Keep the Change: How Saving Your Pennies Can Really Add Up

March 18, 2021

For as long as I can remember, my dad has put all of his change in a jar. We weren’t a struggling family who lived paycheck to paycheck, but we were always thrifty. There’s no shame in being fiscally responsible; this is something I learned at a very young age.

Now, with the economic downfall, everyone has been forced to become savvy when it comes to saving and spending. As a college student, I had it double rough. Not only was I broke due to my full time student status, but the economy was worse than it had ever been in my twenty-some years. Now that my struggle has let up a bit, I am grateful for what I went through since it taught me so much about the value of money.

One of my favorite things I learned along the way is to keep my change. Personally, I hate change and I don’t particularly like cash either, so when I do have some extra coins, I collect them. Even banks have taken note of this money-saving tip and created programs for debit card users. All purchases are rounded to the next dollar so the extra change can be transferred into a savings account.

It might sound a little ridiculous at first. I mean, how much can you really save just by keeping your change? Well, you aren’t going to have an extra 10 grand at the end of the year, but it can certainly be more than a couple hundred bucks.

Personally, I cash in my change at Coinstar every month. Sometimes it’s $20, and other times it is over $50. Then I go and get my favorite grocery store items (my local Coinstar is at the grocery store) like fresh mozzerella cheese and some expensive wine. Since I wouldn’t usually splurge on these things, it is a fun little treat that I get to enjoy thanks to simply saving my change.  Next year, I decided to save my change for a fun little vacation. I’m aiming to save up around $500 and take a girls trip with some close friends. Another fun idea is to use your saved change for something new each month like a pair of shoes or item of clothing.

What do you do to save money? Have you tried collecting your coins?