And of course in the US, coin values are so low that it takes a lot of coins to actually buy anything useful. (Imagine, for instance, that you happen to have ten of each coin in your pocket; that only amounts to $4.10.) I think that one reason for Americans to oppose dollar coins is that they’ve become so used to low-value coins that they can’t imagine actually buying anything useful with them.
I keep my wallet in my front right pocket, and my phone and keys both in my front left pocket. (My keys are small.) I’ve done that ever since I heard that pickpockets have a harder time with a front pocket wallet location — about 40 years ago. One side effect is that I can carry coins in my wallet without discomfort.
I keep my wallet in the same place, and don’t have a problem at all. The coins end up in the pocket in the middle after folding, so there’s no bulging on the outside from them. If I feel I’m carrying too much weight around, I make an effort to actually spend them. And of course these days it’s mostly moot since cash transactions involving coins are exceedingly rare for me; I only pay cash regularly at the cleaners, and it’s an even dollar amount currently.
That’s ridiculous. The wallet goes in the front left pocket and the keys and phone in the right front. Are you left handed? Seriously though, sitting on a wallet must be crazy uncomfortable.
Interesting, I’m left handed and I’ve always carried my money clip in the left front with anything else important because it’s easier to sort through my pocket crap with my dominate hand. Keys moved to the right when I started to drive because that’s the hand that turns the ignition.
I would bet money(no change please) that no man under 55 carries change in their wallet.
If I ran the circus, all cash transactions would be rounded to the nearest 10 cents. We have three coin denominations: Dollar (gold), 20 cent piece, and dime. And three bill denominations would be $5, $20, $100. A simple 6 unit system with no gap larger than 5 fold. Any transaction between $0.1-$100 can be made with at most 9 coins and 7 bills.
For those who might think that rounding to the nearest 10 cents might be too much., We got rid of the half cent in 1854 which is worth about 17 cents today, so this would be less extreme.
I am under 55 and have Cdn$3.40 in coins in my wallet right now.
And I agree with @Buck_Godot, except I’d say dollar, 50-cent piece, and dime.
If it were up to me, American coins would have denominations of $0.25, one dollar, five dollars and ten dollars. Partly this is to future-proof the coin values.
I vacillated between them, and actually had the 50 cent piece in the first draft of the post, but then decided the since quarters are currently more popular than 50-cent pieces, so might be 20-cent coins.
Get rid of the penny, dime and the ten.
Nickel, quarter, and dollar coins.
Sized smartly. No coin larger than one inch. Preferably 3/8" or 1/2", 1/2" or 3/4", and 3/4" or 1" so a pocket of change is also a ruler.
Five, twenty*, and hundred dollar bills. *Only because we’re used to them.
These too would be nice if they were in rational dimensions instead of 2.61 x 6.14 inches inches.
When valuing poker chips the recommendation is to increase value by four or five.
On the rare occasion where I spend cash and get change back, I leave anything below a quarter on the counter. No time for that shit.
Coins are used only to get fewer coins on future cash purchases. But then you have to explain to the cashier how math works.
I say “just type it into the machine.” The benefit is that after, when the register shows them what I was doing, they look at me as if I were some kind of math genius because I can add and subtract up to 100.
I’ve found they don’t even know how to do that, or are not allowed to go back after they hit the finish button.
I hardly try anymore. Sometimes I’ll even say something like, “… and this is so I get a quarter back.” And then I get three dollar bills instead of $2.25.
And don’t get me started on them handing back bills and the receipt first then dropping coins on top so they slide off onto the pavement
Back when I paid for gas with cash I knew how much a diet Coke cost so I stopped the gas pump exactly at the right amount to total $20. The cashier thought I was amazingly lucky, I had to explain that there’s nothing lucky about math. It’s easier in NH with no sales tax.
Well, there are three kinds of people in the world. People who understand math, and people who don’t.
I’m only 41.
I do not know about generic “cashiers”, but the other day I witnessed a florist quickly and accurately tally up a number of disparate items in her head. Practice makes perfect.
I’m a 70 year old Canadian and seldom have any cash with me other than loonies for the superstore grocery carts.