FRI 1/7 QUESTION: Do you save spare change?

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

Do you save spare change?
Do you pick up pennies?
Do you have a piggy bank?
How often do you cash it in?
Is it saved for something specific?
WHERE do you cash it in?

GOT SPARE CHANGE?

[suzwantstobefree]

I really had not thought to do it until I saw a thread about the challenge. Someone posted that you could cash the change in for gift cards at the counting machines (I am guessing coinstar). I am going to take her suggestion and cash the change in for Christmas spending, probably in November.

[marvholly]

I do not but late DH did.

My bank has free coin counting so that is where I would do it.

[NancysSummerSip]

Yes, Yes, Yes! We empty our wallets daily, plus whatever I pick up in my travels. We are in our third year of doing this. First year was $138 in change. Second year was $158.

I bank at a credit union, and the machine counts it free for members. It goes into the emergency fund every year.

[enjoythejourney]

We (I) do save change. (My husband participates by having stuff on his dresser than I can pick through.) As I stated on another thread, we save in rewards checking accounts that pay higher interest than regular savings. So, as soon as there are enough coins to wrap, they go in the next deposit to those accounts for the 4 percent. Just put my first $10 in quarters in for 2011.

Years ago, my old bank used to have me write our account number on the wrapper, too, but more recently, they requested we not do that for identity security purposes. Same now goes at our other banks...which is interesting because when you think about it, anytime you use a check it shares your account number with all those handling it. Oh well, I'll take the high road and assume there is method in this mad thinking.

[Deleted]

Yes I collect spare change. I put it in a coffee can. Every few months I take it to the coinstar machine. I never get the gift cards though. Honestly I don't mind paying the fee. It saves me from having to count it and roll it myself.

[Deleted]

I have a glass cookie jar on my dresser that I throw random bills and change into. Then I dip into it if I need coffee money. I'm not really trying to save it I just want to empty out my pockets and the corners of my purse.

[Sam_2.0]

I take DH's coin-change, and that's my "budget" for CVS and Walgreens each week I like the challenge of trying to keep my OOP expenses so low, and I really have to work my scenarios out ahead of time. Since DH accounts for $$ when he gets cash, I consider this a "freebie" to me.

[doxieluvr]

Jan 7, 2011 10:05:55 GMT -5 @enjoythejourney said:

Years ago, my old bank used to have me write our account number on the wrapper, too, but more recently, they requested we not do that for identity security purposes. Same now goes at our other banks...which is interesting because when you think about it, anytime you use a check it shares your account number with all those handling it. Oh well, I'll take the high road and assume there is method in this mad thinking.

Its been a few years since I worked in a bank, but we requested customers not write their account number on the rolls of coin, because they were given out to other customers. We never counted the coins.

[telephus44]

Yes. I can spot spare change on the ground from miles away.

I keep it in my little piggy bank I had as a kid. When it gets full, I take it to the bank and cash it in. I used to roll it myself, but now I pay the 3% fee to have them count it, saves me a lot of time. My piggy bank hold between $45-$65 depending on how many quarters/pennies are in there.

[dancinmama]

I am one of the Grocery Challengers and many times after I hand over all my coupons my OOP (out of pocket) is under $1 so I put all change in my little coin purse and dig it out like a little 'ol lady at the checkstand.

[pepperdoo]

Yes Ms. Molly:) Hence the Spare Change Challenge:) I now have over $3,400 since I started the first one back in 2007/2008 on Donna's Boards:)

[naturallyfrugal]

Wow, that's impressive Pepper! We save spare change in a glass jar, but neither one of us really uses cash much so it doesn't add up very quickly.

[hawkeyes2001]

We keep it in a little bank.
DBF likes to count it when he is bored.
I don't pick up pennies off the floor/street but DBF does.
The last time we cashed it in is when we bought our house ....had $300...we bought a piece of furniture with it. Not sure when we'll cash in again.

We also save "spare cash." We use debit/credit most the time and only take cash out for when necessary. Whenever we have left over cash we put it in an envelope. We use what builds ups for the Farmer's Market in the summer.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Jan 7, 2011 6:49:15 GMT -5 @suzwantstobefree said:

I really had not thought to do it until I saw a thread about the challenge. Someone posted that you could cash the change in for gift cards at the counting machines (I am guessing coinstar). I am going to take her suggestion and cash the change in for Christmas spending, probably in November.

I never take my coins to coin star. They take a percentage. Why give away perfectly good money? I take mine to my credit union, where they exchange for free as a member.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

We pool our change through the year, and that is used for gas for our trip to PA every summer.

[mrslynch]

we collect our spare/loose change and keep it in a jar on top of our microwave. since we pay for almost everything in cash, whenever we do a shopping trip, the coins go in the jar and the cash goes back in the envelope. there's no decision as to how we're going to use it when we do cash it in, though.

our daughter has her own bank where she puts loose change that she finds around the house (she's 4). she knows that when it gets to the top we can take it to the bank to get dollars but some of the dollars have to stay at the bank for later. she keeps saying how excited she is for it to get to the top!

[oreo]

Apparently I'm the only person who doesn't do this!

My husband collects change unless I'm with him--in which case I take the change and we use it the next time we need it. He used to collect it all then take it to the Coinstar--the one by us takes 8% which I think which is ridiculous. I'd rather spend it as we get it and be rid of it. There aren't too many places out there where you can make 8% on your money these days!

I use a credit card for everything myself (except the swap meet or something like that) so I don't get change very often.

[rumples]

I've saved change ever since I can remember. Nowadays, I just fill the piggy bank until it's full, then take the change to the credit union. Ours runs loose change through their machine for free as long as you are depositing it. If they're busy, we just hand them the container and a deposit slip, then go back the next day to pick up the container and the receipt. The last time we did so, it was around $600.

During college and my early working days, I would put all of my loose change in a jar during times when I really didn't need it and was very thankful for having done so when things got a little tight now and again. Later on, I kept up the habit even though I no longer needed to raid it and then used it as my Christmas gift budget (generally around $150-200).

[vnot]

I do! I do pick up pennies when I see them! DBF laughs at me but his eyes always light up when he sees our coin counter increasing! I have about $60 saved from last year. I haven't figured out what to do with it yet. I think I'll just continue and see where I end up with it.

[Artemis Windsong]

I save spare change.
I pick up any change I see.
The quarters go to church offering
I put the change in a small bowl.
I haven't cashed anything in.
I don't know what I will do with the pennies.

[lynda in iowa]

When I pay cash for purchases, I always give them paper money just to get the change back. That, plus anything I can pick up, goes in a glass jar. I use it for treats and parking meters. I probably get around $175 in a year.

[Apple]

Now that I have rewards checking where I have to use my debit card 12 times to make the higher interest (some months I have to make an extra trip to get it to 12 times, hard to do since I'm almost no-spend and it doesn't count if they run it as a credit card). Anyway...
I've been saving my change for about 20 years. I started when I got my first job--a paper route--at age 11. I've always been a big saver, and when I graduated high school and got married I had over 5k in savings, probably 2k of that had been spare change. Then when I was broke and had a young kid, I still wanted to start a savings account for him so all spare change went into his account. I quit doing this for a couple years after the divorce, I used the change to keep my own savings account healthy instead. Now though, I have containers for change everywhere-- a large plastic cup in my son's room, a wood bowl on the piano, a record bowl by the front door, a magnetic container that sticks to the washing machine, and the original saving container, an old mason jar (with the separate glass lid) in my bedroom. The ONLY time I spend change is when the total is something like 76 cents, I'll give them a penny to get a quarter back instead, but I never do it to get an even dollar amount back.
Yes, I pick up pennies.
Our credit union will count the change for free, but only loose--they won't accept change that has already been rolled. I precount the change when I'm bored so I've always got a good idea of what the amount will be. I count all the silver colored coins and guess the penny amount. My precount is always within a dollar of the credit union count. I trust them as a CU, but they did fire one girl for being "sticky fingered" so it's just my back up, I've never had a problem.

[texaspn]

I empty the change from my purse at the end of the month-my husband usually contributes also. We collect it in a bank that counts it automatically so I always know how much is in there. It takes a long time to get it full though, as we often make withdrawals for small purchases! I do want to try for the gift cards at coinstar.

[Deleted]

I don't have a local bank that I can take my spare change to that doesn't charge me a fee. All of the banks around me charge fees for everything. I don't even use them for my checking. I use USAA and have since 2000.

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...I pick up coins as I find them, place them in a separate pouch, but use them as I spend... the separate pouch is more for cleanliness rather than to keep count... but I do get a general idea how much I'm finding by keeping it separate...

[BeenThere...DoneThat...]

...btw... I've kept loose change in jars in the past, but not in the last few years... I may return to the practice one day... but now am not inclined...

[motherto2]

I definitely pick up pennies, and I have a large plastic coke bottle bank that I keep my spare change in (bills also). I take it to the CU to cash in since it's free. I don't really have it earmarked per se, but I did decide about a year ago that I was saving it towards new appliances. I wasn't expecting to buy them this last year at Thanksgiving, but by doing so I save about $1200 dollars over what I had loosely budgeted for. I had a couple of hundred dollars in it when I cashed it in. One rule of the house, Mom gets any money that is left in pockets at laundry time. I'll usually get a few coins, but have garnered some bills from time to time. I did give back the $20 bill one time, but only once ;D

[Deleted]

I do. If I use cash, or find change it goes into my coin jar. For my debt card transactions, I round it up in my excel sheet and then at the end of the pay period move it over to savings. My bank changes out coins for free if you have an account.

[bobbysgirl]

Jan 7, 2011 6:49:15 GMT -5 @suzwantstobefree said:

I really had not thought to do it until I saw a thread about the challenge. Someone posted that you could cash the change in for gift cards at the counting machines (I am guessing coinstar). I am going to take her suggestion and cash the change in for Christmas spending, probably in November.

That was little old me. It was indeed coinstar. I chose a GC for Penny's. I spent it on little old me too! After all the Christmas gifts were bought.