Coin Jar

[wisnieea]

So I felt like this would be the bast place to share!!

I have been having a really hard time lately and it seems like its making me think about another trip to Disney even more than usual.

Problem is I am a third year University student (in Canada) who refuses to take any student loans so I really do not have any extra money...

Or so I thought!!

I work as a waitress part time and I decided that I would start putting any extra toonies, loonies, fives and tens after my shift from my tips into a money jar and see how much I could save. I love watching the jar grow so much there are many things I used to consider neccessities, like lunch out with friends, that I pass on because thats money that could be used for Disney!!!!
Well it has been one month and I have already saved $400. (Mom gave me a roll of toonies, so $50, to start with but still!!!!)

I was hoping on going back next August (fingers crossed for free dining) and its looking like I could do it since I priced out the trip at about $1200 plus $400 for flights!!

Does anyone else keep a change jar???

 

[Disneychix]

Wow! That is a lot of money in one month! Great job!

We have a coin jar that my DH usually contributes all his change to. He doesn't like to carry any coins so they all end up there. We usually cash it in before our trips and the money goes for our spending $$. Last year it was $160!!

 

[smidgen21]

We started a change jar as soon as we got home in Feb from our last trip. It's already over $50. WTG on your savings!

 

[dfchelbay]

So I felt like this would be the bast place to share!!

I have been having a really hard time lately and it seems like its making me think about another trip to Disney even more than usual.

Problem is I am a third year University student (in Canada) who refuses to take any student loans so I really do not have any extra money...

Or so I thought!!

I work as a waitress part time and I decided that I would start putting any extra toonies, loonies, fives and tens after my shift from my tips into a money jar and see how much I could save. I love watching the jar grow so much there are many things I used to consider neccessities, like lunch out with friends, that I pass on because thats money that could be used for Disney!!!!
Well it has been one month and I have already saved $400. (Mom gave me a roll of toonies, so $50, to start with but still!!!!)

I was hoping on going back next August (fingers crossed for free dining) and its looking like I could do it since I priced out the trip at about $1200 plus $400 for flights!!

Does anyone else keep a change jar???

If you're any where near the Michigan border (bridge or tunnel) consider Detroit Metro airport (DTW). You can get REALLY CHEAP flights to Orlando (MCO) from there. I put in dates for next August and it says $128.00 USD roundtrip.

 

[momof2OH]

My DH & I have been saving ALL change, 1's and the occasional 5, 10 or 20 for approx. 2-3 months. Every so often I open it and roll what change is in there and put the bills in stacks of 100 then put it all back in. I counted yesterday and we have so far over $950 . Money we don't even miss!! Will be using some of it for our trip this Nov/Dec but most of it will be going for our trip next Oct. Can't wait to see how much is there next year!!

 

[taylor3297]

I have a small coca-cola bottle bank that sits on my dresser. Once it is full, I take it to the credit union. So far I have filled it up twice, $115 first deposit, $199 the second. I also have a box that I put paper money in. If I have 5 ones, then I put 3 in. Occassionally, I will throw in a 5 or a 10. Had a yard sale this past June and all the money we made from that also goes in the box. So far I have almost 3000 dollars. Our trip will be paid for before we do in Dec 2010.

 

[barbeml]

Incredible job so far!

You will find many fans of the change jar here (some have posted awesome pics of WDW change jars/boxes/bowls they have made).

I use a giant (4 feet tall) crayon bank as our change jar (we save singles too). It is so heavy right now I can barely lift it...can't wait until we cash it in for our December trip. My bank has a free sorter, so cashing in is very easy.

 

[goofyboyzmom]

We just broke our bank open. We had $248 in change and $600 in bills! We started it in January! WooHoo!!

 

[krnlmustrd]

TD Bank offers a free coin counter in their lobby (most locations, I believe - you can check their website for exact location details) available for non-customers as well as customers. You get a receipt for your coins and take it to the teller for cash. We used it for the first time this weekend and were surprised how easy it was and thrilled that there was no outrageous fee that some coin counters charge.

 

[hoosiergirl7]

I pay for almost everything in cash and any coin change I get back I put it in a jar. When the jar is full, I roll my coins and take them in to exchange them for bills which I then stash for rainy day funds. Right now it's being saved for our trip to Disney in 2 months. We've got a few hundred dollars put away for spending money thus far and the jar is getting heavy again. Most of the money we had been saving when to help pay for the adoption of our Chinese daughter who has been home almost 3 months now.

 

[jimaok]

Rolled $541.00 from our coin jar last month for our last OKW trip. I even pick up pennies in parking lots (it all adds up) Good luck with your saving.

 

[onajourney]

We emptied our change jar out and it had $156 in it. We are using that for souveniers/spending money. It is almost 1/2 full again so we are hoping to have it full before we leave in late November to use for gas money. It is decorated and right by our front door so friends and family put their change in it when they come over.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Good for you for sticking to the "no student loans" - as long as you can do it, that is a great option! I went on my second trip to WDW as my graduation gift for myself- it was the tightest budget I ever had for a trip, but it was still great.

My coin jar usually gives us about $90 once a year- enough for a nice treat or to go towards something we are saving up for.

 

[flying_babyb]

I second detroit for an aiport. Its A heck of a fun airport and I hope thats were our stop is when we go to Washigtion dc.

 

[PrincessKell]

We also have a crayon for our change jar. I put bills in there too when I can. We recycle our cans so when we get the money back from that I let dd cash it in and put it in our crayon. Its starting fresh since we just changed it out but we had nearly $300 in it.

 

[carebee21]

We keep a change jar as well. Before we go on vacation we take out quarters and roll a couple rolls for laundry and pressed penny machines. Then we take the rest to a coin star and dump it all in there and give it to my son as his spending money. He knows it's his money and he goes around the house trying to find money to add to the jar and whenever he finds money he adds it in there. We pay for almost everything with our debit card so don't have that much but there's usually close to $100 when we empty it.

When we're on vacation we bring cash with us and at the end of the trip, if there's extra money, I like to stash a little in the suitcases. It's always fun to go to pack for the next trip and find a little extra spending money!

 

[tinkabella627]

we have a change jar too...it goes towards different things. when i was in college i paid for a trip to the bahamas with a change jar. i also paid for a disney trip with it. we just went on our honeymoon in july and used it for spending money for 2 weeks. we started it back up but i cant decide what it will be for... it may be xmas funds, or my best friends wedding fund (in another state), or a 1 year anniversary trip.

 

[mgroshans]

we have one also. for the trip coming up in a couple of weeks, we have $124.50 so far. we have started another one for our trip in june. our boys are great on finding change on the ground or in/around pop machines, etc. we told them how ever much we save, they can have it towards there souvenirs. we think it's a great way for them to realize the value of money

 

[MrTerrorChair]

My family has used a coin jar for the past 30 years that we've been going to disney. i can remember, as a kid, laying out all the coins and making roads in them before we rolled them Then, that money was given to the kids as spending money for the trip.

We do the same thing nowadays. We have a small nittany lion piggy bank that gets all the loose change ~ the kids love to put the money in ~ when it gets filled or we get close to trip time, we take it to the bank and have it as spending money for the kids. This way when they want an extra toy in disney or something that I wouldn't want to spend money on ... they have their own to use

 

[aka-mad4themouse]

I just took a popcorn bucket full of silver coins to the bank yesterday. (Hint: if you plan to do this, make you don't just put it on the floor in the backseat. Quarters and dimes spilled all over when I hit a bump! Doh!)

Total amount in the bucket - $346.61 (somehow 6 pennies and 1 nickle found their way in with the quarters and dimes).

Add that to the very disappointing $28.01 in pennies that formerly occupied that popcorn bucket for a new total of $374.62!