We love the image of it.

The piggy bank. The jar of coins. The shoebox under the bed.

It’s our rainy day fund. Our vacation budget. Our retirement plan.

But these things that seem like harmless acts are actually getting in the way of actual fiscal responsibility. People who have these kinds of jars and boxes are disproportionately unlikely to have an active savings account. I’ll explore some of the reasons and show you why you need to move your money from a “Piggy Bank” to a “Biggy Bank.”

1. Not all saving is the same

There are times when it’s good to get your feet wet into something before you dive right in. Swimming pools, obviously, is one of them. Independent stock market trading is another. It’s important to know the pitfalls of a situation before you inadvertently find yourself in danger. Starting to build up savings for yourself is NOT one of these situations. Too many people treat the piggy bank like it can be a kind of gateway drug into real savings. Nothing could be further from the truth. The only inherent risks of saving money is not doing it as effectively as you can, and every day that jar of coins sits on your bookshelf is another day of lost interest returns.

2. It’s childish

The electric company doesn’t take pennies. Your insurance adjuster doesn’t take nickels. Your mortgage broker doesn’t take dimes. This is the real world and you have real responsibilities. Long are the days where you can skip into a soda shop and empty your pockets on the counter. And that’s not a bad thing! Being an adult brings with it a brand of supreme power. You are creating the world around you and money is one of the tools that you can make this happen. If your money is locked in a porcelain prison, you’re locking yourself up as well. Holding back your true potential to the point where your inner child has the keys to your car. Grow up and celebrate.

3. It’s not a real savings account, but you think it is

From an socio-economic view, the human mind believes that if it gives the slightest bit of energy towards something, it can compartmentalize the rest. It’s a neurological response based on a balance of incentive and reward. The act of throwing your change in a jar at the end of the night is enough of an incentive to believe that if you are saving, you can reward yourself by not having to dive into the non-existent complexities of taking control of your finances. To put it another way, “I don’t need a savings account, because I have this bowl with the face of a pig on it.” You have convinced yourself that one equates to the other, and the buck stops there. That would be the equivalent of eating a bag of Skittles instead of a salad, because they both have Vitamin C.

4. You believe cash doesn’t count

A checking account or bank statement deducts your spending from a live running total but because cash and coins don’t come with a tally, it’s easy for some to overspend. Spending $20 from an account total of $100, for instance, is easy to understand and you budget accordingly. The same in cash is the thought that you just have one less bill in your wallet. The value is underestimated and oddly, immaterial. This is why a “petty cash” fund is for odds and ends, when you’re not looking carefully at exact numbers, and why if someone pays you back a loan in cash, you treat it like “extra money from nowhere.” Physical money doesn’t feel real, but a balance number does, as it pairs any risks of a bank account with data that can be managed. As long as your money exists physically, it will never be real to you. Unless, of course, it’s gold.

5. You don’t have an exit strategy

So your money is locked in a fragile container and suddenly you need it. What’s your next move? Hammer? You free the money but you’re out exact one piggy bank. So you spend the money on a new piggy bank, because after all, that’s who you bank with, and now you’re stuck in an endless loop of broken pottery and diminishing returns. However, let’s say you were smart and went with the jar, something you didn’t have to shatter in order to feed yourself. Wonderful! Now you have two options: Option A, go to a grocery store and drop your change into an automatic counting machine that will take anywhere from 8% to 11% commission. For comparison, in a real savings account you will keep 100% of your savings plus your bank’s annual percentage yield, currently hovering at a national average of around .15%. “But Doctor Business, can’t I just roll them myself and then bring them to the bank?” Ah ha! You’ve touched on Option B. Go ahead and roll, my friend. But do me this favor, keep track of your hours. When you’re done, divide the amount you had squirreled away in that jar by the hourly wage you make at your job. Was that an effective use of your time?

To all my friends who have that dusty old cookie tin with state quarters in it, I know you all have the best intentions. But you can do better and you’re only cheating yourself. Finally take your bank teller up on her offer to sign you up for that flashy new savings account. Today!