LoT change jar competition
 

I'm trying to find ways to save more money, so I've started a change jar. I thought it might help me and anyone else interested to save if we added a little friendly competition. It's pretty self explanatory. Start a change jar and put your spare change into it.

It's perfectly legal to scrounge your house, couches, etc, for existing change to start you off. Dollar bills won't be counted towards totals, although this is obviously an honor system thing. I'm saving for our labor day DL trip, so let's do our counts on September 1st. To make it interesting, I'll buy the winner an ice cream at Gibson Girl when we come down. I'm pretty sure I'll win though.

I emptied a giant red vines container (don't ask why we even had that many red vines :rolleyes: ) and drew Mickeys all over it. Indi loved finding change and putting it in our "mickey money" jar. I'm thinking of glueing the top shut to prevent temptation.

Post here if you are starting a change jar. Happy saving!

I'll start a change bucket as well. I'll save all silver money (quarters, dimes, nickels... ) and only spend the pennies (to get more silver money for my jar).

I'm going to save for spending money for B and I when eventually make our way to DL.

Great idea Traci!

I periodically start unintentional change jars. I much prefer to remember to have change on me to give exact change as often as possible, I hate when change starts to pile up at home. But I invariably forget, leave it in the car's ash tray, empty my pockets when I get home, etc.

We JUST cleaned out or change collection, which was $19.97 (we found a few more pennies floating around to make it an even $20) and CP brought it to work with her to exchange for a bill. Fortunately, a public library always needs lots of change on hand, so we did them a service :D

I do the same thing. Or Michael will pay with all bills at the drive through when there is like five bucks in change right there in the ashtray. (Where do smokers put their change, I wonder?) I figure this turns that into a good thing. I'm terrible at saving, so I'm hoping this puts me more in the habit.

Now thaat you've cashed in your change, GD, you have a perfect excuse to enter the competition. :p

Can I include my growing stack of rolled pennies?

Heck no. I'm trying to keep that change gone. Just today I divested myself of 6 coins!

Ummmm....I dunno...I don't have a problem with it because I scrounged my house for change. Although some might say that's like taking an already full change jar and adding it to the competition. I'll just say, use your best judgement. If you have $20 in rolled pennies than maybe not. If it is equivalent to what some of us have in our ahstrays or whatever than why not? I don't think we need to be too strict about anything. It's just to help us save. If anyone objects than I'm sure they'll pipe in.

I'm in.
I will start my change Barrel

Is it ok to use the total before Changestar takes their cut?

Sorry. My loose change is poker money.

Whoa, moneybags. Do you get the penthouse at the Wynn playing those kinds of stakes?

Hahahahaha!

Absolutely. Coinstar is somewhat of a rip off. Most banks have a change machine that they'll charge you 5% to use. I'm just going to roll change this time. Then I keep all my money. I know for a fact that coinstar misses coins sometimes. I counted my change first once and coinstart duped me by a few dollars. Same with the ticket counters at Chuck E. Cheese. :p

Hmm, when I used Coinstar, I counted first, and Coinstar actually came up with a higher total than I had counted. As a matter of fact, it was enough higher that after the 9%, or whatever it was, I came out with about as much as I counted in the first place.

Hmm, I know of at least two people on the LoT who can't count.

Mr. High Roller. I'm what's known in Vegas as a whale.

Did I mention my loose change consists primarily of $20 gold pieces? :)

It's for the occassional poker night with the guys.

Ah good, glad to hear you're putting the weight back on after the surgery.

More than I'd like to, thanks very much.

Aaanyway, sorry for the derail.

So, will there a prize? Lifetime supply of coin rolls?

Read the OP, bozo! ;)

OR maybe coinstar is taking the money it steals from me and giving it to GD. Didja ever think of that, smart guy?! :p

And people call me paranoid.

Traci - we've had a change jar for the past 4 years! Started out just as a way for the kids to have extra money for our trip to DL at the time....We have a little jar...but when it's full, it's always been around the $75 range...which the kids split!

They use this for their "own" souvenir money when we vacation...

I will be all set for this competition this time next week....our jar is full right now...but we'll empty it to buy Shamu food when we're in San Diego next week!

We keep several jars around, but call them "voodoo jars." We paste or tape pictures of the desire on the jar and then fill it with coinage and paper moolah. Well, we figure it can't hurt.

Change? Oh, right, for when they don't take credit. ;)

Actually I use mine in the vending machine at work. Haven't had a piggy bank since I was a kid.

I'm too good at using my change up. Have fun guys, and good luck!

Just a reminder that it's almost coin counting day! Is anyone still saving change?

ok just recently my wife and I had a plastic "Paris "drink tower from Vegas that we had filled up, it came to 116.74. Using quarters, dimes,nickels, pennies. I really was surprised.

I need to put my change jar in a better location,

33.57 here. Anyone else actually do this?

Yes, but it will take an act of God to get me to count it. ;)

I did it, but I've not yet counted. I'll have it by tomorrow!

thanks for the motivation. i finally dragged my "baseball money" that had collected in two quart size containers to the Coin Star at Albertsons. i selected the "Cash Now" option which charged 8.9%. after taking it's cut, the machine spit out a coupon for $149.47 and coins from Spain, Mexico and Canada. now i can pay off that bet that SacTown can't touch his nose with his tongue.

My final take: $33.20