My co-worker was struggling to break a twenty and no one around here could do it. Two people just loaned him $10 each to help him out. I couldn’t because even though I had more than $20 on me, I always try to have the smallest number of bills on me that I can. Since a twenty is the largest bill I carry, I basically never have $20 in smaller bills.
Poll to come about your ability to break a twenty when called upon. Pick the response that best fits your situation, even if it doesn’t precisely describe you. If you’re outside the U.S., substitute the bill closest to $20 USD in your currency and answer accordingly. Thanks.
Very rarely. It’s a lot more common that I’ll have got $40 (2x$20 bills) from the ATM machine, and have spent some of one of the twenties, but still have the other one intact.
So I may have like $33, but it’s in the form of a twenty, a ten, and three ones, not some other, more change-friendly configuration.
I tend to have somewhere between $20 and $35 on me at most times, usually a $20 bill and a mix of smaller bills, mostly singles, amounting to less than $15. So while I can afford to spend more than $20 cash, I can’t fully break one.
I voted yes because I opened my wallet and checked the cash in there, and it happened to be 3 5s and 6 1s. I’ve been carrying those very same nine bills around for years. I don’t use them, I don’t add to them, I don’t remove them. They’re just leftovers from back when the last thought that I might need to have a few dollars cash on hand for emergencies faded away.
ETA: Of course, my ability to break a $20 would be a one-time thing. Once I’d done so I’d be carrying around just a twenty and a one forever, unable to break anything.
I’d estimate I could maybe every six to eight weeks. Is that regular enough for the poll? I carry and use cash (not exclusively) and do try to keep some bills under $20 in my pocket and they might add up to 20+ sometimes.
jnglmassiv, just pick the answer that most closely matches even if it’s not perfect. If you can only make change once out of every six or eight weeks, it sounds to me like one of the no answers fits you better.
My mother gets twenties from the bank but she’ll basically spend twenties until she runs out, then start spending smaller bills. So, she might, for example, buy coffee three days in a row and wind up with $50 in small bills. Only when the pile of smaller bills gets too big in her purse will she conscientiously spend them. She always has change for a $20. My dad likes having lots of small bills for flea markets and things. I figured there’d also be a few people who get lots of small bills as tips.
The UK has virtually got rid of singles in favour of coins but I’ll almost always have cash with me including 2 or 3 tens and maybe a five plus whatever change I haven’t swapped for notes.
Funnily enough, I have change for a twenny in my wallet at the moment. But that is rarely the case. I cashed-in a (winning) lottery ticket a couple of days ago and my wallet is brimming with a couple of tens and some coins!
I pay for everything on card. Even that winning lottery ticket.
I’m with the OP in that I try to keep the number of individual bills in my wallet to a minimum regardless of denominations. To the extent that if I buy something for $6.xx and I have a $10 plus multiple $1s, I’ll hand over $12 to receive a $5 bill + coins as my change rather that a handful of singles.
I usually can give change for a $20. It might be 10 ones and two fives.
I get stuck with ones a lot. I buy a burger meal for around $7.00. Use a ten and get three ones. I do that a few times and I have a big stack. Eventually I’ll use them at the self checkout at Kroger. The bill machine doesn’t mind ones.
