Can you spare some change?

Here’s a fun family activity: Collect your spare change in a “family piggybank” and then use for a special family outing or give to a favorite charity.

Step 1: Set Up the Family Piggybank

Put a container in a central place like the kitchen, family room or even the laundry room where everyone has access. If you have young kids, they can have fun decorating your container.

Decide as a family on how you want to use the spare change and your timeline. Maybe you will collect for a few months or even a year. Summer will be here before you know it, so you could decide to use the change for a special lunch, dinner or activity while on vacation. If your family would like to give your collected change to a favorite charity, have your kids and teens do some research on the charity so they will be excited to collect the spare change. When you make the donation, be sure to include your kids and teens as a donor on any correspondence to the charity and have them watch you write the check or click the on-line payment.

Step 2: Start Collecting

You’ll find money all around – the clothes hamper, washing machine, couch cushions, jeans and coat pockets, your junk drawer, the bottom of your purse, the car cup holder, even the sidewalks…keep looking! You can decide to include only coins or you can include those crumpled dollar bills in your pockets too.

Step 3: Sort and Count

At your determined time, bring the family together to sort and count the spare change. Everyone can take a guess of how much is in the family piggybank. It is a great activity for younger kids to actually sort the coins and then count them.

If you don’t want to physically count your change, you can go to TD Bank and use their Penny Arcade or some grocery stores and Wal-Marts have Coinstar machines. But beware that I have seen some stories of wrong amounts counted so it’s best to count your change yourself and then you can take to a machine to exchange for bills.

Step 4: Enjoy

Now it’s time for your family outing or your family donation. This fun activity will show your kids and teens just how much small change can really add up!

Enjoy your spare change!