Piggy (and owl and cat) banks

February = not much fun
Saving money = not much fun
February + Saving money = the pits

If your financial situation looks as pitiful as mine this month, let's stop and cry for a moment. And once our tears have dried, let's have a think about how to make it a little bit better. Through my teary experience, the answer I'd like to suggest is to introduce some cute animals into the financial equation. Piggy banks, wise owls and crafty cats: all these creatures can help you save your pennies. Step one is saving enough pennies to buy this menagerie of money boxes.

The original and the best: this petal piggy bank took me way back to a long lost (or smashed open) bank of yore. It's Cath Kidston who is bringing home the bacon here, for £8.

Also on a retro tip is this Otto owl money box by Emma Silk. Owls would never splash their cash unwisely, oh no. They'd save up all their money to buy things like pretty dresses with owls on them, or cookie jars in the shape of an owl or tea cosies in the shape of owls ... there are obviously lots of owl related things you could buy. This one costs £16 from Brighton POD.

Not the sophisticated option but this coin stealing cat is a lot more amusing than internet banking. Place your coin onto that plate and a cat paw will sneak out and grab it back into its box. For £15.99 the novelty value means that you are bound to store a load away. But remember, what you save in pennies, you are liable to spend on batteries. Buy it from Amazon.

And don't forget to tell us what you plan on buying with your carefully stashed cash!