Top Things To Do With Your Coins

These days coins are more and more becoming a nuisance. They’re money, and so we can’t really throw them away, but the smaller denominations are worth so little that they are hardly worth carrying – particularly considering how bulky and heavy they can be when you have a whole handful of them.

Of course though throwing coins away is somewhat vulgar, particularly when there are so many people out there who would probably really appreciate any of them. As such then it’s worthwhile coming up with an alternative solution, and doing something exciting and different with your coins.

Save Them

This is the obvious answer – just save all your coins in a pot or a tub and then at the end of the month/year/five years count it out and see just how much you earned. This can be a very rewarding way to handle the problem of small change, and particularly if you then reward yourself by doing something with this cash – by going on a holiday or saving up for some gadget or other device that you’ve wanted.

The downside here can be counting up the change at the end which can take a long time particularly if you have to put it into money bags of certain denominations before the bank will accept them (which is often the case). The solution? Take this money to a supermarket with a self-service kiosk and then pay the amount into that to reduce the cost of your shopping. Sometimes these include a kind of ‘tray’ that allows you to just drop the money into a cup which it then collects and counts automatically. This then of course saves you from spending the money on your shopping but you don’t have to count it, so you can then put that amount towards a purchase for yourself.

Donate Them

This is the more philanthropic option, and of course if you were thinking of just getting rid of your pennies anyway, then why not donate them to a good cause? Usually there are collection jars in stores that accept small change toward various charities, or you can even just give them to people who beg for change – as you have  separate compartment it’s no skin off your teeth.

Be Creative

You can also get creative with small coins – why not use them to make an art collage for instance, or even glue them together to make a sculpture? It’s a very unique use for coins but it can look quite cool once you’ve built a house or a castle out of them (and you could even sell these sculptures).

Collect Them

When you get these coins make sure to take a look at the patterns and writing on them – some coins are more likely than others to become collectible so if it’s a commemorative one or has a character from film and TV on it, then consider saving it somewhere.

Do Something Fun

There are many other fun things you can do with your small change. I was saved up £100 in coins then went to a pound shop to buy 100 unique but entirely useful items for my sister’s birthday. It was a joke that took a bit of effort, but was completely worth it in the long run just for the look on her face.

Kat Edwards is a personal finance blogger and loves sharing tips about managing finances. Compare caravan insurance quotes from the best UK companies via websites for cheap caravan insurance comparison.