apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

You go, girl. But I wonder how well you'll keep up with depositing money you might have spent....I think you'll do better if you routinely empty the change from your pockets or bag into a jar, rather than spending it as you receive it.

I've been doing this for years. I take it to my bank about twice a year, usually it's $200-300. My bank has a change counter that does it for free if you have an account. Then I pay that amount onto my mortgage principal. Every little bit helps!

I also keep a box in a drawer at the office where I stash excess change from buying lunch...

I do the same as Charlotte with all the loose change, it's used for buying bread, stamps and expressos at the café. The jar used to be an old flower pot, that I needed and replaced last year with a vintage apothecary jar. I don't empty it regularly however, the last time I had it totally emptied was in 2002 when we passed to the Euro, it contained something like 80 € in small change.

My change jar is specifically for when my boyfriend and I go traveling; this helps cut down expenses a little bit and a nice treat to have extra money we really didn't work too hard to attain!

this is kind of goofy, but i deposit my change in a container with paper coin rolls standing on end, so i can sort (and roll) as i dump it in the cup. yes, i have to count the coins when a roll fills up to make sure i've got the right amount, but that doesn't happen every day and takes two minutes. i know when i have about $50 in change, and i take it to the bank already rolled and use it to splurge on something or pay off student loan debt :)

I have a ribbed glass with tin top vintage pickle jar for my change...on my kitch.counter..after a year I proudly handed it to my daughter as an 'extra' towards her wedding.. I believe she said it was about 65 dollars..hahah I thought it MUST be about 200.00..(hate having to throw the quarters into a separate bowl for laundry..grr)..

I have a old style milk jug for random change then flower pot for quarters which go towards laundry. When I take in the milk jug which is not often I just get more quarters for laundry and meters, not very exciting but I hate breaking dollars for laundry.

I have a hot pink Buddha Bank (http://wishingfish.com/buddhabank.html) that I put pocket change into. Then I rub his tummy and say, "Many happy returns." Hey, whatever works!

Even today, nothing beats a 401K and direct deposit into savings account!

A teller at my credit union passed on a great tip for kids. Every week she takes the loose change out of her purse and puts it into an account for her teen age daughter. When they go on their vacation once a year that is her daughters spending money. She said the first year she saved a couple hundred dollars because of all the little things that added up. I've started doing a variation with my four year old this year. Everytime we go the bank we dig through my purse and she gets 7 - 8 coins. It's already added up to over 50 dollars. We usually go to the bank 1 -2 times a week. It's now second nature and she gets upset if there are only a few coins.

I have a change bag. I plan on buying this bank eventually: http://www.whotelsthestore.com/item.asp?curr_item_id=736&cat_subcat_id=57.

Love this bank but can't justify spending $95 shipping on it just to hold change. http://www.jschatz.com/eggbanks/eborange.html

I also have a change pouch for quarters.

My bf has a water jug.

I don't use it for saving though. An automatic savings plan through ING or another bank is the best way to save.

I've been putting my change into a vintage cookie jar for the last 17 years. I used it through college to feed myself when I was otherwise bone poor. It's traveled with me to 6 homes. When I moved in with my husband we combined the change - he had his in an old metal lockbox. Now it sits on a shelf in our living room. I think we may eventually use it to buy a tantric chair. hahaha.

I am a debit card only girl (I can even feed a meter with my debit card!) but my husband tosses change into a cherished metal WWII helmet. It's amazing the "design elements" (inert hand grenade, rifle bayonet...) that you can put up with when you cohabitate with somebody.

I have this ceramic bunny that plays "it's a small world" WAY longer than it should every time you drop in a coin. When I was a little boy it was my grandmother's and I was apparently the only one who liked it; everyone else found it annoying. She's sinced passed, and still I'm alone when I consider it an heirloom. But, the song is what motivates me to keep filling it, I suppose.

my husband and i throw our daily change into a large jar which we don't use. we made a goal during the holidays to collect from december 1st to november 30 and use the money toward something we both want. so far we only have about $50, which is small, but it's a start. :)

We have a huge bottle to collect change in and when it gets pretty full we use that for fun money. Like a night out or something we want. When I waitress I used to put all of my one dollard bills in that jar. The other money I earned paid bills, but the ones were for me. Every month or so it was full and I had around 600-700 dollars. I bought my stereo components and flat screen TV this way!

http://www.makemineeclectic.wordpress.com

For years I've been following Suze Orman's advice to never pay for anything with coins. (Although sometimes I do so when my bag is getting too heavy with quarters!) Usually, I empty it out every Friday into a Monopoly "Free Parking" bank, and when that bank is full, I take it to the Penny Arcade and put it into savings. I usually end up saving a few hundred dollars a year (minus the amount you get short-changed at the Penny Arcade ... which has been averaging about 3 or 4% per trip for me ... although it's still cheaper than coinstar.)

I also have a little piggy bank that I call Lucky. I put pennies in there that I've picked up somewhere.

ha ... showerscenes, your "way longer" comment just reminded me of this Darth Vader bank a boyfriend once gave me. When you put a coin in it, it plays the Star Wars theme VERY LONG, Darth Vader breathes and then he moves his lighted lightsaber all around! The guy who gave it to me LOVED to put change in it ... he'd always say "wow ... for just a penny, this thing really gives you a show!"

If you take your change to Commerce Bank, which is now called TD, they'll convert your change for free. You don't even have to have an account with them. I actually convert my loose change into rolls of quarters so I can do laundry.

I have two of these sort of things. Quarters go into a bowl for laundry. Everything else (pennies, nickels, dimes) goes into a donation bank for a charity that provides emergency poverty relief locally.

I do have a change jar- just a clear glass one that sits on my bookshelf. Every now and then I clear it out when I'm especially low on change in my wallet, or when I'm just broke. When I lived with my dad, I had a change jar in every room because he would just leave it all over if I didn't. Come to think of it, he mostly just left it all over anyway.

~Amanda
http://onehappypanda.blogspot.com

I have a lemon curd jar that I use for spare change and an IKEA glass container for my laundry quarters. I also use a large vase for storage, but I use that for my cat's toys.

I've been saving all my change left when ever I go shopping. Always give them bills and keep all the change and every few months take it and put it in the bank. I like the idea that Charlotte had about putting it on your mortgage principal.
That will be what I do from now on, quicker the mortgage goes down the happier I will be. Thanks

Little wire basket on my bedside table, and when that's full I dump it into a larger bucket. Everything goes in and I intentionally change large bills at the laundromat in order to have extra quarters (way more fun than counting nickels and pennies)

The trick is to use it ONLY for something special - something that you would otherwise never spend money on.

I have one of these--they are adorable, decorative, and it's easy to throw change into them:

http://www.fitzsu.com/mint-coink-piggy-bank-p-124.html