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Loose coins can be a hassle to carry in your wallet.
Not only do they leave you with a lumpy wallet, but you are probably going to have a tough time counting them to pay.
Imagine trying to pay $5 in coins. It might take forever before you put it all together.
I try my best not to accumulate spare change.
But it is an unavoidable situation when you end up with smaller denominations every time you shop.
Money is money.
The only difference is that notes are easier to handle than loose change.
So today we are going to look at two smart things to do with all that spare change.
One, how to invest them.
And two – best places to use your coins. That’s right, there are places that still only accept payments in coins and not cards.
10 Ways to Invest Spare Change
1. Small investments
Start small.
An investment is an investment, no matter how small it is – even a dollar!
There are apps like Acorns and Moka that help people invest spare change. Both these apps work the same, the only difference is that Mylo is a Canadian app and Acorns is for those in the US.
How this works is, the app rounds your purchases up to the nearest dollar and invests the spare change on your behalf.
Once you sign up for free with the app, you will need to connect your debit card to it. The next time you shop with the connected card, the app with invest the spare change from your shopping for you.
Here’s a simple example, if you were to buy a burger for $3.40, the app automatically rounds it up to the closest dollar (which is $4) and invest the $0.60 for you.
For those who don’t have the time to invest or can’t get into the habit of investing, this is the best option.
Join Acorns here and get a $5 bonus!
2. Emergency Fund
Have a little emergency fund at home – like a money bank where the money is readily available in case of an emergency.
Even a few hundred dollars can be very useful at times. Store all your spare coins in one safe place, rather than having some laying around in drawers or your handbag.
3. Travel Funds
Same goes for a travel fund.
Just like having an emergency fund, you can also add up some spare change for travel or vacation. Even if your lose change is not enough to pay for the trip, it can help cover the additional costs like food and shopping.
Everything adds up when you are on holiday. Reducing the burden of your expense with a travel fund will definitely help your wallet.
4. Gifts – Birthdays/Anniversaries
If you have a large circle of friends and family, it might seem like there is a birthday every month. That also means you might need to take out $50 or so from your monthly budget.
Spare change can work in your favour where you don’t need to touch your savings or income for these expenses.
Another useful tip is to use Swagbucks to get yourself free gift cards to give as a gift.
Use this link to sign up to Swagbucks and get yourself a $5 bonus.
5. Pay debt
No matter how big your debt is, saving every dollar can eliminate part of your debt. Adding spare change to your piggy bank to use for debt repayment.
6. Start a blog to sell
Starting a blog costs as little as $70 a year. But this little investment can generate anywhere between a few hundred dollars a month to way more than a full-time income.
I can talk from my experience and say that my blog has replaced my full-time income and is a flexible way to work from home as a stay at home mom.
Another way to make money as a blogger is to sell blogs.
That’s right.
If you can start a blog and build up a few posts – say 30 posts – you can certainly sell it for some extra cash.
This is called blog flipping.
There are many bloggers who prefer buying “pre-made” blogs so they don’t have to set it up themselves. If you are interested in starting a blog and selling it for profit, you can check out this blog flipping post here.
7. High Yield Saving Account
Open a high yield savings account with an online bank like CIT bank, which offers a high-interest rate. CIT bank offers a 1% APY when you make one monthly deposit of $100 or more.
So if you have $100 a month to save, opt for an online bank like CIT, where you have a high-interest return. Check them out here.
Make extra money by browsing the web, watching videos, playing online games and testing new products - clothing, food, cosmetics and more! Its free to join. Sign up for your chance to get a $5 Swagbucks bonus.
8. Retirement fund
Another place to invest your spare change is in your retirement fund.
Start a retirement fund, the minute you start earning money. Even if it’s a part-time side hustle, put some money aside in a retirement fund.
9. Invest in a Side Hustle
I know you might think that starting your own business might be expensive.
Well, it doesn’t have to be.
There are many online side hustles that you can start between $200 -$1,000 and can give you a higher return.
If you are looking to invest your money in a flexible online training, here are some worth considering.
Online Proofreading – earn up to $4,000 a month correcting grammar and punctuation mistakes in online content.
Virtual bookkeeper – You don’t need a degree for this one! As a freelance bookkeeper, you can earn up to $60 an hour
10. Teach kids about saving
Use your spare change to teach kids about saving money.
Make it fun, but creating these cheap and beautiful mason jar money banks, that will make it interesting to save money. It’s a good idea to teach kids to save money at an early age, that will allow them to grow into responsible young adults.
What else can you do with spare change?
Apart from investing and growing your spare change, here are some other ways to make use of coins in your wallet.
1. Coin counting machines – Still one of the best ways to convert your coins to cash
2. Parking Meters – While many accept credit/debit cards, there are a few places that only accept cash or coins.
3. Public transport tickets
4. Shopping – Some local convenience stores do not accept card payments less than $10 or a certain minimum. While some places do, they charge an additional fee when using card payments. Good old coins can be really useful here!
5. Pay Phones
6. Donations – Charity boxes at counters
7. Tip at a restaurant
8. At food stalls
9. Donation box at church
10. Local Libraries – If you are using their printing, photocopying or scanning services.
11. Kids money/piggy bank
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