# Americans - How much change is on you right now? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 28, 2010, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394 "2010-09-28T20:50:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/21 "2010-09-29T00:06:44Z")
1.67 I generally only remove the coins when I change my pants. I change them every day when I’m in the office, but it can be up to every 5 days when in the field. Sometimes I will have to empty my pockets because I have a whole wad of coins and it will dig into my legs when I’m hiking. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/22 "2010-09-29T00:29:54Z")
I will not carry change one second longer than necessary. All my purchases today were by debit card anyway. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/23 "2010-09-29T00:33:29Z")
The only change on me is a change of underwear. Actually . . . as soon as I get home, I piggy-bank my change. Nickels, dimes and quarters get rolled and deposited; pennies get dated and hoarded (I’ve got almost $200 in pennies). ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/24 "2010-09-29T01:07:42Z")
93 cents, three quarters, a dime, a nickel and three pennies. Did anyone else feel silly standing up and emptying their pockets? All in the name of science. I think every member of this board needs to answer the poll for it to have any value. ---
**Author:** ![sleeping](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/839c29/32.png) [@sleeping](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sleeping)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/25 "2010-09-29T01:15:59Z")
1. I’m sitting at the computer in pocketless gym shorts. ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/26 "2010-09-29T01:16:30Z")
I despise change and never carry it. I leave it in the tip jar, set it down on a nearby table, toss it into a change cup (at home) or even throw it out if it’s just a couple of pennies. Far more trouble than it’s worth. I’d be thrilled if every purchase were just rounded up to the nearest dollar so I’d never get coins back. I rarely pay with cash anyway, so it’s not that big of a deal, but I really can’t stand having change in my pockets. The only time I deal with change is for car washes and parking meters, but most of the meters around here take credit cards now, and so does my regular car wash, so even that is becoming a thing of the past. ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/27 "2010-09-29T02:54:03Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > I try to keep 9¢, four pennies and a nickel > > That way I have the needed combos so I don’t have to deal with pennies My apologies, but I find it amusing that you constantly carry four pennies with you to avoid the possibility of getting _up to_ four pennies in change back. ---
**Author:** ![NinetyWt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/cc9497/32.png) [@NinetyWt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinetyWt)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/28 "2010-09-29T02:58:35Z")
$0. I don’t usually use cash. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/29 "2010-09-29T12:56:41Z")
$.65. My old gym sold protein shakes for $4.00 flat, but this new one charges 5.35. WTF, guys? So since I go 1st thing in the morning before work, I now have .65 floating around my pocket all day, which I hate. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/30 "2010-09-29T13:32:52Z")
Zero. Unless you catch me at the right time, it will always be zero. The moment I get in the car, I empty change into my ashtray. Every few days the ashtray is emptied into a big polar water jug. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/31 "2010-09-29T15:18:10Z")
$.75 for the parking meter near my happy hour bar after work. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/32 "2010-09-29T17:00:38Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > $.65. My old gym sold protein shakes for $4.00 flat, but this new one charges 5.35. WTF, guys? So since I go 1st thing in the morning before work, I now have .65 floating around my pocket all day, which I hate. Of course, you recognize that the simple solution to carrying $0.65 around all day is to carry $0.35 with you to the gym. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/33 "2010-09-29T17:30:03Z")
None. I never have cash with me. ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/34 "2010-09-29T20:07:03Z")
$1.03 ---
**Author:** ![Yeticus\_Rex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a698b9/32.png) [@Yeticus\_Rex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeticus_Rex)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/35 "2010-09-29T20:19:03Z")
1. Change goes in my car’s cup holder, not in my pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/36 "2010-09-29T20:37:36Z")
A dollar and 39 cents. 4 quarters, 3 dimes, a nickel and 4 pennies. I normally toss my change in a basket every couple of days. That can add up to 60-70 bucks by the time I roll it all up and take it to the bank. ---
**Author:** ![Chicken\_Fingers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Chicken\_Fingers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chicken_Fingers)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/37 "2010-09-29T20:44:48Z")
My purse was overdue for a clean out. I had more than $5 in change. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/38 "2010-09-29T22:06:37Z")
I am in the process of getting rid of all my change at the laundromat. I liberated quarters and loonies. Several bills have been changed into quarters and loonies as well. The lady even changed my pennies, dimes, and nickels! I am left with eight pennies, two subway tokens for a city 250 km away, a toonie, and my keys. My change pouch hasn’t been this empty for months. ---
**Author:** ![little\_bit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@little\_bit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/little_bit)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2010, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/39 "2010-09-29T22:28:02Z")
I have $2.45 in the side pocket of my messenger bag. All change gets thrown in there until I remember to dump it into my cup holder for meters. ---
**Author:** ![UncaStuart](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncastuart/32/404_2.png) [@UncaStuart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncaStuart)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2010, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394/40 "2010-09-30T00:46:28Z")
Lessee: 2 dollar coins 4 quarters 2 dimes 3 nickels 1 penny A few years ago I started using one of those squeezable leather coin pouches so the change wouldn’t be spread around many pockets and jangling against my keys. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/americans-how-much-change-is-on-you-right-now/555394.md?page=3)