Change Jar Musings
Change jars are like mini savings accounts. You can start one to have as an emergency fund or to help you reach a specific goal. It’s a painless way to accumulate some extra money. The fun part is finding a container to use and creating rules for your own change jar challenge. You can tell a lot about a person by their loose change. 
Which of the following personalities are you?
The Warden
You watch every cent as it’s added to the jar. You know exactly how much is in it, at any given moment. You might go as far as marking the container. You know if money has been removed, so don’t even consider taking a quarter from the warden.
The Elitist
No copper gets mixed in with the other coins. You want to maximize your savings, so adding pennies is just useless filler that wastes your time. You’ll still save pennies, but want them separated.
The Potty Mouths
They call it a swear jar. The concept is whenever someone swears, they add a set amount of money into the jar. Let’s just say we tried this over here. I won’t mention any names, but someone over here started just handing over ten dollar bills in advance for the week. lol
The Jingler aka Pocket Pool Pro
Ewww. I’m sorry, but you guys have got to stop jingling the change in your pockets. Just the thought of it makes me twitchy and not in a good way. Please allow me to suggest this as a frugal alternative. No one should jingle when they walk. It’s just not right.
The Hoarder
The change somehow never makes it out of the car. The car ashtray, drink holders, and consoles are overflowing with change. One fine day, you finally get a large container and clean out the entire car. Some hoarders have their spare change in their purse. They only empty it out when their purse gets too heavy to carry.
The Obsessive Organizer
Each type of coin is in its own separate container. You might go as far as cleaning the coins because you like shiny things. The containers are lined up and don’t anyone dare toss a nickel into the dime container. tsk tsk Let’s just say you won’t find any legos, game tokens, or Canadian coins in this jar.
The Tip Recipient
Founder of lost change in the laundry. All money found goes into their tip jar. Snooze you lose if you forgot to empty your pockets.
The Impatient
You have small change jars because you can’t wait long enough to fill a larger jar. You roll your change as soon as there is enough to roll and deposit into the bank on a regular basis. You need instant gratification and don’t have the patience or tolerance to save change any other way.
The Optimist
You have the largest change jars or several for various goals. Your main goal will be something large such as a Disney Vacation or HDTV. You will add dollar bills into the mix.
The Precise
You give exact change often. People in line behind you roll their eyes, but you count out exact change during most transactions. Your change jar consists of a small shallow dish, tiny container, or dresser drawer because the times you don’t give exact change, you use your debit card, so not a lot of change accumulates.
The Improviser
You’ll use anything you have handy to hold change. An old sock, baby wipes container, extra glass, vases, mason jars, ice cream buckets, cookie jars, empty candle jars, baskets, envelopes, baggies, plastic jugs, plastic food containers, coffee cans, etc.
The Scavenger
You are always on the lookout for spare change. You’ll search couches, the ground, public telephones, under drive thru windows, etc. A simple walk through your house can net you a minimum of $4 in change.
The Stasher
No one knows where you’re hiding the cash. Its location is top secret. Your methods are secretive too. You’re determined to save and no one is going to stop you.
Share with me the fun ways you save your loose change. Do you round up? Do you set aside money you’ve saved from coupons or discounts? I want to know all about you! What are you saving for?
If you aren’t participating in our change jar challenges on the forums, you’re welcome to join us.
Editor’s Note
Here’s my change jar. I like to think of my change jar as half full. 
I’d also like to add that when I was in eighth grade, my English teacher was a jingler. When you’re thirteen years old and sitting in a desk at “pocket level”, having a teacher that is a jingler is a lasting and vivid memory. ACK. I’m scarred for life. Please guys…with this blog entry, if I can accomplish one “take away” tidbit, please no jingling. It’s just plain creepy. I’ve got “coindar” and I can spot a jingler a mile away.
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Posted by Sara Noel
on February 18 2007. Filed under Frugal & simple living.
Sara Noel owns Frugal Village, LLC and is a nationally syndicated columnist with United Media. Bio, Follow me on Twitter, Join us on Facebook.
I am a stasher for sure. MY BF has his change jar in plain sight….big mistake. I take all the good coins out of it. I just cashed his jar in and he had 890 pennies, and barely any silver. Hmm, I wonder how that happened??
41Too funny
I guess I am The Impatient. LOL All change is rolled as soon as possible and deposited into our savings. But we also save dollar bills. I don’t know how many dollars we have saved, but just since Januray 6th we have saved $94.50 in change. I am obsessive over change. LOL I even have a spreadsheet in Excel. I add the date and the amount of change that has been rolled so I know exactly how much change has been saved. LOL
42Oh I forgot to add something. I have an old plastic box in my pocketbook that used to hold Band-Aids. It has Strawberry Shortcake on it. I keep it in my pocketbook and add coins to it when I get them. Since becoming frugal I couldn’t stand to throw the box away. LOL
43I’m an improviser, scavenger and stasher. I do tend to sort the Canadian money out from the american money. Pennies from the rest. and I also tend to stash 5 dollar bills around the house and my car for “just in case”.
This also might sound funny but being a canadian who visits the states a bit…When the CDN dollar is up i purchase usd’s and either use it on a trip or when the dollar drops…trade the money back in for extra canadian funds. I also tend to collect the “different” canadian quarters they come out with a new print for a time once every couple years.
I work a job on the side from my normal job and any money i get from that gets stashed for “extras” or new furniture.
44I’m a tosser, but I think “The Dipper” needs to be added to that list. There are far too many of us who will drop in the coins, but then go right back in and use them up. There’s never more than 5 to 25 bucks in that jar.
45I am an optimist. I have this 15 gallon container I am trying to fill up. I’ve had it for about a year and it’s not even close to full. It is mostly filled up with pennies, but there are other coins here and there. I’ve got a lot of saving to do.
46I have a water jug that has nothing but silver.ITS FULL. I then started putting silver in with the copper. its weird but I like the pickle jar with the mixed change better .more appealing to the eye.
47This is the one that I keep out where Ican see it.The silver only jug is kept under the bed.I am definately a scavenger. I always look down to see if there are any coins on the ground in the drive through
lanes,especially at the fast food. I’ve trained my brain to spot MONEY any and everywhere.
We use a plastic coffee can for everyday change. A few months ago I got the idea of saving the $10 pesos coin, we live in Mexico. We use a glass Hershey kisses jar. When it is full, there is about $1,000 pesos. My husband takes the change to a store down the street and/or to the restaurant next door and the women love to get the change! The bills are then put in a book for our home emergency fund.
48I’m an optimistic, scavenging stasher…I have a huge 5 gallon beer making carboy sitting quietly behind the laundry hamper…with a side order of ninja stasher thrown in..somewhere in my residence (behind the door marked “Caution: Live Puma”) is a manilla envelope filled with ones and the occassional five..for emergencies like a classic Ralph Lauren dress at the thrift store for $10.
I never have any idea how much money is in the change jar..I’m just happy when I have trouble lifting it.
49I am a tip recipient, I have a jar sitting on top of my dryer. If I check pockets and find money-it is to bad ,so sad. My tip!
50I am also a hoarder. I have change in my purse,since I pay in cash. and I will have to dump it every so often
I’m a hoarder – but getting better at not having so much change in my purse. My husband and I have a 5 gallon water bottle as our coin saver and also use a variety of smaller glass jars. Sometimes bills get put in the big one, too.
I wanted to ask if anyone ever read A Tree Grows In Brooklyn – in order to save money a tin can was used for hidden savings, and it was made by removing the lid from one end, slashing a slit in the top, cutting strips halfway down the can and nailing the strips to the closet floor.
51I’m an elitist, tip recipient, semi-obsessive organizer, scavenger when it comes to change. I have a big container for the pennies (about half of them are rolled at present) and smaller different ones for the silver. Yes, I will pick up pennies on the sidewalk, etc. DH on the other hand likes to give exact change and empties his change out of his pockets at night. I would swipe it, but he likes to put in back in his pockets the next day…so he can give exact change. Though, like Stella, I will grab a couple of quarters when I can get away with it. I’m saving up for my high school reunion in a couple of years. I’m not allowed to take from the budget for that, so I scrounge on the side. I would never buy those cutesie banks cuz that money could be going on bills, groceries…or the change jar!
52I am a percise, always take great pains to keep my change spent, and yeah I drive my wife and 14 year old crazy, with embarrisments, I guess they think it shows we are poor, well if the shoe fits wear it.
Also, I never steal change, but at Aldi’s I always look down the lines for baskets people forgot to take their quarters out, and will do what it takes to get to that quarter. Also will go after a shoppin cart with a quarter in it, in pouring rain if left by some shopper not wanting to take it back.
Ok I’m not that poor, but it might go back to what a dear friend use to preach to me, take care of your pennies, and your dollars will take care of themselves. Yeah John died with more than a million dollars cash in the bank:D (no I’ll not die with a million in the bank:()
53I’m a gadget geek. We have a really nice sorter and it only allows the amount that will fit into those neat and tidy rolling papers
I don’t take them directly to the bank, I wait til the jar(s) are full, but it makes it easier to estimate how much you might have if they are rolled. Our first “cashing in day” We bought a laptop. This last time, we paid for our NFL Sunday ticket and superfan on our directv with it. It’s great to save up for an extra extravegance and not take it out of the already working family budget. 
54