Saving your change

i have been doing the same since i was kid. -lol- back then, it was primarily because we didn't have money at all and i have to scrape every little thing i could and save it so i could use it for a more important need someday. some of my earlier savings paid for my books in primary school, school events in highschool, and some emergencies in college. at my age, i still have 2 coin boxes still. but i only put loose change, just coins. whenever the coin box gets heavy, i deposit it to my bank. the loose change mostly come from emptying my pockets after working for the day. since i travel a lot, i've been dumping a lot of loose change over the period of my travel. i actually find that at the end of the trip, i sometimes have almost a hundred pieces of coins in several of my bags and purses. boy, those are way heavy if i may say so. -lol- nowadays, i try to to encourage my nephews and nieces to save also. last january, i bought each and every one of them (12) and myself, a coin box shaped like a very cute pig in colors of white, blue, yellow, and pink. i encourage them to drop excess money, loose change, and a part of their allowance into the coinbox and save for something that they really want... like a guitar, a bicycle... things that their parents do not have a budget for. then a few months ago, i encouraged two of them to open a kiddie savings account at my bank so that they won't be tempted to use their savings unless it's what they have intended it for. 2-3 times a week, they go to the bank with me to empty their coin boxes and deposit their savings. forming the savings habit is really very beneficial as well as educational. just after the new year's day, i plan to encourage the rest of the 10 of them to open their own kiddie savings accounts so that they won't be tempted to spend the cash gifts they would receive in christmas. :) since i worked with savings campaigns for kids and adults in my previous company, it made sense to practice what i preach and still continue to do the same coz i really believe in the benefits of saving. each coin added up can make a few hundred or a few thousand depending on how committed we are to savings. and without knowing it, the habit will just be part of our system like it's a part of ourselves and thus form part of our character, something we could impart to others as well. :)

I have a little coin bank that my girlfriend made and painted for me. I've been throwing coins in there for several months now, and I'm also keeping all of my babysitting money in there. Whenever I need more cash, I grab some money from the bank and use it. However, I try not to spend money from it if I can. I like saving it in case I need to use it. Plus, it's nice having for when there is something that I want, want to do or need.

Hi Mzkuma, Excellent idea to black it out so you can't see the money. I have a demi john bottle that I put all my loose change into and it really does mount up. I tend to put my online bits into my Paypal account and if not purchasing online will trnasfer to a different account to my usual current one I use for dayd to day stuff. I will use the extra to buy presents or wants rather than need items. Next year I may in fact start a list to add up everyhting in total including the cost of free itmes received that I would normally have to pay for out of normal budget. Huggles. Ellie :D