stores you can also get a food voucher as they will charge for cash.
The real reward is when different methods of saving pennies are used at once. For some, it's easier said than done but taking small steps pays off. My grandmother got me hip to using coupons and rebates and depositing the savings to a jar or savings account.
I do save my change in a jar as my emergency fund. There is more money there than I think when I have to go to the jar in an emergency. I don't have as much change as I use to now that I use my card to make most of my purchases. I will have to include my savings that I get when I use a coupon or get cashback instead of spending it.
Since I use cash to pay for almost everything I buy, each time I go shopping I'll get some change which I toss into a coin jar. The money does add up pretty fast but I don't touch it till the end of the year. At that time, I empty the coin jar and use the money to buy some gifts. There was a year I'd saved more than $50 in the coin jar.
Oh absolutely, @Denis Hard, this is a very neat idea, and it's also effortless because you just don't feel the pinch! I've been doing it for the longest time and it's amazing how much money you can save throughout the year. I remember once I was very pleasantly surprised to find that I'd saved close to £150! That really helped towards my Christmas spend
I don't have a change jar so much as a change coffee mug, which is unfortunate because it's easier to access. I find myself dipping into the thing all the time for corner store money, or to take public transit. In theory it could accumulate to a substantial amount - I've cashed out before and gotten a few hundred bucks - but these days it gets dipped into too often. Still, it's a good idea.
We have been using mostly cash for our purchases for the last six weeks and decided to save all of our change in a pickle jar. Curiousity got the best of us tonight and we decided to see what we had saved in just six weeks. No joke... $97.45 not including the pennies (didn't count those, only silver). We decided to keep adding to it for awhile and then open a savings account finally.
Well a change jar is basically no different from a piggy bank, right? We did have it for a time, a general change jar that the whole family can use for petty or miscellaneous expenses (i.e. shampoo sachets, transportation fees, etc). Now, though, it's only my brother who keeps a "change jar" but it's basically just a tall oblong-shaped penny bank where he deposits all the coins left after a day's work. I'm more into keeping cash, though. I deposit everything in the bank but keep coins once in a while for small-scale expenditures.
I find it fun to collect loose change. It really is not all that important to some others. It is easy to collect from others who do not value it. But whenever it adds up, someone always wants to take it from me. It is hard for me to say no, so my loose change goes bye bye. I always find myself starting over with collecting. Mine has never added up to even 10 dollars. I want to keep trying at it though!
I bought a super cute kitty piggy bank hoping that it would help me save. Right now it is just a decorative piece. I think it has $.55 in there. I kept taking out my change and using it for things like laundry and the like.
I have an old plastic fish bowl that I use for change. Every two to three years I empty it out and count out the change. I'm always shocked at how much money is in it. I usually use this found money to help pay for family vacations. In Canada we have loonies and toonies which are worth $1 and $2. So when you start putting these in your change jar the money adds up quickly. I love doing this. A smart thing to do would be to take this money and apply it to your mortgage and help pay it down a bit.
This is so true and I keep having a nagging feelings the last couple of weeks to save change whenever I find it. I really need to start doing that. Then once you get a lot, you can take it to the machines at the store that change it into cash. My husband is always dropping change on the floor and I'm the one to pick it up. I know it certainly does add up. I hate dealing with change at the store or anywhere, so I might as well start saving it. I'm glad I saw this thread, it's like a confirmation that I need to start saving.
I frequently put my spare change in my little piggy bank. Once it gets full, I then transfer my saved up coins on a larger container which houses up all the coins I saved throughout the years. I'm not sure how much value my coins account for but the mystery is what keeps me going. When the day comes that I finally count how much my coins are, I want to get so freaking surprised by how much coins I managed to save.
