We’ve seen fake lenses that were actually thermos‘ before, so why not a Canon DSLR coin bank? It will make saving money fun again. And when you have enough saved up, you can buy the real camera. It will be a constant reminder of your goal.

The slot is small enough for both coins and folded paper currency. And don’t worry, you won’t need to smash this with a hammer to get your money out. The lens can be removed easily. Only $29.90.

The R2-D2 talking money box is a great way to save up for all of that Star Wars gear you want to buy. But R2-D2 doesn’t talk, so really you are just getting a bunch of beeps and boops that you will need Luke to translate.

It’s just $34. Lucas has gotten rich off of you buying all of this R2 gear, so saving money is the least this little droid can help you to do.

Looks like banking giant Chase is finally getting itself into the 21st century with the latest version of its iPhone app. It allows you to deposit paper checks into your Chase account using an iPhone. All you have to do is take a picture of the front and back of the check, hit a few icons, and you’re done.

This is a major time-saver for people and it’s super useful. You don’t have to make a special trip to the bank anymore just for a deposit. We love that.

Lots of kids and more than a few adults are instant gratification sorts. It’s hard to get some people to save money and teaching kids to save can be a bigger challenge. A new bank from a company called Ekomini aims to make teaching kids to save a little easier.

The bank plugs into an internet connected computer via USB and lets the kids keep up with how much change they put into the bank. The bank connects to an online virtual world letting the kids play games that encourage investment and saving.

The Spend and save coin bank turns saving money into an exciting game. Either way, it’s a win/win, whether it goes into savings or spending money. Obviously the spending tray is much smaller. This bank “deflects, and randomly deposits coins” while simultaneously looking like tupperware.

Much like a casino, the real winner is the bank. Or the folks who make it, anyway, since you are going to shell out $19.99 for it, use it for a few days, then get bored. But hey, it’s a fun idea.

If you are an iPhone owner and have a bank account with USAA you’ll soon be able to use your iPhone to deposit a check thanks to a new iPhone app, which lets you take a picture of the front and back of the check to deposit it. No more out of the way trips to the bank.

Once you take the pictures, they are then sent to the bank who processes the digital version of the check. The paper check can then be torn up and thrown away if you like. The USAA iPhone App is available now and when the service starts a new update will be made available to those who already have it installed, which allows you to capture the images.

You might remember the awesome Space Invaders Game Bank that we featured a while back. At that time it was only available in Japan. Good news, now there is a version that you can get in the US and Europe, although we’re not sure if it takes currency other than Yen.

To refresh your memory, when last we left it, this bank was accepting up to 80 100 yen coins, and each time you drop a coin in, another invader lights up. So, you are playing the game in reverse. It pays to have more invaders on screen.

This electronic change counting bank makes sure that you always have money for beer. Because in these tough times, beer money too often goes toward other frivolous things like a “mortgage”, or a “college fund”. Make sure that doesn’t happen to your beer money by making daily deposits.

It will count and tally up your total savings, but sadly doesn’t translate that into number of beers saved. It also won’t convert the change into cash, so you’ll be known as “that guy who always pays in pennies”.

It makes sense to switch from the classic piggy bank to a robot, where guarding your money is concerned. Piggy banks can fall easily to any hammer and spill out their nickel and penny stuffed guts. A robot on the other hand won’t give up the dough so easy, but one downside is that it’s smart enough that it may even spend your dough on stuff it wants.

This cute looking but money-hungry robot money box can even talk to you, tell you the time and let you know how much money he is guarding inside his body. One cool feature is that you can set a target amount you want to save and he will tell you how close you are to your goal as if taunting you.

The Japanese love banks. Like us, they also love them some Space Invaders. This latest offering from Takara Tomy may look like an actual sized tabletop Space Invaders game, but it’s really a miniature replica bank. It’s a unique take on the whole bank concept. It features an LCD screen that unfortunately is not playable, but acts as coin counter.

It will take up to 80 100 yen coins, and each time you drop a coin in, another invader lights up. So, basically you are playing the game in reverse. In this case, it pays to have more invaders on screen. It makes saving money not only fun, but retro and geeky at the same time. It will help you save up for those Space Invaders headphones or that Space Invaders Keyboard you’ve been wanting.

The idea behind this gadget is that it’s never too early to teach kids the value of a dollar with a freaky fish banker. Every time your kid inserts a coin into the bank, a fish named Gill (haha) will reward your kid with an animation. Thing is, with Cartoon network available to your kid, I don’t think he’s gonna give a tuna what some gameboy-colored fish has to say.

Anyhow, the money they deposit is automatically counted and the total savings is displayed on screen. If that’s not enough, your kid will now be responsible for feeding old Gill and keeping his tank clean. Yeah right. It was nice knowing you Gill! This is gonna be either way too much fun or hardly any for $52. I call the latter.

Just when you thought it was safe here comes yet another wacky clock. A very boxy and not swell to look at clock. This one is a lot like the Coin Lamp, in that it is a money hungry device. This Money-Saving BanClock makes you insert a coin of any value or currency before it will shut up. I think that’s called extortion. This clock/bank will hold about $25 before it needs to be emptied.

You’ll need a supply of coins by the clock so you can shut it up without punching a hole in it. What’s with these savings devices though? It used to be that people were disciplined enough to save on their own without a device encouraging them.

Here’s the latest in extortionist lamps. This clever lighting appliance forces you to save money if you want light. It’s the Coin Lamp from designer Jethro Macey, who is apparently very thrifty. It’s turned on by a coin-operated switch, with the lamp set to a predetermined time by an internal mechanism. The final version of coin lamp will be available soon.

It’s like having the mafia in charge of your electricity. Imagine if you will that you are sitting by the lamp, maybe working on an important paper and suddenly the light goes out. You have your pile of change sitting by the lamp. It’s not the first time you’ve been shook down after all. But you’ve had enough. You’re not going to take it anymore. You’re sick of giving in to criminals. So, you light a candle. That will teach your rich mafioso lamp a thing or two. But sadly there is an internal mechanism that detects light, so the lamp knows what you are doing. Next thing you know you’re dodging bullets as your house becomes swiss cheese. After the bullets fly and tires squeal away, you crawl to your lamp and put a full ten bucks worth of change in it. You’ve learned your lesson, no more messing with the lamp.

Apparently all the good and handsome men are taken in Japan. I guess that’s why Japan’s women are finding romance with this virtual man called the “Handsome Man Bank”.

It comes in girl-friendly pink or white, with an LCD display that will show 5 handsome men. It costs about $50 and he’s a player alright. A real smooth guy with lines like “Can I kiss you?” or “May I rub your shoulders?” But at the end of the day he’s all talk, leaving some longing and needful Japanese women all hot and bothered. Should have come with another accessory for this phase I guess.

I guess it isn’t easy being a Japanese geek. Not that it’s easy being an American geek, but the Japanese have so much more cool stuff to tempt them out of their savings. That’s why Takara Tomy has made a new kind of piggy bank. One with an RPG game built into it. It’s called Bank Quest.

Not very original, but appropriate. You can buy weapons and armor for your character from the savings you place inside the bank. Where have I seen this before. Oh right, it was called an arcade, where you put your money in played. Except you get to keep the money with this bank. Improve the graphics and gameplay, you might just have a bunch of gamers saving their money for once.