Saving with a money box or a piggy bank is a good way to put aside some money. As Ben Franklin once said "A penny saved is a penny earned".

In today's world a penny saved here and there doesn't sound like much, especially with the cost of living continuously rising. Yet surprisingly enough you can accumulate significant amounts money by holding onto that loose change. The key to using a money box or piggy bank to increase your savings is to do something with the money saved once you raise significant dollar amounts.

There are many ways you can save money with loose change. Here are a few tips to get you started on fattening up that piggy's tummy:

*Do a Clean Up

Try doing a periodic sweep to collect the coins lying around in your home, car, coat pockets and handbags. Once you begin to keep track of the loose change you collect, you'll be astonished how many coins accumulate monthly around your living spaces; all of it money you probably never even noticed.

*Deposit all the Change from Shopping

How many people bother to count all the change after the cashier hands over the change buying some odds and ends at the local mart? All this change adds up!

If you make a concentrated effort to consciously remember to empty your pockets and place any change received from shopping directly into piggy instead of forgetting about or tossing it in a pocket where it'll likely fall out, get lost in the wash or forgotten, this can increase savings (plus it beats fishing it out of the bottom of your washing machine).

*'Found money'

Have you ever emptied change out your pocketbook, coat, or wallet and discover a few dollar bills (or if you're lucky - more!) stashed in one of the compartments or pockets? You didn't really miss the money in the first place, so why not just deposit it to your bank and give a good boost to your growing collection of coins instead of spending it.

*Make Coin Collecting a Family Affair

Ask your family to deposit their change into the savings box too. My kids and I began diligently tossing all of our coins into our "jar" and before we knew it, we'd collectively saved over $200 to use towards a planned vacation. Once everyone pitches in and gets involved, that loose change in the piggy bank can quickly multiply.

The key to successful saving with loose change is to make a pact with yourself to leave it alone. Once the money goes in, don't take it out for any reason, pretend as if the money box isn't even there. Borrowing from your stash defeats the purpose of trying to save, so make yourself a firm promise to yourself to leave it alone until enough accumulates to spend on that special purchase or to deposit into a bank account.

Depositing change into your money box can prove lucrative over the course of time. This practice won't necessarily make you rich, but before you know it you're likely to find your piggy bank having a healthy expansion. The best part is this can happen without impacting any money you needed to meet monthly expenses.

Saving change is a neat way to find money for the extras you normally wouldn't spend money on. A good rule of thumb is to tally your treasure every so often and then go deposit it into an interest earning account to maximize your savings if you weren't waiting to buy something specific. Once the savings deposits funds grow you can find better ways to invest or add to other investments you may have.

Plus it's fun to realize you accomplished saving money with little effort. If you have kids, collecting change and feeding the piggy bank teaches them the value of money. It also shows them how saving and not splurging every time they have extra money yields some nice benefits.

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

---

Add your voice

Know something about Tips for saving with a money box or a piggy bank?
We want to hear your view. Write now!