Mental Adjustment is needed here..

**patticakes** · 01-06-2009, 02:33 PM

Been reading all along here everyone saving their change than putting it into a savings account or towards a debt. Got the idea that the money is paying off debt.

My hangup is...I have always saved my change, I have jars full from high school still stored away. Every week I put the crock of change into a cookie tin. My dream that I envision is when I got older (retirement maybe) to go through all of the change to be my hobby.

Yeah, I may be completely wacked and well on my way to being a strange elderly lady with many cats, but after reading all of the posts over the year I am really torn between taking all those years of change and cashing them in and holding onto my "retirement".

If I did just go spend my change, my thoughts will be with the really older change I have...I'm feeling sad to part with it already.

**Greebo** · 01-06-2009, 02:37 PM

cc#1 $14,550/$14,550
cc#2 15,454/$16,600
cc#3 $10,028/$10,306
cc#4 $2514/$2,647

Multiple the interest rate from each of your credit cards times the balance.
That's how much your credit card debt is costing you each year.

Change sitting in a jar is earning 0 interest. Put bluntly, your change hoarding is a total waste of effort compared to your debt.

This is why we don't save much until we're debt free. It costs more money to save than it does to eliminate debt, and long term, it's the smart option.

**IntlMom** · 01-06-2009, 02:40 PM

doggonit anyway, I hate to agree with the greebs.....but he's right!

**missmanny** · 01-06-2009, 11:13 PM

I have to agree with Greebo as well.

If it were me I would sit down and start to sort out the change and apply it to debt or at the very least get it into a interest bearing account. By the sounds of it it will keep you busy for a while, why not do just one jar a week.

once the debt if paid off you can always start to haord your change for retirement.

**LastDragonfly** · 01-06-2009, 11:45 PM

pay down the debt with your old change. Save for your retirement with your new change, come to a happy agreement with yourself.

Greebo is right (omg now it's in writing--lol)

Your old change is agonizing you, make new change!

**my4littlebuffaloes** · 01-07-2009, 08:48 AM

Well, why do you want to go through your change? Just to take the time to roll it? Or are you looking for something? Do you want to collect certain coins? I would go through for whatever you want to now. Pull out what you want to save and either take the rest and put it on debt, or if this was going to be your retirement, then take the rest and open a Roth IRA. We had a friend that saved change like you saved change. He got tired of making his car payment so decided to see how much change he had $16,000 + later he had paid off his car with coin.

**homesteadmamma** · 01-07-2009, 09:49 AM

I agree with Greebo too. Roll up that change and put it towards debt.

**Denvergirlie** · 01-07-2009, 10:05 AM

You have a great habit of saving your change and not using it to fund your life style. That's great, saving is always great.

However, in this case it's not really the best financial plan. One it's not gaining interest, so you are losing money that you could be earning, also it's losing it's value from inflation. That quarter to saved from highschool could have bought a pack of gum by itself, but now you need at least 2 or 3 of those quarters to buy that same pack of gum.
Cash that change in and apply it to your debt. Keep saving that change and each month cash it in an apply it to debt. You have a great savings plan in place, you don't use your change for spending, so without your knowledge you've already put a habit of saving into your lifestyle.
When you are debt free, just keep saving that change and put it into a savings account every few months so you can earn interest on that money. You could put it into an IRA and have an offical retirement account, or you could just put it into a separte savings account and finance a vacation or large purchase when those funds start to pile up.

So on one hand you've done a great thing, you already save money and don't miss it from your life, but on the other hand you are letting this change pile up and at the same time are paying interest on debt and losing value in your money in inflation.

**forHISglory** · 01-07-2009, 10:54 AM

It's time for change! Take a few evenings to go thru the collection, save any particular coins that you might want, and get the rest to the bank.

**kittykatstrong** · 01-07-2009, 11:08 AM

I agree, take it to the bank and get it cashed in.

**BlessedMomof2** · 01-07-2009, 11:18 AM

I would roll up that change and apply it towards debt.

**ladykemma2** · 01-07-2009, 02:48 PM

i would sort though in the evenings and make sure there are no collectibles. then i would use the coinstar machine in the grocery store to buy my groceries for the week.

**Greebo** · 01-07-2009, 02:58 PM

Originally Posted by ladykemma2

i would sort though in the evenings and make sure there are no collectibles. then i would use the coinstar machine in the grocery store to buy my groceries for the week.

Don't those have an associated 30% fee or something?

Ripoff! Buy a change sorter and some paper rolls...or let the bank count it for ya.

**rachelj** · 01-07-2009, 03:18 PM

Oh Greebo, If you don't know what you're talking about....

Coinstar charges a small fee UNLESS you get a gift card to stores like Amazon or JCPenney or sometimes the store that "houses" the machine.