If you’re having a hard time saving money, sometimes it pays to use a little psychology on yourself. Make a rule to never spend change.
Let me explain. If you’re at the grocery store, and your order comes to $39.25, give the cashier $40.00. Take the 75 cents home and put it in a change jar. And whatever you do, don’t take the change out of the jar until it’s full! Then take it to the bank and put it in your savings account!
If this sounds too easy, take it a step further. Don’t spend change when you write checks, either. Let’s say you’re checking out at the above mentioned grocery store run, and you’re writing a check. You have two choices.
First, you can write the check for $40, have the cashier give you some change, and take home to your change jar. OR, you could write a check for the correct amount, but enter it in your check register as $40. At the end of the month, when you get your bank statement, figure out the difference between what you wrote down and what you spent, and transfer it to your bank account.
I haven’t done this for a while, so I think I’m going on a “Change Fast” for the month of August. It will be fun to see how much money I save by not spending my coins. Is anyone with me?
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Thanks for the post, great information. People forget that changing a few small things can make a huge difference in their over all financial status.
I should put these tips into my routine. My boyfriend loves the change in a jar idea though. He does that regularly and had about $30 from one full jar at the end of a month. So it’s a good ‘savings’ plan for him.
I saw your article on ‘Cents’able Momma’s blog. My husband and I do the same thing with change. We put it in a little jar by the front door and then add it up each week before putting it in the water jug. This way we can keep a tally of how much we have saved. I feature how much we have saved every Thursday on my blog (www.suburbansavingmama.com) called ‘Change it Up!’. You should come on over and participate!
Solid strategy . . . one of the many I have suggested to others myself.