[LuxLiving]

It's not income to me per say-- it's a capture method for not spending what I could. I do see your point. It is income to me when it's some that my kids bring to me or that I find on the streets, otherwise it's money we've already had.

The idea for me is to capture it and direct it to where I'm currently focusing - the mortgage. For me it's an OPTIONs thing - I could conceivably spend my entire spending/allowance/blow money if I want to buying a pack of gum or a soda, but if I decide NOT TO, then I capture it and take it to the challenge. That allowance part is not income, just a saving that before the challenge might have later been frittered away. This way, once or twice a week I might capture the change or dollars in my wallet and take them over to savings.

I guess in my mind I consider myself different than the "house" budget and so in some strange mind warp I do kinda consider it income to ME from the house. This would be different in fact for a single person who is the sole wage earner for themselves.

Hope that clarifies it for someone.

BEFORE coming to Saving Advice I just did this by taking my captured change to the bank immediately and then moving it over to my online savings (Bank Runs) to start earning interest. Only then I was using it to fund my retirement (of which I guess I could consider myself already retired)...to fund my old age might be a better way of putting it. I am still trying to do both but my margins are already small, so it's difficult to come up w/dollars for both the $20 Challenge and the Bank Runs.

I guess it might be helpful for you to know that we DO already pay extra on the mortgage and we DO already have automatic drafts for funding my Roth IRA, so this is a way to capture ADDITIONAL funds for those things. It is above and beyond our normal allocations.

Maybe someone else who is saving change or bills has other reasonings for doing it this way...I'd enjoy hearing their explanations as well.