Loose Change

[angelat]

We save our change in an old dog treat jar. We only visit WDW every other year so we save for almost 2 years. We use the money for whatever the kids choose as our "extra". We have had a limo pick us up at the airport twice. We have gone to Cirque and bought Disney Quest tickets extra. Last visit in 2009 we had almost $600.00. I always get a little anxious about this time of year to count out our money but I make myself wait until October or November.

That's some good savings!! $600 for two years is awesome in my opinion!

We are going to Universal next month. So we started saving our change again. We have one those that count the money for you. We were up to about $75.00 dollars.
My kids have really been into saving change so they have been looking anywhere for change. They went into the office (being used for storage at the moment so we don't go in their often. So anyways they found a huge jar that we started a long time ago that we forgot about. There was $400 dollars in it!!!

Nice!!!

 

[angelat]

I am glad we are not the only ones that save our change for Disney. My kids called them Disney wishes when they were little. They would talk there Grandparents into giving them there pennies to put in their Disney Wish bucket.

My friends at work leave stacks of pennies on my desk all the time. Most of them just throw the pennies out! Seeing how much they've added up in just 4 months makes me realize even more how crazy that thought is!

 

[Jakesmom504]

Quarters go in a Disney cookie jar, it's almost full. The rest go in a water jug....$397 so far and that's not counting the pennies! DS is really good about it too. As soon as he finds change, it goes right upstairs "to save for Disney!"

 

[Jakesmom504]

I have an antique bottle that I have been saving change in for over a year now. It is half full. We use to save it and use it when we went Gambling. But we decided we'd let it ride and see what we could save to spend on something frivolous at Disney. I'm thinking a Thomas Kinkade picture or something. Hubby and I are huge art lovers and we passed on it the last time. Plus our Bank card gives us rewards for using as a Credit card. I have almost $350 in rewards there so I'm pretty excited about the extra spending money this time. We go for my Birthday and our Anniversary (Same day, silly me) anyway, I always get money from my MIL so Disney Trip of a lifetime is going to be fabulous this year. I'm blowing the budget, just this once.
Plus everytime Hubby makes me go to the mall. (I hate shopping) we buy a $25.00 Disney Gift card. Boy my Hubby likes to go to the mall. I have $275 already and have 97 days till Disney.
Wish I could find some deals on Gift card though.[/QUOTE

I like that Disney gift card idea! Do they have an expiration?

 

[tink15823]

I have an antique bottle that I have been saving change in for over a year now. It is half full. We use to save it and use it when we went Gambling. But we decided we'd let it ride and see what we could save to spend on something frivolous at Disney. I'm thinking a Thomas Kinkade picture or something. Hubby and I are huge art lovers and we passed on it the last time. Plus our Bank card gives us rewards for using as a Credit card. I have almost $350 in rewards there so I'm pretty excited about the extra spending money this time. We go for my Birthday and our Anniversary (Same day, silly me) anyway, I always get money from my MIL so Disney Trip of a lifetime is going to be fabulous this year. I'm blowing the budget, just this once.
Plus every time Hubby makes me go to the mall. (I hate shopping) we buy a $25.00 Disney Gift card. Boy my Hubby likes to go to the mall. I have $275 already and have 97 days till Disney.
Wish I could find some deals on Gift card though.[/QUOTE

The Sams club around us is giving you a $25 dollars Disney gift card with a $100 gift card purchase and they cost $98 at Sam's Club so you would get $125 in gift card for $98 .

I like that Disney gift card idea! :thumbs up 2 Do they have an expiration?

No they do not expire we pay for our trip every 2 years with gift card . I get our at Sams Club or the grocery store so I get free gas with gas point. That means more Disney money the money I would spend on gas goes to another gift card.

 

[tegdig]

I have always saved loose change for Disney, but the past couple of years I have been saving $1 bills also......every time I clean my purse out I take them out and save them. They really add up nicely. I bundle them by $25 and then whenever I need to get a gift for my daughter for Halloween, Valentines, Easter,"Just Because", etc., I will take $25 and get a Disney gift card with it to stick in. It is so painless and then her spending money adds up without me even feeling it!

 

[Jakesmom504]

No they do not expire we pay for our trip every 2 years with gift card . I get our at Sams Club or the grocery store so I get free gas with gas point. That means more Disney money the money I would spend on gas goes to another gift card.

That's awesome! Thanks..I will keep that in mind!

 

[2girls4me]

We save ours. After it gets to a certain point, I bring it tour credit union. They have a machine, and they don't charge members. It all adds up.

 

[njsweetP]

We have a jar that we started when we got back from our trip last year.
I think we have over $250 in it. We also came across a basket of rolled
coins in our basement that we rolled years ago - $160 in that.
We will be taking the jar to the bank this weekend to cash it in for
our trip this month. Hoping to be close to $600. ( I will add some $$ this week.)

 

[*Seanaci*]

We started saving change for our sons spending/fun money about 18 months ago. Counted it out about 6 months ago and there was $90 in the change jar. And we really don't use cash all that much. We ended up cashing in the $90 and putting it into a savings account for him for the trip. Fast forward 6 months, and the piggy bank is about a third full again!

I do have to say thought...that when we have singles (1's or 5's mostly), we'll let him put those in the piggy bank as well. So, it adds up.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We have a jar that we started when we got back from our trip last year.
I think we have over $250 in it. We also came across a basket of rolled
coins in our basement that we rolled years ago - $160 in that.
We will be taking the jar to the bank this weekend to cash it in for
our trip this month. Hoping to be close to $600. ( I will add some $$ this week.)

Wow. That's amazing! My parents have a tall pepsi change bank. They just kept putting change in it. And I believe it was...a few years worth of change. But, when they took it to where I worked during the summer way back then (an accounting department for a recreation district) and cashed it in it was like $800! Change adds up.

 

[jjsmom]

Congrats Angelat! I am also pleased to report that after eleven months "without a penny to spare", we've managed to fill a pickle jar. Our local, privately owned bank offers a free coin counter. I'm thinking $200 easily. That $5 bill jar is coming along nicely as well.

 

[Maddle]

I see Coinstar will count your change for free if you convert it into a gift card of some nature. If I convert it into Albertsons, could I turn around and use the Albertsons card to buy a Disney card from Albertsons? (As far as I can tell, Disney is not one of the options that is offered.) Anyone try this? Another option is Amazon, but that is not where I want my savings to go.

Maddle

 

[mel&me]

Been saving change for 2 years, adds up. Cashing in soon probaly end of next month for fall trip. Have 2 jugs full plus 3rd partial. I would say a conservative guess is we have around $600 + in change. Melissa don't know that on several occasions I have buried some bills in the change, twenties and fifties and at least one $100 . She is going to be surprised when she dumps them.

 

[*Seanaci*]

We bank at a Credit Union. They have a coin counter in the lobby. If you have their top membership, they waive the fee the coin counter charges to cash it in.

However, my old job, we would fill our own pop machines. So we'd take the change to the local bank and they'd do an even exchange coin for cash. So, it may be worth it to check in to your bank or credit union when it's time to cash those coins in.

 

[Marionnette]

I see Coinstar will count your change for free if you convert it into a gift card of some nature. If I convert it into Albertsons, could I turn around and use the Albertsons card to buy a Disney card from Albertsons? (As far as I can tell, Disney is not one of the options that is offered.) Anyone try this? Another option is Amazon, but that is not where I want my savings to go.

Maddle

I know that Acme (part of the Albertson's family) does not allow you to buy a gift card with an Acme gift card.

 

[cey]

I bought a cute metal tinkerbell bank (the kind you have to open with a can opener) at Dollarama and DH and I have been gradually filling it with Looney and Toonies. Here in Canada, those are $1 and $2 coins! Besides being really heavy in your purse or pocket, they take up a lot of room in your wallet! The can is almost full (It weighs 8.5 lbs) and will be opened just in time to purchase MNSSHP tickets!