Change Matters: How Pennies Can Make You Rich

Every Christmas, my father-in-law dumped out his spare change drawer and gave the cash to my husband and me. Generally, his simple spare change savings tactic amounted to a very generous $200 gift to us. And that’s just from one farmer’s change.

Now imagine if you and your family were to do the same; every time you spent money, you saved the change. Perhaps you put it into a large mason jar or (if you had a really good year) into a five quart ice cream pail. How much do you think that change would amount to at the end of the year?

Doing the Math

Let’s say you alone made just three, small transactions per day and pocketed the change. In this example, we’ll figure each transaction netted you 50 cents in change, for a total of $1.50 per day.

Over the course of 30 days, you would have saved $45. Saving that $45 every month for a full year would give you $540 worth of pennies, nickels, dimes and quarters. Now imagine that you and your significant other both saved this amount. Together, you saved $1,080 in one year, without even trying.

Keeping the Virtual Change

Of course, change isn't always physical. What about you debit card junkies? How can you cash in on this deal?

One of the easiest ways to save this money is to simply balance your checkbook using whole numbers. Instead of entering in a $15.46 purchase, simply write $16.00 even. Not only will that make balancing your checkbook quicker, it also creates a mini nest-egg in your checking account. Bonus: you've cushioned your account and made overdraft protection unnecessary.

Some banks have also caught onto this idea. Many now offer sign and save programs, which will round up your purchase amounts to the nearest dollar and deposit the change directly into your savings account. This savings can also be linked as your overdraft account, allowing you to keep the virtual change without virtually – or literally – overdrafting you.

Investing Your Change

Whichever way you decide to save your change, physically or virtually, you now have the opportunity to take it one step further: invest that cash earned into an account that will earn for you! CDs, money market accounts, stocks and bonds can all deliver a bigger punch to your annual spare change savings.

If you're looking for a way to save money, you may not have to look any further than your coin purse. Without changing your spending habits, you can begin to save your pennies and accumulate your spare change into hefty savings and awesome investments.

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