ERIN, a 27 year-old from Frimley, managed to save £386 in less than a year by saving up her two pound coins.
The hopeful first-time-buyer wants to get on the property ladder by 2022 and so had been looking for extra ways to boost her savings.
Erin's tip is pretty simple, all she did was keep an eye out for £2 coins and put every one she got into a special pot.
Each time she got a £2 in her change, it went straight in the jar, and she promised not to look inside until the year was up.
When she cracked open the jar at the end of last year, she was wowed by how much she'd saved 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.
"When I looked at the pot, it is the best feeling – especially when you can't put any more in there. There looked more than there was but I don't care because I knew it was going to help."
Erin doesn't just want to get on the property ladder, she's also saving to open a new fabric shop in Camberley which will be called "Sip and Sew".
So this year she's ramping up her change saving by adding £1 coins to the challenge.
She explained: "I have a big pot for £1 and £2 coins and I also have a three foot tall cola bottle to put all loose change in. Because that's a lot bigger it will take longer – I started that in 2017!"
At the end of the year, all of the money goes into her savings account to be put towards her property and her business plans.
One of the challenges of saving this way is that so much spending is done by card now, but Erin says that swapping to cash has made it easier to budget generally.
She said: "I use contactless because of its convenience but at the same time its a dangerous tool.
"It's so easy to just tap without thinking, I've started to use cash more so I can budget.
"I have £30 a week for my lunches, clothes etc and if I have change from that I roll it into the next week – when payday comes I put the amount I have saved into my savings."
She also saves her virtual 'change' too.
She explained: "Every day I also go into my mobile bank app and put the outstanding 'change' into my savings.
"So if I have £352.87 in my account at the end of the day, I would put 87p in savings… you have no idea how much it builds up!"
If £2 seems a lot to start off with, Erin recommends finding your feet with the 1p challenge, where you throw all your loose pennies into a jar.
She concluded: "If you're rubbish at saving like I was, try the 1p penny challenge to start with and then gradually you will find your own process.
"People do collect £2 coins and nearer to Christmas they are harder to find.
"Also try £1 coins, each time you find one pop it in the pot straight away!
"Make sure your pot can't be broken into until it's completely full. Once you have done that challenge for a year you will see the amount and it becomes a rush to motivate yourself to save more."
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