The Jar of Coins - A Slush Fund For Diving Coaches!

Seems like nearly every day you come home with some coins in your pocket and I have a simple idea for diving coaches to create a little slush fund for your diving team (or yourself).

Get a one gallon jar with a lid (a large pickle jar is what I use). I cut a slit in the metal lid large enough for coins to fit. At the end of each day, I put whatever coins I have in my pocket into the jar. Every once in a while I clean out the "coin tray" in my car and add those to the jar of coins. I added a sticker to the side of the jar in order to mark the start date and the end date and the amount received when I cash them in. (The end date is the day I take the coins to the bank to dump them into the counting machine). It usually takes me 17-20 months to fill the jar to the top.

I have filled my jar FOUR times over the past 6-8 years and never has there been less than $325.00 in the jar. The most recent time, there was just under $400.00 in the jar! To save money on counting of the coins, avoid the counting machines found at local grocery stores -- they charge a whopping 9% of your total to count your coins! Check with your local bank to see if they have a counting machine at your branch or perhaps a nearby location. If you have an account at that bank, there is usually NO fee to use the machine and count your coins. The machine can count the coins almost as fast as you can dump them into the opening.

This is a quick and easy way to build up a little money for your team (or yourself) one day at a time!