Making ends meet: SA’s new piggy bank is a 5-litre water bottle

South Africans are using any big container to save their cents and come out with some extra cash at the end of the year. Picture: Jcomp/Freepik

South Africans are using any big container to save their cents and come out with some extra cash at the end of the year. Picture: Jcomp/Freepik

Published Jun 28, 2022

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In a time of fuel prices hikes, high interest rates and rising food prices, people are creating new and practical ways to save their money.

One of the ways is to turn a normal 5-litre plastic bottle into a money jar or piggy bank. Not only are you ensuring that the plastic bottle does not end up as waste pollution, but you are also saving towards funding an important acquisition for yourself further down the line.

On TikTok, people are seen taping the outside of a clear 5-litre water bottle to stop prying eyes from looking into their savings and to prevent them from being tempted to cut it open before the year ends. People have also wrapped newspaper on the outside of the bottle so the contents are not visible.

@sesivunkiie09 Bottle Saving 😋![CDATA[]]>💰#fypシ #ticktoksouthafrica #savingmoney #fyp #savingschallenge2022 #bottlecapchallenge #mzansitiktok ♬ Play Date - Melanie Martinez

In these videos, some people add just coins while others add money notes while others still have both notes and coins in their bottle. One lady on TikTok only adds R5 coins to her money bottle.

The bottle is not limited to a 5-litre one. People are posting videos of using 1-litre or 1.5-litre bottles if they don’t have a 5-litre one.

@michaelamavosa I couldn't find a 5 liter bottle,but this will do🥺small beginnings❤#5literbottlemoney #savingmoney ♬ Dropline - pabi_cooper

Here is how you can kickstart your savings using a bottle:

1. Cut the label on the outside of the bottle.

2. Wash the inside and outside of the bottle then leave it to dry.

3. Cover the outside of the bottle and the lid with tape or newspaper.

4. Cut a slit on the lid to serve as the entry point for your money.

5. Start saving.

6. Don’t forget to recycle the bottle at the end if you are not going to use it again.

It’s important that no matter how tempted you are, you should wait until the bottle is full before opening the bottle to see how much money you have saved.

People can save up to thousands a year with this method – money which may otherwise have been spent on unnecessary things like, well, sweets.

You can then use the money at the end of the year to buy something you need, or even for transport for the festive season.

Every cent does count. Good luck.

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