From Loose Change to Keeping the Change...

Today I enrolled on BofA's "Keep the Change" program. I've connected my checking account to my savings account, so now, when I make a purchase, Bank of America will round up my transactions to the nearest dollar and deposit the difference (between the higher number and the actual transaction amount) into my savings account.

This service is remarkably appropriate for someone like me, who, rarely carries cash.I wonder why I hadn't taken advantage of it sooner! On the rare to occasional events when I carry cash, I dump all of my change into my piggy bank at the end of the day .

With this service, I have the cashless customer's equivalent of "dumping my change" with every transaction I make. I'm also a bit excited at the prospect of having the amount deposited into my savings account matched by BofA fo three months; afterward, they match 5% of the change that has been "kept" (who knew they could do something right? LOL!) Hello, free money!

Are you enrolled in "Keep the Change" (or an equivalent, such as "Ways to Save"?) How much money have you accumulated through these programs?

Loose Change

The past 30 days have been kind of crazy. Compared to previous months of spending, I can say that my most recent spending has been out-of-control. Most of my purchases have been for food, namely eating out. Yesterday, I was faced with the temptation of getting yet another coffee from DD (Dunkin' Dounuts). For a split second, I reflected on my spending for the month and decided I would feel better if the money didn't come out of my bank account or wasn't charged to my credit card. What option did I have remaining? Short of asking someone else to pay for my indulgence, I went to my piggy bank. I cracked that sucker in half (I didn't break it, it splits down the middle to open and close) and selected 8 quarters. 

I found myself grabbing for my Visa a few times (out of habit I guess) and it was kind of weird handing the cashier the coins. Nevertheless, I experienced a sense of accomplishment knowing that that I wouldn't have to look for this expense when reconciling my expense tracker and bank and credit card statements. It was like free money!

Although my piggy bank is small, I'm happy to have it. In the few instances when I do use cash, I find myself depositing my change at the end of the day (too many coins weigh down my wrislet and I don't care for having to sort through the extra stuff). I don't have any plans for my piggy bank, such as savings or going out to a movie. Maybe I should. Perhaps only then I would become a little more intentional about using my piggy bank.

What do you do with your loose change? 

Do you have a particular purpose for it? 

How do you store it?*

*My mother has ziploc bags of coins around the house. It's kind of crazy.

Free.99

I don't know who coined the term "free.99", but I love it! "Free.99" refers to something being free, costing zero dollars, no need for exchanging services, goods or currency, just plain 'ol "here it is." Since "6" is one of my favorite numbers, I've devised a list of my favorites that are, you guessed right, FREE!

1. John Grisham books: Usually, I get these from friends who have purchased them. Otherwise, I'll cop one from the library. John is hot AND a marvelous author, but this chick-a-dee ain't shelling out the dough if she doesn't have to. Sorry John. You understand, right?
2. Admission to museums and cultural attractions: When planning a vacation, I keep my eyes open for the times and days that museums offer free admission (this worked well for my boyfriend and I on a Tuesday at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Chicago). If you're visiting Washington, DC, you'll get to enjoy a-ga-gillion of the Smithsonian's museums at no cost. I also sign up for e-newsletters promoting local events, many which are free :)
3. Information: Considering that I don't pay for internet service, I think it's fair to say that information, via the internet, is free-free-free!!! Newspaper articles, blogs, industry publications, the gamut. Hi five for free knowledge acquisition =)
4. "Cloudware": Google. I love Google. Free email. Free access to creating documents, spreadsheets (super helpful when it comes to drafting and revising my budget), Power Point presentations. Free Google sites. Free phone number (yes, I use Google Voice). Free photo sharing via Picasa. Free blogging ;) You get the point, eh?
5. Music: Pandora makes my days at work fly by. My favorite stations are my "Free Masons" station with dance/techno selections and my "Bill Withers" station with the "oldies but goodies." Occasionally, I'm vexed by the limitations of the free version of Pandora's music service (i.e. you are limited with the number of times you can skip a song, you can't repeat a song, you can't make a special request, etc.). Overall, I'm happy with it.
6. Hugs: Okay, so people don't ordinarily pay for hugs, but I like them. And since this post is about things that I like AND are free, I've included them here. Besides, if I didn't make mention of hugs, you'd wonder why I included this...

What are some of your favorite free things?