Saving With Loose Change Jars

So...Something that I love to do is to have multiple loose change jars for different purposes. This is how I lay it out-
Coins $.25 or less =Dinner, Drinks, or Movies.
Coins $1-$2 =Clothes or a day trip(gas, entertainment for the day)
Bills $5-$10=Chunk payments on loans or credit cards

At the end of every day when I get home I empty the change out of my pockets and check my wallet for bills. I put everything in the appropriate jar and watch it grow. I never dip into the jars for anything other than their labeled purpose. I also try to wait until each jar is full to the brim before I even think about counting it. When you do count the change up after the jar becomes full I guarantee you will be blown away by how much is in there. And lets face it, what do we always end up spending the loose change in our pockets on? I know I usually spend it on junk food or pop. It's a great feeling when you count a jar for the first time and realize how much money you have managed to save without much effort at all.

Have fun with this tip. It's hard not to!

Start Small

One thing that most people have done in the past is get a nice big jar to chuck excess change into. This is a tried and tested way to save a few bucks here and there that can go toward a nice dinner or a short trip. I've even heard of people saving hundreds this way. However, with our society moving more towards the plastic way of purchasing it can be hard to even save up enough change for a cup of coffee and a donut. There are options you can take advantage of that will accomplish the same thing.

Paypal has a debit card that will immediately give you 1% back on all purchases. You can find some credit cards that do the same. Careful though because some credit cards have hidden fees. Stay away from fees of any kind. Fees are bad. My favorite thing to do is to make errors in my cheque balancing. You know how people set their clocks ahead so when their alarms go off and they get up they realize they actually have 15 more minutes than they thought? And it's a pleasant surprise even though they know they did it? Yea. It's like that with cheque book errors. Say I get an $800 dollar cheque. I just tell my cheque-book that I was paid $775 and voila..a magical free $25 will appear when I most need it.

Saving money is more a mental game than most people think. You really have to get into good habits financially to be able to turn your luck around. Don't be afraid to make up silly things that help you save $5 or $10 here and there. It can add up really fast. You'll be off the mac and cheese in no time!