Do You Keep a Change Jar?

Discussion in Bank Accounts started by nwitt • Apr 23, 2014.

  1. nwitt

    nwittActive Member

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    I am curious how many people keep a change jar to collect change and then save that money in the future. You'd be surprised how much it can all add up!

    Now, I honestly don't use cash enough to do this. When I was a waitress, I had a lot of change and cash on me, but I would honestly always pay the change amount. So if I went to Walmart and it was $22.54, I would count out the 54 cents. That allowed me to get rid of my cash and keep more paper money on me.

    Do you keep a change jar?
     
  2. Jessi

    Jessi<a href="http://www.quirkycookery.com">QuirkyCooke

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    I do, but I don't use it like I used to.

    Once upon a time, when I mostly used cash, I would keep a jar and it would fill up quickly.

    Now, I actually have a vodka bottle (lol!) and I use it to toss the occasional change into just to get it out of my way. It'll be dropped into savings somewhere at some point long from now, I'm sure, but I mostly ignore it. I very, very, very rarely use cash and most of the times when I do, I don't have change coming back anyway (like tipping a delivery boy in cash wouldn't produce change). The bottle probably only has something like 20 bucks in it at the moment and it's been sitting there for over a year.
     
  3. Kitty Reeves

    Kitty ReevesActive Member

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    I have two change jars actually! I have one for quarters and one for everything else. I usually only empty them and "cash them out" about once a year, and I usually have about 40 or 50 bucks each time. Most of the change is when I pay in cash and get change back, but it's also from change I find on the ground or change people didn't want and gave me while at work. I use a crappy plastic bank that's shaped like a big "C", that I got from Commerce before they became TD. I also have a square green back that I got from TD that I use for the quarters. I got them both for free too, because I did that "Guess what your amount is and if you're right you get a free gift!" thing TD's little Penny Arcade lets you do. :)
     
  4. ACSAPA

    ACSAPAWell-Known Member

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    No, nowadays, I rarely handle paper money. When I sell things on eBay, the customer usually pays via Paypal, so I haven't really dealt with checks or cash in a while.
    When I worked in a nightclub in my 20's ,I had a change jar. Now it's not relevant.
     
  5. BlacKnight1090

    BlacKnight1090Member

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    Well I do have a change...bucket. Lol. I used to fill it up with a lot of change because I don't like carrying it around unless I was expecting to use it. All the noise of change moving in my pocket or change ending up hitting the floor was the last straw. In a short time I saved about $45 myself before deciding to spend it. That was the last time I put cent into it. Ha. Like some have said, I too haven't used cash in a while. I have a habit of using my debit for everything. Though I'll continue throwing loose change in my bucket when I finally run into some.
     
  6. jneanz

    jneanzActive Member

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    Yes because pennies do add up to dollars eventually. If my newspaper had more rebate offers, I would add these funds as well. Even though I don't visit a brick and mortar bank as often as I once did, I like to keep coin wrappers on hand. I only use Coinstar when funds are short because of the fees.
     
  7. LindaKay

    LindaKayActive Member

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    I mostly use my debit card, so I don't generally have a lot of change on me. When I do, I keep it in my car or in a little jar in the kitchen, but it never adds up much. I used to use cash more than I do now, and I once saved up like $180 in change in a jar, so I definitely know that it can add up.
     
  8. Thejamal

    ThejamalActive Member

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    I do actually. I just had a little change bucket I'd throw my money into. Eventually, I decided to count it all and turns out I had close to $70 in change!

    Even if you don't handle paper money very much, I'd still recommend it. Every little bit helps
     
  9. deansaliba

    deansalibaActive Member

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    I don't anymore, but my dad does! I used to keep one but then I would get embarrassed when it got full and I had to take it to the bank, silly I know, but back then you didn't have a change machine, you had to bag them up and get the cashier to weigh them while people tutted and huffed & puffed behind you in the queue. :)
     
  10. Denis Hard

    Denis HardWell-Known Member

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    It's a great way to save money. Just yesterday I was reading a few tips about saving money and having a coin jar was one of the tips the writer had to offer. But his style was different. According to him, each time you paid for something in cash, don't use coins. Break a note. All the coins you get as change, deposit them on your coin-jar 'bank.' The next time you go shopping do the same thing.

    At the end of the month, you'll find that you'd have saved quite a lot of money. I'm starting to think about saving like that . . .
     
  11. Fauxpat

    FauxpatMember

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    I don't normally use cash, but my fiancee does, and she keeps every bit of change in a reused pasta sauce jar. On the rare occasion that I do use cash, I'll throw my change in there, too. We actually accumulate quite a bit. I'd have to estimate every month or so we'll have between $30-$50 in change. We try to put it into savings, but if we need help with groceries, we'll eat the tax and use a Coinstar machine. We're also the types that'll scour everywhere for loose change, too, so that helps out, too!
     
  12. streakanime

    streakanimeMember

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    We have one, but I would be surprised if it has much of anything in it. We use debit cards for most purchases. So, our change jar might have $5-$10 in it. In a pinch or when we just need a couple dollars we take money out of it. But, I almost wish I used cash a little more just to accumulate change so I could save money that way. I hate carrying change around so it always goes in the change jar.
     
  13. richc3

    richc3Active Member

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    Not really as I almost never pay cash to begin with and therefore we're unlikely to have coins in our possession. That said, it does happen from time to time and all we do is drop by a local casino and jump a bag worth of coins into the machine and get it converted into bills. Fortunately, we don't gamble as that might defeat the purpose of saving those coins to begin with, but it's a free service to exchange those coins oppose to putting them into coin containers for the bank.
     
  14. Parker

    ParkerWell-Known Member

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    Yes, I do have a change drawer. It's my spending money for vacations. I dump the dimes, nickels and pennies into the jar whenever I break a bill. I keep the quarters for bus fare. If I accumulate more than $5 in quarter, I put the excess in the change jar.
     
  15. nash22

    nash22Active Member

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    I definitely do, I mainly took after my mother because she would always have like tin cans filled with nothing but change. And I started to do it one day and now I have a whole bunch of change that I will just stuff anywhere that hold change. I always thought it was embarrassing to cash it in so I never did.
     
  16. 7zer0z

    7zer0zBanned

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    No I do not. I usually don't have that much change. I just keep my change in my car's cup holder and use the spare change to cover the extra change on purchases so I can save paper money and not end up with tons of change.
     
  17. MindyT

    MindyTActive Member

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    I have a change bucket. I am trying to save up for a vacation to Disney World. I know these are high hopes, and it will take me awhile. However, I know that the change adds up. Here's hoping!
     
  18. Tiara Murphy

    Tiara MurphyNew Member

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    I don't actually have a change jar. Unlike most people, I tend to spend more when I carry cash as I do not usually count that as "what money I have". I don't accrue much change, so when I do have some, I will usually spend it either on a stamp at the post office, the car wash, or those awful toy machines my daughter loves!
     
  19. johnnear

    johnnearActive Member

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    Oh yes I do. It's a great habit to get into. I once had this big jar full of change, I keep it a habit to put in the coins in my pocket after a days work and after a few weeks of doing this and without even realizing it, I collected about $20. Now I'm off to my second jar and hopefully I get to fill it up by the end of the month and use the collection to pay my other bills.
     
  20. Pat

    PatWell-Known Member

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    I have a change jar, it does not get a much change as it use to because I use my debit card most of the time but I do put pennies or any change I have into it when I clean out my purse. I also pick up change on the ground when I see it so that will go into the change jar also. I think it's a good habit to get into because the change adds up quickly.