Fancy a savings challenge a little easier than the 2020 fiver one that gets you £6,890 in a year?
Try this £2 coin trick instead.
Erin O’Meara, 27, managed to save £386 in a year by doing one simple thing: putting every £2 coin she came across in a jar.
Each time she was given a £2 coin in change, it went straight in a jar that she then didn’t dip into throughout the year. Over the course of 2019 she saved a nice chunk of money towards her goal of a house deposit.
Erin told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I came up with the idea as I saw my Dad doing the same thing when I was little.
‘He always used to ask me to check my change to see whether I had any £2 coins and I could never work out why he would want them.
‘It was only when I asked him for some saving tips that he told me that on January 1st, he gets a tin and fills it up throughout the year (with only £2 coins) and empties it the middle of December.’
Erin took on the challenge herself, as she was keen to not only save for buying a home and for travelling, but also to open up her own fabric store, Sip and Sew Fabrics. She was shocked by how much she’d saved in a year with very little effort.
She said: ‘When I opened the tin, I was amazed! It took a lot of willpower to not open it up and spend it on my lunches or petrol, but all I was thinking was about having my own home.
‘I’d say the main challenge is to find the £2 coins. Also knowing that there is money somewhere in your house… but you can’t get to it as you need a can opener!’
Erin has plans to take the challenge up a notch in the year ahead, doubling the size of the tin and collecting both £2 and £1 coins.
She recommends everyone gives the trick a go to see how much money they can put away.
‘To anyone looking to save and try this out, I would recommend a small tin to start with and collect just pounds,’ says Erin.
‘Once you have filled it up and opened it, put it straight into your savings and then try £2 coins! When you realise how much you have saved the motivation to get more is a real adrenaline rush.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, says: ‘You may have heard of the penny challenge: You save 1p on day one, then 2p, then 3p.
‘The problem with that is actually sometimes you don’t have 13p, or whatever the exact amount is.
‘Erin’s trick is so much simpler and very effective: One rule! Whenever you come across a £2 coin, put it in the piggy bank. No ifs, no buts.
‘It’s a fantastic way to change daily habits and to start creating a saving mindset.’
If you want more tips and tricks on saving money, as well as chat about cash and alerts on deals and discounts, join Money Pot, our new Facebook group.
Have you found an easy way to save more money? Get in touch to share your wisdom by emailing MetroLifestyleTeam@Metro.co.uk.
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source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/03/woman-saves-386-just-putting-every-2-coin-came-across-jar-11993857/
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