Some people find coins between the cushions of their couch. Those are lucky people.
Me, I find coins on my dresser. Like this:
Just piles of coins. Almost every day. Sigh.
You see, I happen to be married to a guy who spends dollars faster than I can spend dimes. Even though my guy has credit cards and knows how to use them (zowie, he knows how to use them!), he also plunks down cash on a regular basis, and then he pockets the change, and then he comes home and un-pockets the change on my dresser.
In giving me his pocket change, he's forking over money almost faster than I can spend it. Part of the reason it's so hard to spend the coins is, of course, due to my parsimonious personality: I don't actually buy stuff hardly ever. But the other reason it's hard to spend the coins is essentially the fault of the coins themselves. And that's the real purpose of this post: to contradict Cassius, and say:
I'm sure there are more reasons that people can think of; the point is that the problem my husband has with coins (and that he foists off on me) aren't entirely about laziness: they're also structural.
Fortunately for us both, there's a second part of this story. Which is, my husband happens to be married to a woman who loves figuring out structural solutions to structural problems. The obvious solution is to sort the coins, which I do. I quarantine the quarters (they perform the bulk of their duty during yard sale season). I push the pennies into their own penny-tentiary; when I get enough of them, I roll them with paper into homemade 50¢ rolls.
And then I nickel-and-dime the folks at my market. More specifically, I made myself a change purse, large enough to put my hand in. And I fill it with one kind of coins: only dimes, until those run out. Or only nickels, until those run out. Back and forth, forth and back. Segregated money, taking turns at going to market on Tuesday mornings.
Counting coins is a lot easier, it turns out, if they're all the same kind of coin. A few weeks back, I spent $3 in dimes at the dairy stand. And then $2 in dimes at the spice stand, for curry. And I still didn't spend all the dimes in my bag.
Then, I came home again to find my change agent had left me yet another present. Man, am I rich in dimes.
Sigh.
Me, I find coins on my dresser. Like this:
Just piles of coins. Almost every day. Sigh.
You see, I happen to be married to a guy who spends dollars faster than I can spend dimes. Even though my guy has credit cards and knows how to use them (zowie, he knows how to use them!), he also plunks down cash on a regular basis, and then he pockets the change, and then he comes home and un-pockets the change on my dresser.
In giving me his pocket change, he's forking over money almost faster than I can spend it. Part of the reason it's so hard to spend the coins is, of course, due to my parsimonious personality: I don't actually buy stuff hardly ever. But the other reason it's hard to spend the coins is essentially the fault of the coins themselves. And that's the real purpose of this post: to contradict Cassius, and say:
The fault, dear friends, lies not [entirely] in our selves,but in our coins, that we have so much change.Here are just a few reasons why coins make themselves unwanted or unhelpful:
- Sorting a bunch of coins requires table space or jars; sorting a bunch of bills can be done mid-air.
- Coins jumble around in our pocket or our hand or wherever they are, where bills stay neatly lined up in whatever order we stacked them.
- Coins are heavy and bulky, where bills take up little space.
- You need to carry a lot of coins to pay for a $2 jar of curry; you only need to carry two bills (or one bill, and get three back in change).
I'm sure there are more reasons that people can think of; the point is that the problem my husband has with coins (and that he foists off on me) aren't entirely about laziness: they're also structural.
Fortunately for us both, there's a second part of this story. Which is, my husband happens to be married to a woman who loves figuring out structural solutions to structural problems. The obvious solution is to sort the coins, which I do. I quarantine the quarters (they perform the bulk of their duty during yard sale season). I push the pennies into their own penny-tentiary; when I get enough of them, I roll them with paper into homemade 50¢ rolls.
And then I nickel-and-dime the folks at my market. More specifically, I made myself a change purse, large enough to put my hand in. And I fill it with one kind of coins: only dimes, until those run out. Or only nickels, until those run out. Back and forth, forth and back. Segregated money, taking turns at going to market on Tuesday mornings. Counting coins is a lot easier, it turns out, if they're all the same kind of coin. A few weeks back, I spent $3 in dimes at the dairy stand. And then $2 in dimes at the spice stand, for curry. And I still didn't spend all the dimes in my bag.
Then, I came home again to find my change agent had left me yet another present. Man, am I rich in dimes.
Sigh.
I'm married to the same kind of guy. I collect the change in a container all year long, and then take it all to the bank to convert it to bills at the end of November, then I give it to our pastor for him to give to needy church members during December. I like your method of usage too! In the past, when we still had children at home, I've used it to shop at garage sales, thrift stores and such. Keep up the good work.
ReplyDeleteI think that by sorting and spending the coins this way, I might be "enabling" my husband. Leaving the coins there is kind of like his "gift" to me (which I guess it really is) . . . so if I didn't spend the coins, we probably wouldn't have as much by November. Okay, I just realized that's convoluted logic.
DeleteAt any rate, yeah, whether sorting or saving, it's clear that coins require an effort that dollar bills just don't!
I am "your husband" in this tale, I bring home the coins (hides head in shame). To be fair, I nearly always use the card these days.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's just hard to use a credit card at a yard sale. Or for a $2.20 purchase of milk at a market stand (which is how the dimes diminished this morning --- I think next week, I'll finally use up the dimes and switch back to nickels).
DeleteBut really, coins such are an anachronistic throw-back. Bills, credit cards (and nowadays, phones!) seem much more adept. I'm guessing they're going the way of rotary dials and polaroid cameras . . .
You only need to bring one bill to pay for a $2 jar of curry --- a $2 bill ;-)
ReplyDeleteI love reading your blog. Coins are a challenge to spend now a days. Your method is really smart and I may have to use it myself.
True that! Of course, if you pay with a $5 bill and the spice seller gives you a $3 bill in change, you might have a problem . . .
Delete