by Leigh Goessl

Created on: November 18, 2009   Last Updated: August 21, 2011

Loose change is often forgotten and tossed into a purse or pocket, but can be a real source of savings if you put your mind to it. There are many ways on how you can save money with a piggy bank that will give your bank account a healthy boost.

In today's digital, credit and paper world, a handful of coins doesn't sound like much, but when consistently saved in a designated storage place, such as a piggy bank, that loose change can add up and make a nice deposit into a savings account.

Here are a few tips on how to save money by putting loose change into a piggy bank:

• Do a periodic sweep

As you clean your house a great way to fatten up your piggy bank is to make sure all coins you come across in the various rooms are placed into the bank. In addition, doing a periodic sweep through cars, coats, purses, pockets and wallets will likely yield lots of coin.

Over the course of time these coins found in the home, car, handbags and pockets are likely to surprise you with the amount of loose change you've saved and see how those coins become dollars.

• Save all change received at the store

What do you do with the change you receive from the cashier at the store? Do you idly toss it in the car or in a pocket to be forgotten about? If so, why not make a habit of immediately depositing it into the piggy bank once you get home?

By establishing a habit of automatically depositing loose change into your piggy bank, this reduces the amount of change you'll find around your house, it getting lost or sent through the washing machine. In addition, you're likely to see faster results of saving if you regularly make deposits instead of making a halfhearted effort to save loose change.

• Get the family involved

Establishing a family community piggy bank is a great way to save. If everyone contributes their loose coins into the bank, the bank is going to fill up a lot quicker. Perhaps setting a family goal such as money saved towards a vacation or a large household item the family wants would be a good motivator.

Whatever method you choose to save money by using a piggy bank, the key is to be diligent and make a promise to yourself to leave the change alone. Once the money goes in, don't take it out for any reason until your bank is full and you're ready to make a bank deposit or have reached your spending goal.

Look at it this way if you find yourself tempted to withdraw. If you weren't actively saving money, chances are it would be sitting in the car seat, under couch cushions or in some other obscure place. Pretend you don't have the money and you'll see real results over a period of time. You might surprise yourself on how much you can save! Make a firm promise with yourself (and/or your family) to leave the piggy bank alone and watch those savings grow.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.