Manic Monday - Saving on a small scale

From little things, big things grow... but it can be hard to know how to start saving. Here is my method of small savings, made easy. It is amazing how quickly the loose change in your purse will add up to useful savings!

Step 1 - Decide where the savings are going. I have 4 groups - one each for the kids', one for charity and one that is 'Mum's Sanity Money'.

Step 2 - Find a container for each category ... (I use 2 little money boxes and 2 pretty tea cups. I have a tea cup fetish. You could use any basket / box / cannister, but not too big - you want it to fill up fairly quickly.)

Step 3 - Choose your frequency. Are you going to clean out the coins in your purse every day? Twice a week? Weekly? The more frequently you do it, the faster the savings will add up.

Step 4 - Sort your coins. I do this as follows -

Gold coins (our $1 and $2 coins) in one tea cup. This is my sanity stash.

Regular silver coinage is divided between the 2 money boxes, one for each child.

Finally, the smallest coins (5c pieces) are put in the other tea cup. This is a collection for charity, organised by our church.

The 'Sanity Stash' is my spending money. If I am having a crazy day and want to get take-away for dinner, I can do so without any spending guilt. Or if I just need to get out of the house for a while, I can take the kids for a milkshake, without dipping into weekly funds. There is no guilt attached to this money - do whatever you like with it, because it is not in the regular budget.

I take the kids' money boxes to the bank, when they are just about full. Naomi loves to watch the teller count the money in the machine, write it in her bank book and stamp the entry. I think it is a valuable lesson for her in saving.

The charity collection gets taken to church, when the tea-cup is full.

I feel like I am achieving 3 very important goals, with this system - teaching the kids about good money management, contributing even a small amount to charity, AND giving myself a little nest egg for small treats. All from coinage that I don't really miss from my purse, anyway.

Manic Monday is my little way of sharing tips that help me survive this mothering journey. Feel free to join in, leave a link to your own blog post in the comments below!