Simple Savings: Start a change jar.

Welcome to the first day of our 31 days of Simple Savings! I’m so glad you are here to see what this series is all about. I am a frugal girl. I always have been but sometimes it is still hard to save. There are house projects and unexpected car repairs and larger than expected household bills. Lately, I have been reflecting on how important it is to save.

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For that reason, this month, I am going to share with you a daily tip / idea / strategy to help you save money. We’re all looking for ways to save more so that is why I am writing this series. Maybe we’re saving to build our emergency fund or pay down debt. Maybe we’re saving for Christmas or for an upcoming vacation. Maybe we’re saving for retirement or a child’s college fund. Maybe we’re saving for all of these reasons – and more!

Ever since I became a stay at home Mom with the birth of my son 6 months ago, I am re-committed to saving however and whatever I can. Saving our family money is part of my new job. As I look for more ways to save, I am continually amazed at how many ways there are to save! Some of these savings tips may not be new ideas to you. Maybe you’re already doing some of these. I certainly hope so. Some of these ideas equal bigger savings than others but I am sharing them all because when you are saving, we know that every penny counts! Finally, I mean what I promised in the title of this series. All of these tips will be simple. I want to share simple savings ideas that everyone can implement immediately.

The first saving tip is one that I hope many of us already do. Start a change jar. When your wallet (or pocket) is full of coins, add them to the jar. Slowly but surely, watch the jar fill with your loose change. When the jar is full, cash it in at your bank. I believe most banks will count your coins for free. I know our bank does so for us.

At our house, we have a quart-sized glass mason jar that sits on my husband’s dresser to collect our spare change. I’m always pleasantly surprised by how much the jar equals when we cash it out. It takes us awhile to fill the jar (about once a year) but last time we cashed out, we had over $100 in the jar!

I also encourage you to set a purpose for your change jar. For us, the money goes to our travel fund – specifically, our someday trip to Alaska. It’s a far off dream but again, every little bit helps. Knowing that you are actively contributing to some goal makes it less tempting to take change out of the jar. It could be fun to have a date night change jar, too! Do you have a change jar already? For what are you saving your coins?

Come back tomorrow – and every day this month – for another idea on how to save. I look forward to sharing this series with you!

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16 Comments

  1. We’ve done this for years, and I love cashing it in to see how much we have! For fun, the kids and I counted what was in ours last night, and they all got excited to see how much was in it! And it would have been a bit more, but we sometimes use our change to pay our kids for odd jobs. 🙂 I’m going to be sharing about our change jar in a few weeks!

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      I’ll look forward to reading about your change jar in the upcoming weeks!

  2. I’m in the same boat – my firstborn is six months old and I’m a new stay-at-home-mom. So I’m looking forward to reading the rest of your series!

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      Yay! It looks like we have a lot in common, Kristen! I look forward to getting to know you throughout this series. Enjoy your day at home!

  3. We have done this almost all of our married life. I also put rebate checks, once cashed, into my jar. It is not just for change. The money adds up, and we hope to go back to CA to see our son and family.

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      That’s a great idea to put rebate checks in the jar, Kathy. I hope that the money keeps accumulating quickly so you can go to California soon!

  4. I too am a frugal gal and love to talk about homemaking and saving money. I know I’m going to enjoy your tips. 🙂

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      Thanks, Shelly! I hope the tips give you some new frugal reminders, too!

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      Travel is one of my favorite ways to spend a change jar because both are a little something “extra” but still totally necessary in my book! Travel, that is!

  5. Great tip! We have a change jar that is more like a change vase that is going to break someone’s foot if it ever fell off the dresser. Eek! We should designate it though….hmm…vacation? Date night? Rag money like the March girls in Little Women? We could let our kids decide, too. Hope you have a great series!

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      I’m sure your kids would love the chance to decide what to do with the change jar! Although, taking inspiration from the March Girls is a good idea, too! Nice to meet you, Anne!

  6. I have really enjoyed your past 31 days topics, and this one sounds great! Perfect timing for me personally, thanks so much!
    Barb

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      Thanks, Barb! I was tempted to do another food series, but I also need the encouragement to save! I hope that we’ll be both be motivated through this series!

  7. I have a change jar. This is only the second year I’ve done it. The first time I cashed it in I put the money towards a new ipod I was getting. This time I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it. Maybe put it towards my next car payment, or maybe I’ll save it for an emergency?

    1. Kristen

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      says:

      An emergency fund is always a great, practical and necessary idea, Kati! Although, I like the idea of doing something extra and special with the change jar. It’s just nice to find the “extra” money that accumulates in a change jar.

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