Adding Dollar Bills to the Change Jar

[AnninIowa]

Not sure if this was an idea I originally read here on the Budget Board, but we have started a new, bigger change jar (coffee can covered in decorative paper with a large slot cut in the lid) so that we can add $1 bills along with our change. Everytime we come home from spending money, we empty all change and dollar bills into the jar. For my house, we are using this as a long-term savings jar. Every couple of weeks, I take the money to the credit union and put it into my savings account. When I have $1000 in my savings account, I am going to start transferring money above that into ING.

At first it was hard to part with those ones, but I have gotten a lot better about managing my money overall as saving those ones back makes me pass up silly little purchases as I don't want to break a 20 on a $1 item. It is a great way to save - adds up faster than just putting the change in the jar!

 

[happily single]

I do the same thing. Only I don't put the change in every time I get home. I just wait until my purse weights a ton Whenever I get back a few $1.00's I'll throw 1-2 into the fund. You don't even miss them, but yet you still have a few on your person so you don't always need to break the $20.

 

[AnninIowa]

I do the same thing. Only I don't put the change in every time I get home. I just wait until my purse weights a ton Whenever I get back a few $1.00's I'll throw 1-2 into the fund. You don't even miss them, but yet you still have a few on your person so you don't always need to break the $20.

I do keep some ones if I know we are going somewhere where I KNOW I will need them, such as to a garage sale or out to eat for the tip.

 

[lobmcf]

I do this! I primarily use my credit card for all purchases, but on the off chance I have bills less than a $5, they go in the piggy!

I made a thread about it before I took him to the bank in December:

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2854551

 

[dawnn12]

I have one of the 5 gal water cooler jugs and we do the same thing. I do keep mine covered it was getting to easy to say "oh i can just tap for a few dollars out of here instead of going to the atm/store to get money". I havent looked in it for a long while but my DD did say the other day its getting heavy I do shove other bills in there ever once in a while.

 

[goofyredraider]

I used to do this and I saved SOOOOO much money that way. It adds up fast, for sure! I think I will start doing it again over the next 4 months before our trip to save some more spending $$!

 

[rileyreese]

I do this too and have started putting dollars in anytime I have some. We are going to Disney World in October 2013 so we are saving any money we can so this is a great way for extra money!

 

[cajunbaby1]

Good way to save is when you buy some that's say $1.49, and you give them $2 put the change in the vacation jar.
My mother used to "hide" money in her checkbook. and write the "hidden" amt in the back of the registry. Say chk was 13.50 she'd write $15 in checkbook, and write 1.50 in the back. Building up her mad money for whatever.

 

[eliza61]

I did this. January of last year, I committed to putting in 1 dollar a day until my disney trip. Most of hte time it was two. From January 1 until August 23rd was some thing like 230 days. I ended up with almost an extra 500 bucks for my trip. and it was relatively painless.

 

[merlinspride]

I too have a change piggy bank for our Disney funds. I have one that I cant see through ( so Im not tempted) and it has to be cut open, so I can tell it isnt tampered with throughout the year. My daughter and I save all our change, and I occasionally with throw in some bills. But now I have gotten int to the habbit of cleaning our my purse each payday. Any bills in my purse the night before I am paid go into the piggy. Sometimes, it is just a few dollars, sometimes it is none..but twice now it has been over $20. I really think this is going to add up quickly for us. My goal is that the piggy bank will be our single source for our spending money and tips this year.

 

[CastleChick]

We have a large pickle jar that we put ours in. All of our loose change, dollars from rebates and random checks that we've forgotten about go in there. Also we've started buying Disney gift cards here and there and stuffing them in (along with the free ones we've gotten for surveys for DVC and from the TA) and then over Christmas when people would give us $ I just shoved it in there instead of thinking of spending it on yet another toy.

The kids have gotten so excited about it that they ask to put in some (occasionally ALL!) of their chore money in the jar.

They can't wait to go back to Disney and we've told them we can't go until we have enough $ in the jar.

 

[cah5525]

Dollar bills seem hard to save? I know that any time my kids needed lunch money for school (rushing to get them out the door before the bus comes) I would dip into my secret stash! So now, every time I go to the bank...I ask for dollar coins. Easier to blend in - in the coin jar. (I also started prepaying the kid's lunches) The kids even like being paid part of their allowance in these coins - they won't spend them and they know that it will be there when they go to Disney! Some coin exchangers give out these coins too- our Jiffylube does at their vacuum coin changer and the self-serve stamp machines at the post office has them, too.

 

[mum of two pirates]

I started saving $1 bills about a year before our Disney Cruise. We had a baseball bat about 2ft tall that I put our change in. Then I started putting $1 bills into it. If I remember right we had over $300 for tips when we left. The kids and I made them into oragomi shirts and then handed them out. It was a fun touch. Have a great time.