The Change Savings Challenge

The new year is here and with it comes many New Year's goals and resolutions.  One resolution that is always common among most is saving more money.  It's probably one I make every year.  Now, there are lots of different savings challenges out here.  However, one that should be pretty easy and probably one of  the most painless is the save your change challenge.  You are basically just saving all your change for the entire year.  

Yeah, there's a couple of pop tabs in there.  We save those, too, for the Ronald McDonald House. 
We've been saving change forever.  Back in the days it started out of sheer necessity.   We wrapped change just to put gas in the car, buy groceries, or add to the checking deposit so a bill wouldn't bounce.  Let's be real.  Somebody knows what I'm talking about.   Now, we're wrapping to add to savings goals, reduce debt, etc. 
 So I gathered up all the rest of our change to deposit before the Year was up.

I got the kids to help too because 1.  I need help. 2.  They need something to do  3. It's a teaching opportunity



The twins practicing scooping and pouring as Cate shook coins out of a Powerade bottle.

Caleb making different combinations of change.

You know when you are short a few coins to make a roll, and it's going to drive you crazy if you don't finish.  I was digging in this wallet looking for coins.  After it was all wrapped, we ended up with $265.  Add that to an early deposit this year of $162, and we have a total of $427.00 for the Year 2016.

It was less than last year's total, but still good.  I can tell you where a lot of that difference comes from.   1. Our washer and dryer broke at the end of 2015 into 2016. How our washer and dryer had the audacity to break in a family of 7 is beyond me!  We were using all of our change at the laundromat. 2.  At the beginning of the Year, the kids came home collecting change. One had a little box for UNICEF and one collecting a certain coin each day at the middle school.  They pretty much drained our little jar.  Atleast, it was for a good cause. 3.  I was using my debt card more.  Sometimes shopping online is easier than getting out the door and managing 1 year old twins and bulk boxes.  

So $426.00 for 2016 $561.50 for 2017
I've already got my change jars (which is really a Tide pod container and a Gatorade bottle) ready for this year.
Will you be saving your change in 2018? What savings challenges are you participating in this year?