# How do you organize your money? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 11, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810 "2010-06-11T16:11:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dragwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dragwyr/32/2855_2.png) [@Dragwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragwyr)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/1 "2010-06-11T16:11:57Z")
As I was paying for my lunch today it occurred to me that I’m one of the few guys who uses a change purse to make it easy to find all the coins in my pocket. That got me to wondering how most people organize and physically keep track of their cash. If you are a guy, do you use a wallet? Do you use a change purse? Do you use a money clip? Do you use a purse (European Carry All)? If you are a woman, what do you use? I’ve tried to arrange the poll to cover all possibilities, so lets see what we can find out. BTW, I use a standard men’s wallet and a homemade change purse made out of duct tape. ---
**Author:** ![Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@Sleeps\_With\_Butterflies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sleeps_With_Butterflies)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/2 "2010-06-11T16:15:21Z")
Female here. I carry a purse with a wallet in it. I throw all of my change into a zippered pocket of my purse and empty it when I get home. I started saving all of my change a few years ago and at the end of the year I use it to send care packages to soldiers. After two years of just using coins I started saving all of my singles and now I’ve added fives. So those all get tossed into the zippered pouch to be dumped later. The ten dollar bills and higher get put back into my wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/3 "2010-06-11T16:16:28Z")
What poll? Guy, I carry a wallet for the notes (not that I seem to have many these days) and pockets for change. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/4 "2010-06-11T16:20:17Z")
I don’t leave the house with coins and I pay for just about everything with a credit card, but on the occasion I receive change in coins I stick them in my pocket loose, then move them to a bowl on my dresser at home. Whenever the bowl’s full I bring it to the bank and it gets split between my two daughters’ college funds. I keep bills, driver’s license, ATM card, insurance card and a credit card in a money clip. I’ve never needed anything more than that in the last 20 years or so. Actually, the only other thing I need regularly is the ID tag to get into the gym, but I keep that in a pocket of my gym bag. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/5 "2010-06-11T16:21:31Z")
I have a wallet that contains my driver’s license, various business cards and store courtesy cards. In my front pocket I have an old cigarette case with my actual money and credit cards in it. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/6 "2010-06-11T16:32:06Z")
Guy, with the standard wallet for bills, credit cards and whatnot. I rarely carry change anymore however. It mostly gets dumped in the deep ashtray in my car ( I don’t smoke ) and the pennies are periodically cleared out and dumped elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/7 "2010-06-11T16:36:23Z")
Since I typically carry 4 or 5 currencies (sometimes more… currently 7) I carry a zippered pouch, but it’s neither a purse nor a wallet - kinda like a slip case for a laptop (same width) but only half the height. ---
**Author:** ![6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/6/e19adc/32.png) [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/8 "2010-06-11T16:42:56Z")
Notes in bra, coins in pocket. ---
**Author:** ![dogbutler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogbutler/32/428_2.png) [@dogbutler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogbutler)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/9 "2010-06-11T16:55:53Z")
Guy. Bills in the wallet, coins in my pocket. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/10 "2010-06-11T17:21:35Z")
Female - coins go in my pocket if I’m not carrying my purse (like at work), in a small pocket in my purse if I am. For bills I voted the “omg you forgot” option - Female with money clip. ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/11 "2010-06-11T17:23:08Z")
As a matter of security, I don’t keep all of the money on me in one place. ---
**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:** [June 11, 2010, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/12 "2010-06-11T17:24:06Z")
Left front pocket. i do not own a wallet. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/13 "2010-06-11T17:27:42Z")
Female, I keep my bills and credit cards in a wallet, and dump all the change in a pocket in my purse. Or just loose. I actually have a man’s wallet, for when I don’t want to carry a purse. It goes in my back pocket. (The change will then go in my front pocket or the ashtray I have in my car.) ---
**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:** [June 11, 2010, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/14 "2010-06-11T17:31:56Z")
I thought this was going to be about how I organize my bills - lowest denomination in front, highest in back (well, middle, since I fold the bills and tuck them in my wallet). I use a change purse, too, and like to use up the change as much as possible. It makes my money go farther when I break bills less often, and it makes smoke come out of the ears of store clerks sometimes. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/15 "2010-06-11T17:47:51Z")
> [@6ImpossibleThingsB4Breakfast](#): > > **Notes in bra** , coins in pocket. I didn’t realize women actually did that outside of old movies. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [June 11, 2010, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/16 "2010-06-11T18:11:24Z")
Guy- Bills in a wallet and change in my pant pocket… when I have money. I use my bank credit/debit card for pretty much everything these days that I literally go months without ever carrying cash. ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/17 "2010-06-12T03:52:37Z")
I have a change purse/wallet hybrid: it zips up, has slots for credit cards and ID, but you can’t put bills in it full length, you have to fold them up. I keep my cash in a folded wad in there and put change in my pocket, or if no pocket I throw it in the bottom of my purse. I used to keep money in my bra sometimes until I lost $80 at the mall that way. **DCnDC** , my husband also carries a rigid cigarette case in his front pocket, to keep his credit cards from bending and cracking in half. ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/18 "2010-06-12T04:06:10Z")
I interpreted “change purse” for my coins to mean the small zippered compartment inside my purse, where I keep my coins. I also keep my wallet, which contains my paper money, in a larger zippered compartment in my purse. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/19 "2010-06-12T05:50:17Z")
There’s a change purse on the front of my pocketbook, which is where I keep bills and change. My debit card is in a different compartment. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2010, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810/20 "2010-06-12T06:10:02Z")
I don’t really see this among the options. I’m a male, and I use a wallet for both notes and coins. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-organize-your-money/542810.md?page=2)