#1 Penny Uses For Practical Purposes
There's an old British saying, "Look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves." Meaning, if you focus on saving small amounts of money, you will end up with larger amounts. Unfortunately, the United States penny has lost some appeal, as it is now more costly to produce than it is worth. Yet, there are still plenty of things to do with pennies, giving them a different type of value that is worth considering.
#2 Tap Shoes With Pennies
If you have little tikes who want to try out tap dancing, this is a great way to avoid the high cost of tap shoes for a probable short-term interest.
#3 Children Love The Sound
A bit of glue and pennies will give children the sound they look for and give you a chance to save up for something else.
#4 Exactly Even
For setting tiles in a DIY project, here is a trick for perfect placement. Depending on the amount of separation you want in between, pennies can give a precise exactness to your work.
#5 Tire Tread Test
A sure DIY way to check the wear and tear on your tire tread is the penny method. Stick a penny into the tread with Lincoln showing head-first. If the head is not completely covered and mostly visible, you may want to consider new tires for safety and grip.
#6 Steady As She Goes
Pennies can be the perfect support for a wobbly table or chair. Steady the furniture piece by adding one or more pennies underneath the short leg for stability. Glue the coins in place if permanency is required.
#7 Natural Snail Repellent
Evidently snails don't like copper. Their secretions react to the metal, providing a slight static electricity response that most snails want to avoid. Because of this, try outlining your garden with pennies. Copper pennies work well, as long as they were minted no later than 1981. By 1982, the copper in pennies was replaced with nickel, which may not produce the same result.
#8 Curtain Weights
Weights are sometimes added to curtain hems, so they can hang properly. Here's an idea for DIY curtain weights from Robin Kramer Writes. Combine glue, paper clips, a few pennies, and slip these into the hem.
#9 Now, you've got yourself some homegrown curtain weights!
#10 100 Penny Hunt
How about a game for young children to improve their math skills? Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes suggests a penny hunt game with pennies carefully hidden around the room. When the children find a penny, they place it on the corresponding number. This reinforces number recognition and counting skills.
#11 Pinching Pennies
This game for young children helps them practice small motor skills by pinching pennies. Use a large tub; add sterile sand or bagfuls of dried rice, a handful of pennies, and a piggy bank. The child searches to find the buried pennies and places them in the slotted container. For added challenge, the child can close his eyes, so the sense of touch is predominantly used.
#12 Finders Keepers
Are you one who keeps an eye open for pennies laying on the sidewalk? Though, most people no longer perceive the worth of one cent, Walter Michka of Money for Nothing recommends the value of picking up a penny off the ground. He figured out that if you pick up a penny every second of every minute for each hour, the wages add up to almost $75K per year! Not bad for a hard day's work!
#13 Common Cents
Collecting "common cents" can still be a "common sense" endeavor. There are plenty of rare pennies that have more value than you would think. Even the act of collecting pennies can be a great family experience when teaching children that "a penny saved is a penny earned."
