Loose change, small change, small coins, spare change, shrapnel, gold coins, pocket change…
No matter what you call it, one thing's for sure: it can add up if you let it.
And whether you nick it out of your parents' jar and spend it on pool visits, like Bryna did when she was growing up, or keep it in your car to fund your cheeky Maccas runs, like Craig still does, collecting your change can unlock serious value when you eventually spend it.
Jump to
- What are round-ups?
- What if you don't use cash?
- How do digital round-ups work?
- How much difference does it make?
- What is round-up investing?
What are round-ups?
People have been using round-ups to make smarter money moves pretty much since coins were invented.
Rounding up your money is when you work out the difference between the price you're charged for something, and the nearest whole number above it, and then do something with it.
For example, if you buy a packet of red frogs for $2.50, you can round it up to $3 and save or invest the extra 50c for yourself.
What if you don't really use cash anymore?
It's easy to save your change when it's jingling in your pocket, but what if you don't use as much cash anymore?
Back in 2007, Australians paid for 70% of consumer goods with cash. In 2022, that number had dipped to 13%, according to the Reserve Bank of Australia.
Arguably, we've got less coins to save. But we're still buying things, and we can still round-up our purchases. Enter: digital round-ups.
What are digital round-ups?
While we're using less cash, we're still making payments: according to Finder, we make 23 purchases per debit card per month, while according to Money.com.au, we make 27 credit card payments each month.
That's a lot of round-up potential!
Luckily, in the 2000s, tech companies figured out how to bring round-ups online to help people save more money.
Consumers sign up or opt in to services that detect their transactions, automatically round-up each purchase, and allocate the difference according to their chosen goal.
Once the functionality hit the mainstream, a series of apps were launched, allowing you to save for goals, invest in charity, or add to your super.
When ING Bank launched their savings version in 2017, they said it helped 40,000 customers collectively save an extra $600,000 in the first three months.
Small change adds up to big change
The beauty is that round-ups tend to be so small that you barely notice them leaving your account.
But they still add up to meaningful change. Rounding up 50 transactions by 50c each adds up to an extra $25 over one month - or $600 a year.
That's a solid amount of money. And while saving it is an option, so is growing it. That's where round-up investing comes in.
What is round-up investing?
Round-up investing is when you round-up your purchases and invest the difference in an investment asset of your choice.
At Spaceship, you can round-up your purchases to the nearest dollar and invest the difference into your Spaceship Universe Portfolio, Spaceship Earth Portfolio, Spaceship Origin Portfolio, Spaceship Galaxy Portfolio, or Spaceship Explorer Portfolio, when you opt in to Spaceship round-ups with your Spaceship Voyager portfolio. You can find them in the Spaceship Boosts section of your Spaceship Voyager app.
It could help you hit your investment goals faster, and it can also be a good way to start investing when you're nervous about using larger amounts of money.
Markets go up and down, and so too will the value of any investment - but when your portfolio is boosted with your spare change, it could make for an easier journey.
