First Batch of Coins...SS09

The ceramic bank was getting heavy, so I decided last night to see if I had enough of anything to roll up and get into the REAL bank for even the pittance of interest that might be had there...better to have them pay me pennies, than have it sit and earn nothing!
This is what it looked like after I'd sorted into piles.

Now some people would use a machine to roll all this up, but I have always considered counting coins and rolling them up to be "down time" - a relaxing activity. I used to be a cocktail waittress (in my thinner days), and I'd come home after last call (2 a.m. during the summer in the 1970s) and sit cross-legged on my bed, too hyped up to sleep. I'd pull out all my tips, and all the change left over from previous nights' work, and count and roll. (This was years before I became an accountant, but I suppose it might have been a hint of things to come, huh?) But I digress...

So now, here it is, all rolled up:
Yes, that's $28.50 (and a start on the next rolls).
Umm...That's at least a skein of handdyed sock yarn at Sock Summit 2009!

And all from the change in my purse most days (I don't shop every day, but I've gone to carrying and using cash a bit more often so there's change to put in the ceramic bank). And by the way? I'd forgotten that coinage is filthy - my hands were almost black when I finished this!

Another way one of my student's used to save: She entered amounts in her checkbook at even dollars. (Round UP for checks, DOWN for deposits, please! *wink*)

When she balanced her checkbook every month, the difference between what she said she had and what the bank said? Got swept into her savings account.

I've always played games with myself to save...the first and best way is to have it deducted from my paycheck before I ever see it. Then there's always the tactic of giving yourself a weekly allowance and seeing how much of it you can NOT spend...putting the leftovers in savings each week and starting fresh on Monday. (this is all in addition to the regular ways you save for retirement and college and emergency situations - heck folks to this day, I still have a Christmas Club, and I love it!)

But clearing out the pocketbook of change everyday is useful, especially for small special savings goals like Sock Summit.

What tricks do you use to help you save?