My Great Idea: The Money Jar

At first I blamed my eyesight when images on our computer monitor seemed fuzzy. However, when my kids and husband complained about the blurriness, I knew that the problem was our years-old monitor. Our computer was used heavily on a daily basis for work, study, and relaxation. My exasperated impulse was to grab the charge card and order a new monitor online.

Then I paused. I considered our financial balancing act with past medical bills, kids in college, two broken cars, and a son's mission only a few months away. I visualized the debt-logged credit card bill, precariously near its limit. I heard the voices of church leaders repeatedly admonishing us to get out of debt. Yet, a new monitor wasn't a frivolous item; it would benefit our family in practical ways. I felt so trapped--the cycle of debt seemed endless.

Suddenly I remembered a phrase from a book I was reading, "Every household, no matter the circumstances wastes a certain amount of money each and every month, and that is the money you will use to get out of debt." (_Debt-free on Any Income_, by Lyle and Tracy Shamo, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, 2004, p. 27)

My heart lightened as I thought, "How much wasted money would it take to buy a new computer monitor?"

I excitedly told the family my great idea: We would put a jar on the kitchen table and everyone could contribute spare change or a few dollars towards a new computer monitor. To actually save up to buy something was, unfortunately, a new concept in our home.

We covered a jar with plain paper. We attached a photo from an advertisement of the type of computer monitor we were saving for, including its price. We wrote the starting date on the jar's paper cover. The project was begun by dropping in coins found in the clothes dryer, and change snatched from the car's cup holder.

At dinner we would all try to guess how much was in the jar. That was a great weekly reminder of our goal, and it was fun to see whose guess was the closest. The new money amount would be written on the outside of the jar, so it was easy to track our progress. As the jar filled, its contents were taken to the bank and changed into cash, which was hidden to remove the temptation to use it.

My habits were altered as I refrained from impulse buying at the store, thinking of the new monitor, and I found myself purposely rounding up payments at the checkout so I could stuff the extra money into the jar. My husband regularly emptied his pocket change into the jar.

Two and a half months went by; a new school year was approaching. To my surprise, I saw that in all the back-to-school store ads that computer monitors were on sale! We actually had enough money in our jar to afford one at the current sale price. Coins were changed into bills, and we literally paid cash for our new flat-screen monitor.

Today, our old, glass jar is on the table sporting a new paper wrapper, heavy with cash towards our next goal. Thanks to a blurry computer monitor our family now has a clearer vision of what financial independence looks like.

Do you have a great idea? A tip for a church calling? A fun and educational family activity? Basically any idea that has made your life a little easier or a little more fun? We want to hear about it and share it!

E-mail editor@ldsliving.com with your great idea.

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We did something similar!

Pam in Thatcher, AZ

In February 2007, I decided to save every coin and every $1 bill to see how much I could save. Since I'm a super sale shopper, I usually visit most stores every week for the deep discounts. I had just gone to the cash envelope budget. I decided not to ever hand out anything smaller than a $5 bill. At the end of every day, I would take the coins and $1 bills out of my purse and put them in a jar. I couldn't believe how fast my jar would fill up, so I started depositing it once a month into an empty savings account I wasn't using. It was about June when I decided I needed to make a plan for that money, or we might do something dumb with it. I finally told my husband, "This year - we are paying cash for Christmas!" We soon realized that if we stayed on course by not spending that money, we would be able to purchase that big screen TV we always wanted with CASH (the one I wouldn't allow to be purchased with a credit card!) My 17 year old son worked at a local store who gave him a card for 10% off purchases. But after Thanksgiving, he also received a coupon for "10% off one item" for his Christmas present. He gladly agreed to allow us to use that as well. This saved us even more! In January 2008, I divided how much I saved the previous year into 24 paychecks. Now I have that money automatically deposited into our Christmas Savings Fund every payday!

coin jar

Terrie in Wisconsin

This really works! I've been tossing excess change in a piggybank for a while, and it is amazing how quickly it adds up, and how little pain is involved!

I never spend a $5 note

Sandy in girloverboard@live.com.au

I have a thing that I do where I never spend a five dollar note. It doesn't matter if I have one in my wallet alongside a fifty and the amount is less that $5, I use the fifty. It's amazing how quickly the fives add up. I learned this after hearing about a single parent who saved more than $6,000 over 2 years doing this.