Sealed pots and penny jars - a help or a hindrance to DFW's?

eleanor73

blackandwhitebunny wrote: »

I've also found that if you go into Sainsburys (and probably the other supermarkets as well) at a quiet time you can use loads of coins to pay for shopping at the self service tills. I teach food at school and the pupils bring in money for ingredients, recently lots of 2p and 1p coins. I then buy new ingredients and just empty all the coins into the self service, it does take a while though and it depends on how quickly you get embarrassed about holding up the queue, I tend to pick a less busy time.

This is what I do. I think it would be nice to have a money box and am thinking about getting one but actually it's really satisfying (I know I'm sad) when I need say one thing to make a dinner I use the change in my purse and nothing comes out my bank that day. Also the other day I stupidly left my debit card in my 'going out' bag and went to Lidl that doesn't take credit cards. If my change had all been in a pot I would have had to put my few bits back and go home but my change (just) stretched-thank goodness!

Fotojenics

I have several pots - a copper pot for 1 and 2 ps - a 5p pot sealed - a 10p pot sealed - a £1 pot for my £365 days challenge sealed - a 20p and 50p pot unsealed in case i need the odd pint of milk etc - a £2 coin pot not sealed in case i am really skint and i dip into this one though i try not to and a found money pot as i am keen so see how much i do find in a year - have about £2 odd in there so not too bad - as they say every penny counts.
I also have a virtual sealed pot.
I have only recently started using pots but have saved up a few quid which i have never done before - so sealed or not sealed using money pots have worked for me.

I am so looking forward to counting my money jars out in Dec - though if they look as if they have lots in by summer i will be cashing them in and paying off some debts with them.

Fotojenics

tealady

I have a pot which I put my change in once a week. Basically all my bills are on DD except food. For that I have a weekly budget and I take the money out for that on the SAME day each week. What ever is left at the end of the week goes int my jar and that becomes my "treats" money. That way if I am tempted in the supermarket I know there will be less in the jar, it keeps me on track most weeks.

Watalie

We have a couple of pots too and I love picking them up and feeling them getting heavier. We have a £2 pot that we've been saving since Jan 1st & I think there is already about £60 in there - we'll use it for holidays.

We have a normal pot too (unsealed) that I put anything less than £1 in but my OH puts in all change except £2. I have no idea how much is in there - guess about £80 but we're filling it right up before we take it to the bank

And lastly I have a pot on my desk at work. For random loose change I might pick up through the week, I empty it about once every 6 months and there is usually £20/30 in it.

I think the pots are a great idea! I'll be trying the virtual one from next month, I think - rounding down to the next £10 and sticking it on my CC is a great idea.

foxgloves

We first started a change jar (one of those big wine-making flagons) when we decided to stop doing the lottery, so we put our £1 per draw in there, then started adding all our change too & it added up to a fair bit when we emptied it out. We usually used it towards a holiday deposit. It probably would have been better used towards the outstanding debt we had at the time, but that was before we started budgeting. Now we are very, very nearly debt-free, we still put small change in our big jar - just 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p & the occasional 20p coins. When we empty it out, it just gets bagged up & goes towards whatever we're saving up for at the time. I do think it's worth doing, as it usually adds up to a nice little amount which, because it's all in small change, we haven't missed. We only turn it out & count it all up about once a year to make it feel worthwhile.