Treasure Hunt
What is it about coins that makes men throw them into dishes, jars, cars, floors instead of just spending them? The men in my family seem to have a coin allergy.
My husband solved his coin problem by not dealing in cash any longer. It’s amazing how easy that has become. It used to be that many stores had a lower limit under which they wouldn’t allow a credit card purchase, but even in Starbucks your latte can go on your American Express card.
Yesterday I spent the afternoon searching for coins in every crevice and on every surface of the 1996 Dodge Caravan that recently returned from 4 years in the west. It was literally a gold mine of hidden treasure.
Today I tackled a bedroom, a basement, and pockets in long-forgotten clothes of someone who is currently studying abroad. There were lots and lots of coins everywhere and even a few bills.
I refuse to use the machine at Safeway that sorts your coins and keeps a percentage. Instead I invested in a bag of old-fashioned coin wrappers.
So what did I make on my treasure hunt? $90, with the greatest number of those coins being pennies. That’s more money than I have earned in several months!
posted by Barbara at 10:29 PM
15 Comments:
seems fair pay for all that work...once I taught my teenaged boys to do their own laundry, I lost my weekly revenue ;)
Pauline -- When my son does his own laundry, a sweep of the washer and dryer still usually results in a few coins!
I wonder if the younger generation's coin-disinterest has to do with the fact that they never put their coins in those little slotted cards each week, earning a savings bond when they had $18.75 in quarters. I think I must have my father's frugal gene. I will still pick up a penny off the sidewalk!
I saved coins forjust under 2 years in a big Moosehead bottle.
My total was $850.
Steve -- What is it with guys and coins? I just don't get it!
I just found a dime inside a blender. I kid you not!
My husband keeps his coins in the cupholder in his car. There's gotta be 20 bucks worth in there. I must admit it comes in handy when we're scrounging for quarters for parking meters!
Bozoette -- I am all for having money for the parking meter, but I would rather not have to look under the floor mats to find it. A cupholder for a piggybank sounds good to me!
What else should I do with all the coins I accumulate: I can keep only so many in my pocket at a time. At the end of the day, when I empty my pockets, I keep a certain volume, including 3 pennies (that should make sure I never return with more than 1 more penny than I started out with, but sometimes I fail to stick to the plan), the rest have to go somewhere. Sometimes, even though I have the change I need in my pocket, I opt to get change back in order to save time. Yet another way that time is money.
Ulysses -- When asked why he never carries change, my husband always says, "But I don't have a purse to put it in." So I guess you guys are limited by the weight your pockets will bear. Did you intend to say "opt NOT to get change back"? That would make more sense (cents)! :)
Wow, I'm impressed. I never carry change but I always put it in the same spot to cash in sometime later.
No doubt, it is because they lack Scottish blood.
I am sure there must be a McCrimmon or McIntosh somewhere in my past, for I do not part with my money easily, and I never pass by a free penny onthe ground (much to Sofia's chagrin).
Kristin -- I always carry change and never have more than I need. I have been known to pay for things mostly with dimes, nickels, and pennies, probably infuriating whoever was behind me in a check-out line.
Richard -- We're a lot alike in this regard.
I have a few old milk bottles of pennies just waiting for me to wrap them but it's too daunting a task!
Treasure, indeed!
MOI -- I must be one of the few people who actually enjoys wrapping coins. It's actually repetitive and therapeutic.
Rise -- Agreed!
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