Just like the other one, okay, so I’m no songtress, but the Pink Floyd lyrics I’m referencing here aren’t exactly what you think, instead I’m relating this to rolling…drum roll please…..coins. Yes, I roll my own coins, now if that ain’t cheap I don’t know what is. See, I don’t use cash very often so I’m not in the habit of pulling coins from my pocket to pay for this and that. Instead, I rarely have cash on hand and when I do use cash and get the change back it ends up accumulating in the mason jar in my closet.
Since it takes several months to fill up my mason jar with coins (or closer to a year or more) I don’t want to waste 8.5-cents per dollar on CoinStar, which would automatically count my change for me. There’s also something cathartic about rolling my own coins; counting them out, stuffing them into the paper rolls, then totaling up how much I’ve saved in spare change. It doesn’t take very long since the most I’ve ever collected was in the $55 range. Probably the only downside to this is having to physically go to the bank to deposit them into an account since most of my banking is done online – even depositing checks.
Now, if I were a more diligent saver, I’d use my coin savings for a purpose like camping, shoes, etc. “putting my money to work” or so Julie over at the Family CEO likes to say. Sorry to say I’m just not that regimented with my found money, instead it just gets deposited into my regular old account and is used to pay bills.
If collecting coins is something you do, here are some places to pick up a few extra (I’m not condoning stealing, mind you, just pointing out the obvious):
- In your car’s cup holder.
- In between the cushions of your couch.
- Within the folds and pockets of your purse (if you’re a chick)
- Floating around the bottom of your backpack (if you’re a student)
- In the gutters of just about any street (don’t get run over picking up a nickel)
- On the sidewalks outside convenient stores (watch out for the gum)
I’ve started my new coin savings jar with a few left overs that didn’t quite fit into any of the previous rolls with the anticipation of rolling some “big bucks” next year. 😉
Do you collect your coins and roll them, or just save them?
10 Comments
I just save them. I don’t really care to have to sit there and put them in those rollers. It might be because I was forced to do it when I was a kid and now I just cant stand it. I would take them to the CoinStar any day.
@Thomas – If you’re saving huge amounts of coins, you could always pass them down to family members. I know people who save 5-gallons jugs of coins for similar reasons – they don’t want to deal with rolling them. It could be a grandkid’s dream – hundreds of dollars in the form of coins. 😉
The idea of rolling coins is near and dear to my heart. I don’t spend much in the way of cash anymore but through most of the 1990’s and early part of the 2000’s, I saved all my coins and would roll them as soon as my Tootsie Roll jar got filled up. I saved nearly $1,000 this way, which I used toward my wife’s engagement ring. I always told her that I started saving for her before I even knew her!
@Money Beagle – Whoa! That’s a lot of coinage! What a sweet thought, too -saving the coins and applying that money towards an engagement ring.
Many years ago, I used to throw my change into a jar and roll them to turn it into the bank. I averaged $40-50 a month. I stopped buying lunch a few years alter and saved even more.
@Krantcents – $40- 50 a month is a lot of coins! Since I don’t use cash much, I only average that about once a year.
Maybe I’m mean, but I just take my mug of coins to the bank and have them roll them for me. Then they deposit them. They have those nifty little measuring things that helps them do it a bit faster then myself. I have seen those personal coin rolling machines. I wonder if those would be worth the time savings. If you enjoy it though, I guess there’s no need to change.
@David – I didn’t realize that banks would do that, maybe I’ll give that a try if I’m running short on time.
I believe you bank should be able to do that for you. I have a tin that I collect coins throughout the year and use the money for spending money on Vacation. Every time I add a few coins I think “Ice Cream on the boardwalk!”
@Paul – I didn’t realize that banks would do that. I actually like rolling my coins, so I’m fine with that, but maybe someday I’ll ask my bank about it. Yes, I really need to think more along the lines of “My coins are for X.” I’m not very good at that.