Pincing Pennies

I remember on my sixteenth birthday a family friend handed me a heavy present. To my surprise when I opened the box it was filled with coins. Much to my dismay I had to count all of it to find out how much it was. By the time I was done I had around seventy dollars in coins. My friend told me he had emptied the pockets at the end of everyday of all the extra change he had for several months. Not only did I get money for my birthday, I also got a valuable lesson.


Ever since that day I have started to collect my extra pocket change in a jar. Once I filled that jar I was pleased to find over one hundred dollars inside. I always had a problem saving money but putting my pocket change in a jar was unknowingly doing that for me because I could not tell how much there was and I was too lazy to count it at the time I wanted to spend it.

So the next time you get your change back from the drive through, save it. Get a jar and start emptying the change out of your pockets or purse every day you get home and put it there. They even have jars now that count your coins for you. You will be surprised how fast the money adds up. I saved over one hundred dollars within less than a year just from having around fifty cents to a dollar in my pocket every day.

You can spend the money you save like I have done or you can open up a bank account and put the money in there. If you save enough money you can put it in a checking account so the money can be pulled when needed. But if you want your money to benefit you in the long run, then put it in a savings account because with interest your money will grow over time. It is a simple way to start saving for a car or college or smaller investments.

Saving your extra change has to be the easiest way to save money. Many people just throw their change away or put it somewhere in their car or their room and forget about it. When you save your coins you are not really giving up spending money, just the leftovers from the money you have already spent.

-Brittany Diemer