What do you with your loose change?
By Lena Kovadlo
@lovebuglena (43081)
Staten Island, New York
April 5, 2024 11:24am CST
Initially I thought of putting my loose change into a piggy bank or a glass jar but then decided it’s best to put them into coin wrappers. My bank doesn’t have a coin counting machine and I can’t just bring a jar of loose coins to deposit. I have to bring the change in coin wrappers.
Since I have to do that might as well put the coins into the coin wrappers right away. This makes it easier to count how much money I have to deposit. So, whenever I have loose change I always put it in those coin wrappers. I have them for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.
I just counted the wrappers that have been fully filled and it looks like I have $19.50 in total. Not bad. And I still have those that are only partially filled. Hopefully, I will have more to deposit soon.
Hubby accumulated somewhere in the $40s range worth of coins. That’s more impressive. But that’s probably because he pays with cash more than me. I usually pay with a credit card when I buy something.
I just remembered that one of my supermarkets used to have a coin counting machine. Not sure how it works but I guess you put the coins in there, it counts them, and then gives you the money for it. Unless it just gives you the receipt and then you have to go to customer service to get your money. But they took away I think about eight cents per dollar for using it. No way! Why throw away money for no reason? I can just count it myself.
11 people like this
11 responses
@aninditasen (15746)
• Raurkela, India
6 Apr
I have very less coins as I do most of my payments online. The coins I get I use it in the vegetable market.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
That's a good way to use the coins.
1 person likes this
@aninditasen (15746)
• Raurkela, India
9 Apr
@lovebuglena I have to have some coins as most vegetable vendors take cash payments.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (157041)
• United States
6 Apr
We have several jars and containers of coins. I have a tiny piggy bank. We need to count and wrap up some coinage. I always check for silver coins and old coins. Have a good weekend.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
You must have a lot saved up already.
1 person likes this
@capirani (2744)
• United States
6 Apr
My mother was really good at saving her loose change. She kept quarters for laundry, but all of her dimes, nickels, and pennies went into her special banks that were like old carnival glass and shaped like the liberty bell. When those got full, she filled up glass jars. She kept all of these in her bedroom dresser drawer until around Thanksgiving or maybe earlier. Then she would get her coin rolls and empty those banks and jars. Then she took the rolled coins to the bank to exchange for money or deposit to her checking account all for Christmas presents. When I got older, I would help her count the coins.
I don't use cash very often. I buy rolls of quarters for laundry. Other than that I don't have loose change at all. This is because I rarely ever go shopping. I order most of what I buy online.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
I remember seeing these small coin saving things you can buy (not sure what they are actually called) where you insert coin rolls into them and and then when you drop a coin into the slot it goes into its respective roll. And it also counts how much money you have in there.
@LadyDuck (459039)
• Switzerland
8 Apr
@lovebuglena All banks have the machine here, both the one that counts the bills and the one that counts the coins.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
It's good that they have that machine. As far as I know my bank doesn't have it.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (326091)
• Rockingham, Australia
6 Apr
We used one of those machines in a bank once but we hadn't sorted through the coins (a 2 litre ice-cream containerful) and a button jammed up their machine. We weren't very popular at the time. 
@JudyEv (326091)
• Rockingham, Australia
8 Apr
@lovebuglena They got it fixed eventually. We were a bit embarrassed about it.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
Were they able to fix it so you can get your money?
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28969)
•
8 Apr
My bank has a machine, so I occasionally just take the change in there and dump it in. They do not charge their customers to use the machine so it's all good.
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Apr
if you are a customer of the bank they don’t. But what if you’re not a customer?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
8 Apr
@MarieCoyle A small fee is okay. But if it’s 8 cents per dollar it’s not.
1 person likes this
@MarieCoyle (28969)
•
8 Apr
@lovebuglena
My bank charges a very small fee if you are not a customer, but I cannot remember what it is.
They also have a program that you can avoid all the fees, if you want to donate your change. They offer different options for donations--donations to school and sports extracurricular activities, reading programs, libraries, food pantries, and the list goes on and on. So, if you have a lot of change, you can donate it and they give you a tax receipt.
1 person likes this
@besweet (9861)
• Ireland
7 Apr
@lovebuglena Yes I agree. Usually I tell them I have coins and the cashier lets me know how much they need. I don't pay the full amount.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
You can do that, however, if the total is big and you start paying with coins, I am sure that the cashier and even customers behind you in the line will not be happy.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
5 Apr
My mom used to have this huge empty jar from those little bear cookies which was filled with coins. Sometimes she used them to pay for her express bus fare. Prices have gone up for it but I think she used to pay around $6 or so one way to use the express bus. I wonder what she did with the rest of the coins and if she still has that jar.
1 person likes this
@just4him (307027)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
6 Apr
I have a lot of change sitting in various jars around my apartment. I don't know what I will do with it.
It's good you have coin wrappers.
@lovebuglena (43081)
• Staten Island, New York
7 Apr
A pack of them used to cost me 99 cents plus tax. I wonder how much they cost now. Haven't bought them in a while.
1 person likes this
@mildredtabitha (16077)
• Nairobi, Kenya
5 Apr
It's nice learning what you do with your lose change.
I mostly just keep it and spend it when the need arises. I've never thought of saving coins.
