how many Dimes

[Smallsteps]

I saw a meme on a savings website that said if you filled a 2 liter full of dime you would have close to $700.

When I googled this hoping to find a link I saw many different estimates on this idea. Some said it depends on the bottle used or how the dimes fall into it. I think even the lower estimate of $450 would be a good motivator for someone really trying to start a savings plan
I just think it would be interesting to try myself as I almost never use cash it would be hard for me to do although for some odd reason most of the change I find in the area I live are dimes. Just made me curious.

[disneysteve]

Years ago my parents had a ceramic bank in their bedroom and would toss spare change in there. When it was finally filled, we broke it open. I don’t remember the exact amount that was in there but I know it was hundreds of dollars.

[Jluke]

This topic in reverse is exactly why I choose not to use cash.

See how loose change can add up? If it doesn’t leave your bank account you minimize the amount that just sits around your house. That “loose change” could be invested or used towards debt.

[kork13]

Yeah, having that much random change in the house would drive me crazy. Anytime I find a loose coin somewhere in the house, I'll drop it in my son's piggy bank, glad to have it out of my hair.

[alliecat79]

Last year I challenged myself to put all loose change into an empty tequila bottle (that was a bear trying to shake it all out!) My son and husband plunked coins in there as well. Total of $67 dollars. But we put any denomination in there.

[disneysteve]

We used to frequent an arcade at the Jersey shore. I would put any quarters I got into a bank on my dresser and then use those as our spending money each time we went there.

We don't really go there anymore and I rarely spend cash so if we do go, I just buy a roll of quarters when we get there. It takes me forever now to fill my coin bank. When it's full, I take it along when I go grocery shopping and use the Coinstar machine there to cash it in for Amazon credit.

[Smallsteps]

I rarely have cash, but the loose change I find when out and about. I usually throw in to a can then roll it up.
I started my second savings account with $27.00 rolled coins last august and deposited $18 later in OCT. Yeah I find quite a bit of change on walks and in parking lots lol.
I too think it sits a bit before I roll and deposit so I am thinking that I will keep some in car and use it to pay the change portions on whatever I am buying and
my debit card transactions will be even dollars.

I just think the meme was interesting and made me think of so many whom say they simply cannot save could be inspired that it can be that much.

[disneysteve]

I just think the meme was interesting and made me think of so many whom say they simply cannot save could be inspired that it can be that much.

Very true. Some people need "forced" savings to see what they can actually accomplish. I think dumping all of the change in your pocket in a bottle at the end of the day is a good way to do that. The key then is to do something good with the money that accumulates and not just blow it on more crap.

[james.hendrickson]

A high interest savings account is usually a good spot to stash your savings. Bloomberg is saying that market expectations for interest rate levels are between 2.5 and 3.0 in the next three years. Bank account interest rates should adjust accordingly.

Source: bloomberg.com

[disneysteve]

A high interest savings account is usually a good spot to stash your savings.

Yep. So unless you have a better goal, for someone who struggles to save, taking what builds up in a coin jar and putting it in a good online savings account is a great option. For some people, the money from doing that might be the most savings they've ever had.

OP, I also tend to find a lot of change when I'm out and about. It's amazing how many people don't bother to bend down and pick up coins that they drop, and it isn't just pennies. I find nickels and dimes and quarters too. Store parking lots are good for that. People walk out, shove the change in their pocket, and then reach in to pull out their car keys and out comes the change. Any time I see one coin on the ground, I always take a second to look around because there are often more coins in the same spot.

[Smallsteps]

This topic in reverse is exactly why I choose not to use cash.

See how loose change can add up? If it doesn’t leave your bank account you minimize the amount that just sits around your house. That “loose change” could be invested or used towards debt.

I tend to agree and very rarely have cash. Most all of my change is found money so it is already a win.

I was mostly intrigued because the large amount of people without any savings this is a easy item to show how fast you could save.

I have worked with many whom are paycheck to paycheck types that a 2 liter of coins would be an improvement as of now they have $0 EF.
Many of those whom I have talked to simply do not believe small amounts add up.

[Joan.of.the.Arch]

I had a look at the mayonnaise jar on my desk that is 1/3 full of coins. I hardly even see any dimes in there. I don't even know where these coins came from or how long I've been accumulating them. For years now, we've been credit card and debit card users, except when someone gives us cash as a reimbursement. That used to be frequent because I'd pick up things for a disabled neighbor, but now her children are old enough to do her shopping. Maybe I haven't put anything in the jar for a long time. Think I'll cash it in for a few bills. It won't add up to much.

[bjl584]

I have an old gallon vodka bottle in my bedroom slowly filling with coins. There will probably be a few hundred in there by the time it's full. I have no plans for it. Maybe a nice weekend get away.....

[Gailete]

I haven't seen much coins on the ground in the last 1-2 years like I used to. When I was 14 I remember finding $5 on the ground and then about 15 years ago, I was driving and saw some bills on the road and stopped to pick them up - $14! I have a coin jar, but it isn't growing very fast, but I use it for going to yard sales.

[disneysteve]

I haven't seen much coins on the ground in the last 1-2 years like I used to. When I was 14 I remember finding $5 on the ground and then about 15 years ago, I was driving and saw some bills on the road and stopped to pick them up - $14! I have a coin jar, but it isn't growing very fast, but I use it for going to yard sales.

As fewer people use cash, there’s less loose change in people’s pockets so less getting dropped. About the only time I ever have any coins in my pocket is when I have found them on the ground.