Everybody collects change; it’s just one of those things that accumulates. Many families saving up for a vacation, from Disney World and Disneyland to a cruise, collect money in a “Disney Change Jar.” We recently asked our  Cheapskate Princess Facebook Fans what they used their change for, and we went searching the Internet for super cute jar ideas, in case you want to start pitching your change into your own jar.

Make Your Own Disney Inspired Picture Frames for Super Cheap!

The Trip…

Nicole, “Our jar is for spending money for our first family trip!

Sara, “We have our own ‘Paradise Falls’ jar that we put our change and garage sale money in. It’s a huge pickle jar that has a piece of paper with ‘Paradise Falls’ written on it. We are saving up for our next trip, though I think this jar is living up to its reputation from the movie Up. We always seem to have an emergency where we need to break into it for extra cash.”

Angelia, “I decorated an old glass jar for our Disney fund jar. Now I’m saving up for my honeymoon in September. Here’s a view of the sides; it’s half Mickey half Minnie.”

Shelly may get the super saver award…

Shelly, “We had a jar and paid for the entire trip. It took us 10 years, but we saved all our spare change and airline miles and paid for the whole vacation for our family of three. We just got back in February. It was so worth it!”

Want a Fun Disney Craft? Check Out These FREE “paperman” Paper Dolls!

And I snuck this one under Trip, since Annual Passes are certainly contributing to the vacation.

Galonii, “We use ours to pay for Annual Passes, and about every week we buy a $25 Disney gift card from our local Wal-mart. They add up fast and allow us to visit the parks at least five trips a year! I also recommend to our friends who always tell us the try to save but can’t seem to save enough $$ to buy the gift cards. They don’t expire and can only be used at Disney, or the Disney stores, making it easier not to spend that saved up disney funds. It works!”

The Drive…

Jeff, “My boys have a jar; any found money goes in. It will cover snacks and gas on the way down, as well as souvenirs in the parks.”

Jordan, “My husband and I both have one, and my two kids each have one. The kids use theirs towards their souvenir money. Ours goes towards our meals for the road trip there and back. The more we have, the nicer the restaurant. This means the difference between fast food every stop or some sit downs on the way. We’ve gotten to the point where I pay cash for everything and round up the purchases. Every cent goes in the change jar and every $5 bill I get goes in also.” 

FREE Instructions for a Disney Villain Manicure*

Meals

Angela, “We decorated an old pickle jar and toss all of our change in it and sometimes dollars. We are going to use it for meals in the park.“

Souvenirs…

Teresa, “I have a jar. It’s spending money for all my treasures to fill my empty suitcase!!

Kristin, “I sure do have a jar! I NEVER use change and every cent goes in. I cash it in before our trip. It usually come to 400-500$. We use that money on souvenirs, or whatever catches our eye.”

Candi,“We always have a Disneyland jar going., although not usually for anything specific. It just adds to the spending money. We usually end up with over $100 for our yearly trips. I am about to count it for a trip in two weeks, except it has only been 7 months.”

Ida, “I had my kids save change in a jar for our vacation, and then I split the money between the two of them(sometimes I added a little) and that was their souvenir money. It worked great.”

Making a Disney World Scrapbook? Get These Disney Google Maps for FREE!

Lynn, “We pay for things in bills and the change goes in the jar. It adds up quickly that way, and you really don’t miss it. We use it for our spending money. We use a glass antique water bottle, the kind that goes on an old water cooler. It’s a really pretty aqua blue color. I picked it up at a flea market. We had it about half full last time. I think about $600.”

Lisa, “Our change jar is cashed in just before our trips and used to purchase souvenirs for our kids. We go about once per year and usually end up with around $80 or so. Buys our two kids some nice gifts.”

Tammi, “I try to use cash only. All of our change goes in the Disney jar. The Disney jar is usually a big pickle jar, with the lid super glued tight. We will cash it in the week before we go . We will use it for extras….souvenirs, dinners and so on.”

Karen, “I trade the coins in our Disney fund jar for cash the day before our trip. We use that money for quick meals, snacks, and souvenirs.”  

Here’s Karen’s cute jar; notice the placement next to Minnie Klenex.

Kid’s Money

Angela, “We have a big one that my husband and I put our change in. We will use that for tips and any extra snacks we want. I’m going to be making our son and daughter their own to put their money in, and that will get put on their gift card (they each have one) to use to buy something for themselves at the parks!”

Christine, “Our ‘Mickey Money’ jar is our boys’ spending money for our trips.”

Janine, “I have a Teramundi Pot that says ‘Shopping Fund’ which I am using to save my daughter’s spending money in for when we go to Disney World in August.”

Margaret, “My daughter has a piggy bank dedicated to change. We are doing the per week saving thing (week 1 – 1, week 2 – 2, week 3 -3, etc). I told her I’ll get her gift cards for when we return to Disney.”

Judy, “Our change jar is also used as our daughter’s souvenir money. Just before we go, I cashed in the change and load her Disney gift card.”

Leslie, “We have a jar. We turn it into Disney gift cards for our daughters to spend. My five-year-old still asks me if I remember her Aurora card she used on the last trip!”

Cool Disney World Pressed Penny Jewelry!*

This is the kind of friend to have…

Nikki, “My friend Tammy made my jar! We empty it periodically.” Here’s a picture of Tammy’s handiwork!

Splurges

Stephanie, “I have a jar; it’s hopefully going to be enough for my two girls to go to BBB ( Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique – the Magic Kingdom location) on our fall 2016 trip. Once it’s full, I cash it in and start over the cash at the bottom of the jar and repeat when full again.“

Rachel, “All three of my kids have one. Goals include a trip to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, Life-sized Goofy, and “the actual ” Pluto (not sure how to tell that one she can’t buy Pluto).”

Shauna, “Ours says ‘Dollars for Disney’ and my girls earn money for good deeds/chores done so that they can go to Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.”

Amanda, “I’m saving up change to do the Perfectly Princess Tea Party.“

Briget, “Our family change jar goes towards character meals. We try to do two each trip. Anything left over is for snacks and souvenirs.”

Jennifer, “We have one in the laundry room. Any laundry money goes into the Disney bank. It adds up quickly, and loosing a few dollars and your spare change sure doesn’t bother you when you know the prize. Our last trip was my children (3, 2, and 11 months) first time and we bought Memory Maker with our change. Best. Idea. Ever. We would have bought it anyway, but to get it for ‘free’ made the memories even sweeter.”

Heather, “Saving for a new Dooney & Bourke  purse when we go in September.”

12 Totally Cool Ideas to Replace Your Usual Disney Character Autograph Books

Hannah, “We use this exact change jar in the picture we found at a garage sale (pictured below.) The dolphin to us equals Florida! We cash it in and use it as bonus money. The kids then get to pick one activity once we are in Florida; they usually find something pretty quickly  Last time we were able to go to Legoland, which was not planned. We used one of our relaxing days and spent the day there. They had a blast! We have used it for Dinosaur World, mini golf. But they always pick… so that excites them about saving their pennies.”

A Cruise!

Shenna, “Ours is for our cruise on-board account. I only use cash, so any change I get back goes in it.”

Sissy, “My six-year-old daughter has one. She has $125 so far. She’s saving up for her third cruise. We are taking my parents this time.”

Here’s Sissy’s little angel with her crusin’ jar. 

Crystal made this jar for her mom. “I took the characters I found at the store, spray painted them, and then glued them in and on the jar. I used stickers for the wording.”

Now a Disney change jar does’t have to be fancy or anything. You could use a coffee cup. But sometimes fancy can be fun!

We searched the Internet for great change jars to give you crafty Disney savers some additional ideas.

This jar was for sale on Etsy, but it was listed as “out of stock” with no link. So until I can locate the vendor, get out your paints and snag a mason jar.

This jar was made by Jodi over at Magical Mouse Schoolhouse.com.  I’ll let her tell you about her jar.

“We chose ribbon with Mickey and Minnie colors. I hot-glued them around the jar’s lid and tied a pretty bow. Then, we strung jingle bells onto a small ribbon, hot-glued them into a Mickey shape, and threaded it through the bow. (Here’s the ‘more in a minute’ part!) This way, IF that jar gets opened, the jingle bells sound an alarm! That way, we can jingle them to celebrate too, whenever we add money to the jar.”

“We added some white buttons to the jar lid in a 3-circle Mickey shape and secured a piece of chalk to the front with adhesive Velcro strips, so we can update the amount as the funds grow. My daughter later added some Mickey and friends stickers and additional jingle bells (lots of alarms will sound now, lol!).”

Jodi has a great website to all sorts of Disney topics. Drop by and do some reading at magicalmouseschoolhouse.com

Easy DIY Mickey Mouse French Manicure Instructions for a Cheapskate Princess*

Buzzfeed.com found these cute containers on Pinterest, although I can’t locate the article of origin. They turned old coffee canisters into change banks for Disney funds.

Eighteen25.blogspot.com made this cute change jar using this list of supplies:

For one of our simplest designs, chappelloflove.blogspot.com has a simple design for a jar that wouldn’t be too difficult to make with very little supplies. I’m thinking park maps here…

Use this link to their website for a few more pictures.

So, how much change is waiting in your couch cushions for your next Disney trip?

Thanks for stopping by, and we’ll see you pitching change in your jar, big plans in the making…

Ready to plan a Disney World or Universal Vacation? We can save you money!

Earn $20 Rewards for Vacation Referrals!

Use this link for a free no obligation vacation quote from  Erin, our official Authorized Disney Vacation Planner with Destinations in Florida travel.  She offers promotions like Disney Trading Pin sets, autograph books, and free Mickey Mouse ear hats for kids under age 17.  We know our readers love free…

Give Erin a call at 214-697-7732, or send an e-mail to erin @ destinationsinflorida.com.