The Worth Of A Penny { & 15 Brilliant Ways To Save A Penny}

The Worth Of A Penny { & 15 Brilliant Ways To Save A Penny}

I remember as a little girl getting excited when I would find pennies on the ground and picked them up. You know why? Those pennies were worth a whole lot. On my street lived the Bubble Gum Lady. She lived about two houses down from me, and she always had bubble gum and candy. For a penny I could get a piece of flavorful and chewy bubble gum. But of course, one piece wasn’t enough. I would go on scavenger hunts around the house looking for pennies and any other coins I could find. I also remember the day she hiked her prices up, and a piece of bubble gum went to a nickel! Oh, the inflation!

Thinking back to those fun childhood memories brings a smile to my face. I made quite a few memories on Chittock Street in Jackson, Michigan.

I’m happy to share with all of you about the comeback of the penny! Ironic enough, JCPenney is making the penny worth something again. Starting this week (2/28-3/5), you will be able to purchase any one item from The Original Arizona Jean Co.® and purchase another Arizona item for just one penny (excluding footwear)!

And if that’s not exciting enough, throughout the year, JCPenney’s will be running additional Penney Day promotions including one-day-only specials that feature a unique in-store item for just a penny with no additional purchase required!

When I pulled out the Gumball Machine sent to me by JCPenney’s, I couldn’t help to smile about the penny bubble gum from the Bubble Gum Lady. And this machine only take a penny. Living in a house full of boys, I’m putting a bet on how soon these machine will be empty!

I love a good deal, and I’m looking forward to checking out the BOGO sale this week at JCPenney’s. The boys are growing like weeds, and new jeans is on my summer shopping list. I also love to save money, so shopping during this BOGO sale is an excellent way to spend wise and save smart! I’m also sharing a few tips on ways you save a penny!

15 Brilliant Ways to Save a Penny

You know the saying, a penny saved is a penny earned! But even so, how many of us pass up the chance to save a penny each and every single day? You might be letting pennies pass you right by and not even realize it. If you want to become a more aggressive saver and set aside more cash for a rainy day, take a look below at 15 brilliant ways to save a penny. Then, once you learn some fun ways to save a penny, take a look at the facts at the bottom to see how fast those pennies can add up!

1. Never spend your pennies.
Any time you get a penny back as change, put it in a jar for safe keeping. Refuse to spend your pennies. You will be amazed over the course of 6 months how much money you might be able to save.

2. Save your water bottles.
A penny fits perfectly into the top of most water bottles. Once it is in, it is hard to get out. Fill your empty water bottle up with pennies and once it is full, cut it open to release the change and cash it in.

3. Save a penny per hour per day
Seriously, how hard is it to save a penny per hour per day? Find a penny in your purse of pocket and set it aside. You should be able to put up .24 cents per day, which adds up to over $87 per year.

4. Clip a coupon, pocket the pennies.
Think .25 cents off coupon is nothing? Think again. Clip those coupons and pocket the pennies you save. You can add them to the penny bottle mentioned above.

5. Penny fines.
Do you have a bad habit you want to break? Fine yourself a penny) or 2, or 5, or 10) each time you do that bad habit. Let those pennies add up. Once you finally break the habit, cash them in.

6. Ask for pennies.
If you find yourself not wanting to deal with counting and spending pennies, then ask cashiers to get change back in pennies. Of course be reasonable, don’t ask for anything more than .25 cents or so back in pennies. Then, add them to the bottle savings system mentioned above.

7. Use gas discount cards.
Always buy gas at a station that offers a discount card. That .3-.5 cents off per gallon may not seem like much, but over time, those pennies add up.

8. Buy generic.
Sample out generic varieties of food and cleaning products. You can easily save .50 cents or more off the item compared to name brand, and those 50 pennies can really add up after repeat purchases. When you try a generic and save .25 off the name brand, put those 25 pennies in your jar or bottle.9. Don’t pass up a penny.
When you are walking and see a penny, pick it up. Not only are you suppose to enjoy great luck, but you can add your penny to the bottle savings method mentioned above.

10. Find a large container, fill it up!
Feeling more ambitious than the water bottle saving system mentioned above? Try finding a larger container such as a milk jug or pickle jar, and attempt to fill that up with pennies.

11. Always ask for a discount.
See if you are entitled to a student, senior, paying cash, or repeat customer discount. That 10% you save is pennies in the bank.

12. Do a penny challenge with a friend.
See how much you and a friend can save over the course of the month. Save those pennies any way you can and try to fill up the jars mentioned above in idea #10.

13. Get the kids in on the action.
Invite the kiddos to start saving their pennies or save any loose pennies they find. Let them have their own containers and take them to the bank to cash in when they are done.

14. Forget Coinstar.
Coinstar machines will take about 10% of your hard-saved pennies. Don’t let that happen! Instead, use the free machines found at most banks so you can keep every cent.

15. Know when to use those pennies = penny sales!
The only time you should dig into your penny savings is to enjoy the penny sales offered by local retailers. This is a great way to stretch those pennies you have been saving.

Are you inspired to start saving pennies now? Let’s see how fast those pennies can add up:

• If you saved a penny per hour per day, that is $87 a year as mentioned above. But what if you saved one penny per year old you were? For example, if you are 35 then it would be 35 cents per day. In one year, you would have $127.75!
• What if you saved 100 pennies per week by clipping just one, $1 off coupon? That adds up to $52 a year.
• If you filled a gallon jug up with pennies, you could fit about 7700! That is around $77. Think you can do that?

So how much is a penny worth to you? JCPenney conducted a penny focused survey. The results found that the penny may be tiny, but mighty! 95 million Americans (2 in 5) say they usually wouldn’t even pick up a penny if they saw it on the sidewalk. But that doesn’t mean Americans think the penny is worthless. In fact, quite the opposite. Nearly nine in ten Americans still keep pennies around either in their home, a piggy bank or their purse (89%) and say that pennies can come in handy (88%). Almost three-quarters of Americans (73%) say the penny is an important part of our currency and should not be eliminated.

Did your pennies just become valuable after reading this post? I hope so! There are many ways to make a penny worth it, so find a jar or an old gumball machine and start collecting those pennies. And be sure to check out the BOGO sale at JCPenney’s this week!

Do you collect pennies? If so, leave me a comment and tell me about your collection? Or, if you don’t collect pennies, tell me something that is #soworthit to you?

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of JCPenney. The opinions and text are all mine.