I have a bit of an obsession with my piggy bank.  It’s one of those big ones that you see with the sports teams logos (Iowa State Cyclones for me).  Right now it’s a little over half full, and weighs in at 34 pounds.  I love getting change and throwing it in my piggy bank.  I can’t wait until that thing is full and I get to lug it too the bank.  I think it’s a great way to save some extra money without even thinking about it. 

Here’s my thinking; those people who like to dig out the correct change so they will get an extra dollar back are going to spend more than piggy-bankers.  When you get that extra dollar, how often does it get saved?  Hardly ever.  More often than not, it will get spent on something like a pop or a candy bar because it’s more convenient to spend the cash than change.  With $.83 in change, you don’t have as much cash in the wallet and are thus less likely to spend it on something trivial.  It’s best to put it in the change jar and forget that it exists.

My roommate Chance used his change jar for something useful.  He cashed it in early in December and used it for Christmas gifts.  It’s a good idea; it makes for a good way to give yourself some extra money during the time of year when most people struggle and fall deeper in debt.

It also can make a good rainy day fund.  The car’s in the shop and Rusty calls to tell you that it’ll be $450 for a new alternator.  Yikes.  It happens, and that could signal that it’s a good time to utilize your savings. 

The only negative that I can think of to holding money in the form of change for a decent amount of time is inflation.  My change jar is constantly growing, but the longer the money sits there the more inflation will eat it away.  I really want to fill the thing up, but I know the money would be doing a lot more for me in certain investments.  I think what I will do is keep filling the thing up, and if the market gets beaten up due to a recession that seems likely, I will cash it in and scoop up some shares at cheap prices.