Pocket Change

January 30, 2008 By Tisha (Kulak) Tolar

It almost never fails. There is a load of laundry, rotating around in the spin cycle and the distinct ching-ching sound of change is audible as the water drains from the tub. As you transfer the wet clothes into the dryer, you must chase down the nickels rolling on the floor and then forage into the tub for the rest of the money someone has forgotten to empty from the pockets. Of course you may be thinking that a wiser person would check the pockets before doing the laundry, but then I wouldn’t be able to offer these tips on pocket change!At my house, there is a cup kept in the laundry cabinet to collect all of the change found in the wash. Because it sits out of sight, we often forget it exists and therefore have established a savings plan of sorts.

Of course it isn’t a lot of money being put into the cup weekly, but over time is adds up. It has come in handy when I need to grab some lunch money, Girls Scout dues, or parking meter money as I am walking out the door. I also make it a point to occasionally collect all of the spare change in other areas of the house and roll them into coin wrappers to be deposited into my daughter’s savings account. Sometimes I just grab a handful of change and let my daughter put it in her own piggy bank. At five, she has a decent concept of saving her own money and any loose change she finds on her own, goes right into her piggy.

In the past, I have used laundry change as my spending money on a trip to the Bahamas. Saving for a year, I managed to collect over $300 dollars in spare change alone. I have an aunt that collects all of her change and uses them at Easter time as prizes in the plastic eggs that are hidden for the kids. It’s also a nice bonus for trick-or-treaters.

Spare change can also lead to a fun family adventure. Make a rule that all spare change be collected in a jar. Each month or so, count and roll the change together and based on the amount, pick a fun thing to do for a family night out. While spare change from the laundry may be irritating and seemingly miniscule, it can also be a forgotten treasure you can use with a little imagination.

Posted in children, family, free money, holidays, money, parenting, saving money

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