# Anyone else throw away small change? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 15, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541 "2010-03-15T14:32:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![RheaDark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/edb3f5/32.png) [@RheaDark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RheaDark)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/61 "2010-03-15T22:27:41Z")
Never. I keep everything. ---
**Author:** ![sugar\_and\_spice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e8c25b/32.png) [@sugar\_and\_spice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sugar_and_spice)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/62 "2010-03-15T22:35:04Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > I consider that occasionally, but while a few coins isn’t much trash, it is a significant quantity of litter. Trash belongs in a trash disposal bin. Just set them next to the trash can. Or on a bench, or the edge of planter or something. This is the universal symbol for “I don’t want this, maybe you do.” Someone will almost certainly take your coins before the end of the day, and if not I would bet the guy who cleans up the parking lot will forgive you. ---
**Author:** ![apollonia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/2bfe46/32.png) [@apollonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/apollonia)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/63 "2010-03-15T23:56:36Z")
I’m a broke-ass university student. Why would I throw away money? Pennies add up to nickels and dimes; nickels and dimes add up to quarters; quarters are REAL MONEY. Quarters are laundry money. A quarter will buy me two bananas–that’s two breakfasts. Quarters add up to loonies and toonies, where we’re talking serious cash. Serious cash like “I can buy a hot sandwich for lunch rather than bringing my own” or “I can afford a cup of coffee at Tim’s three times a week rather than once.” A quarter, a dime, and a nickel, and I can buy ramen–that’s lunch. Two dimes and a nickel is a daily rag newspaper. If you really want your money to make a difference, leave it at a university campus. Finding a penny is good. Finding a nickel is great. Finding a dime is amazing. Finding a quarter is a day to write in my diary. Finding anything more than that and I’ll step over my friends to get to the cash first. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/64 "2010-03-16T01:17:57Z")
I enjoy having ample change on me for vending machine purchases. Throwing it away just doesn’t make sense to me. I also like having some folding money in my wallet for bigger purchases, and I know many, many others like me. I detest having to wait behind an “I never use cash anymore” type in a checkout line while he/she fiddles with credit/debit cards that aren’t working! P.S. I 've got about 70 lb of US cents on my dresser- when I cash them in, Coinstar ain’t getting any of them! ---
**Author:** ![sharding](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@sharding](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sharding)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/65 "2010-03-16T01:33:05Z")
I throw pennies in the garbage. I hate them. I usually keep nickels, dimes and quarters, but I’m not very careful about it. If I’m home, I’ll toss them in a cup and eventually cash it in (or use the quarters at the car wash). If I’m not going to be home soon, I often leave them somewhere, because I can’t stand carrying change around in my pocket. If there were an easy way to do it without having to explain every time and feel like a freak, I’d happily have all of my purchases rounded up to the nearest dollar and let the business keep the change, including quarters. I agree with the feeling that the monetary value isn’t worth the hassle. Coins are evil. ---
**Author:** ![Kaio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/c68b51/32.png) [@Kaio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaio)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/66 "2010-03-16T02:05:35Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > But a lot longer than that to sift through it for spending/rolling. My bank (and I imagine most banks) has a coin sorter. I can take in my coin jar, they dump it in and sort/count it for nuthin’, and I get to deposit a little extra something in my account every once in a while. Coins are dropped in my jeans pocket and dumped in my coin jar at the end of the day (or on laundry day when I’m cleaning out pockets). Quarters are always pulled out to go in the bowl with my laundry supplies so I can pay for the laundry machines. Putting coins in a jar takes no more time than putting coins in the trash bin. Or tell the clerk “keep the change” and make their day, just a little. (I’m mostly-plastic-only, but my favorite coffee shop is cash only, and in general if I’m going to a pub or similar it’s easier to pay cash than run a tab. I just don’t drink that much.) ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/67 "2010-03-16T02:15:29Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > I detest having to wait behind an “I never use cash anymore” type in a checkout line while he/she fiddles with credit/debit cards that aren’t working! You’ve gotta be kidding… ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/68 "2010-03-16T02:16:32Z")
> [@sharding](#): > > I throw pennies in the garbage. I hate them. I usually keep nickels, dimes and quarters, but I’m not very careful about it. If I’m home, I’ll toss them in a cup and eventually cash it in (or use the quarters at the car wash). If I’m not going to be home soon, I often leave them somewhere, because I can’t stand carrying change around in my pocket. If there were an easy way to do it without having to explain every time and feel like a freak, I’d happily have all of my purchases rounded up to the nearest dollar and let the business keep the change, including quarters. I agree with the feeling that the monetary value isn’t worth the hassle. Coins are evil. My friend, you and I are apparently in a _very_ small minority. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/69 "2010-03-16T02:35:17Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > I’m tossing an average of 24 cents per month, or $2.88 per year. This seems like an utterly trivial loss to me and well worth it for not having to deal with the accumulating coins. Speak for yourself. I can wash and dry a load of clothes with that princely sum. Most of the meals I eat these days cost less than that. Tell you want - any time you don’t want $2.88 send it to me and I’ll thank you for buying me lunch. - Impoverished American. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/70 "2010-03-16T02:40:42Z")
I hate hate HATE small change. The supermarket round the corner keeps giving me back 10 won and 50 won coins (pennies and nickels) for which I have no practical use. Nowhere else has prices that require 10 and 50 won coins. I don’t throw them away though, although I am strongly tempted. We keep our change in a piggy bank. ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/71 "2010-03-16T02:52:19Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Tell you want - any time you don’t want $2.88 send it to me and I’ll thank you for buying me lunch. Rather than send you my $2.88 in change, I’ll myself save some money by throwing out the change and mailing you a check for $2.88. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/72 "2010-03-16T03:22:01Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > Coinstar is NOT going to get 9% of that! 😃 If you get an Amazon gift certificate they don’t take any percentage. My two banks make it very inconvenient to use the few change machines they have, so this is simpler. For $1000+ I might drive over to the home office, but for the few $100 I have I can easily use it at Amazon. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/73 "2010-03-16T03:26:53Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > Rather than send you my $2.88 in change, I’ll myself save some money by throwing out the change and mailing you a check for $2.88. Well, you _could_ use some of the change to buy a stamp… ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/74 "2010-03-16T03:32:48Z")
Spazurek, I meant what I said. There oughta be a special line for cashless people who hold up checkout lines because they refuse to use cash. That way they can just slow each other up- ---
**Author:** ![spazurek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b2d939/32.png) [@spazurek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spazurek)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/75 "2010-03-16T03:36:58Z")
> [@california\_jobcase](#): > > Spazurek, > > I meant what I said. There oughta be a special line for cashless people who hold up checkout lines because they refuse to use cash. That way they can just slow each other up- I guess cashiers in your part of the world must be a lot faster than any that I’ve ever encountered. Making change vs. swiping a card (or better yet, me swiping it myself as the checker scans)…no contest. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/76 "2010-03-16T04:16:57Z")
> [@Audrey\_Levins](#): > > I don’t understand the people who regularly use Coinstar; my bank has a coin-counting machine and you can either access it yourself at the downtown branch, or drop off your coins at your nearest bank…where they will be trucked to the downtown branch and counted within a couple of days. > > Zero fee if you’re a bank customer. > > Personally I like to go to the downtown branch and do it myself, because there’s something fun about my beer bucket of change disappearing into a whirling machine and then a bank teller handing me cash for it. > > I should mention I bartend, so I take home a lot of coin change–most of it quarters–and my beer bucket usually makes about $1200-$1500 a year. > > Coinstar is NOT going to get 9% of that! 😃 I have a nice cabinet next to my front door. On top is a very pretty, 1930’s-ish glass bowl. When I get home, any change in my pockets goes in the bowl. When the bowl gets full, I sort the coins, cull any Canadian or other rarities, count them into stacks, and put them in rolls. By hand. The rolls go in a box. A couple years ago, I deposited $1,000 into my checking account. The box is filling up again, probably about $350 by now. And that’s not including pennies. I’m waiting until I have $100 in pennies. I want to see if I can lift it. Yes, I’m weird. ---
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/77 "2010-03-16T04:53:01Z")
> [@spazurek](#): > > I guess cashiers in your part of the world must be a lot faster than any that I’ve ever encountered. Making change vs. swiping a card (or better yet, me swiping it myself as the checker scans)…no contest. Depends a lot on the establishment. I am card only 95% of the time, but I always bring cash to the deli that I get lunch at every day - it’s a local place and they have a pretty old school card reader. People who use a card there easily take 3-4 times as long as people with cash, and most of the regulars have realized that and bring cash. That said, for stores that are solidly in the modern era, I swipe away. As for the thread itself, I keep small change… to use as exact change at the deli every day. 🙂 Other than that I refuse to carry change with me, it’s annoying as heck to carry around. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/78 "2010-03-16T04:59:27Z")
I don’t throw away small change. I spend it. Every fourth or fifth transaction, or thereabouts, I have accumulated sufficient small change to offload it all onto some shopkeeper. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/79 "2010-03-16T05:49:45Z")
> [@J-P\_L](#): > > Have you ever heard the expression “Watch the pennies and the dollars will take care of themself” attributed to [Benjamin Franklin](http://www.scmidnightflyer.com/benf.html) They might have seen it in my post, #54. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541/80 "2010-03-16T05:50:07Z")
> [@Cunctator](#): > > I don’t throw away small change. I spend it. Every fourth or fifth transaction, or thereabouts, I have accumulated sufficient small change to offload it all onto some shopkeeper. Same here. I don’t tend to accumulate those huge jars of change that I hear people talk about, as on this thread, because I spend change about as fast as I get it. Especially in vending machines. The only thing I have difficulty getting rid of are pennies, since most vending machines don’t take them. But the self-service checkout lanes at the supermarket take all coins, including pennies. So sometimes I spend my pennies there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/anyone-else-throw-away-small-change/532541.md?page=5)