Buddy, can you spare a dime? (Or thousands of quarters?)
On Saturday, Jason & I stopped by our bank to cash in our spare change. As we got there, a guy was leaving the machine with his receipt and an empty beer pitcher, his fancy coin holder. In front of us, a redneck family (I am not exaggerating) was hauling Tupperware container after Tupperware container up to the coin machine.
“Oh, it’s gonna be awhile,” the mother assured us, as one of her grown sons began pouring coins into the machine’s tray.
“That’s OK,” we said.
“I mean, this here’s 12 years of saving quarters,” she insisted, as the other son returned from outside with some more tubs crammed full of only quarters.
The machine counter already read $612, and they were only through the first tub. Another six or seven tubs sat by the machine.
We watched mesmerized for awhile, as we tried to guess how much money they would end up with, and I pondered how bad the economy must be for someone to finally cash in 12 years of quarters.
“Uh-oh,” one of them said. “We broke the machine again.”
At that point, we bailed next door to kill time at the used CD store while the Redneck Trio finished up. When we returned, they were gone, so we never saw how much money they made. But we made $260 from our fancy coin holder: a giant plastic tub that used to hold beef sticks.
Where do you guys keep your spare change?
Thanks for the reminder–I haven’t rolled change in awhile. Ours is all over the place in little heaps on the dryer, Scott’s desk, my nightstand, etc. I do have a change box on my desk that looks like a vintage British phone booth.
Comment by Nowheymama — October 7, 2008 @ 10:14 am
Wow! I wonder what made them finally cash it all in? Perhaps the economic downturn…
Comment by My Buddy Mimi — October 7, 2008 @ 10:15 am
Wow! I have a jar beside the dryer that says “Girls Night Out Fund” where I stash a lot of spare change. Homer keeps his at the bottom of his sock drawer – not even in a container, just in the drawer!
My friend’s mom and dad used to save all of their nickels and dimes in a jar on top of the fridge. They used the money to buy Christmas presents.
Comment by LoriD — October 7, 2008 @ 10:31 am
I have a piggy bank that I keep on the shelf above my dryer. Every time my husband or son leaves change in their pants pockets, it goes in the piggy.
Comment by nonsoccermom — October 7, 2008 @ 11:08 am
I wonder what made them only save the quarters? My husband puts all his change in an unused paint can. That thing gets pretty darn heavy when it’s full. He also used to use the ol’ college plastic beer cup, but it was just too small.
I collect all the money I get from doing laundry and spend it wildly and frivolously on scrapbooking product!
So, what do you do with your newly aquired funds? Does it always go towards something in particular?
Comment by Me Today — October 7, 2008 @ 11:32 am
We keep ours in a large glass dish that used to house a huge candle. It’s been years since we burned down all the wax, but our change still smells like vanilla.
Comment by Saly — October 7, 2008 @ 11:50 am
I use an old Arizona Green Tea bottle that has been rinsed out. However, it’s getting pretty full so I either need to cash it in or I need to find a new bottle
For my high school graduation my grandmother gave me a jar of coins she had saved for the past 4 years and it had about $300 in it. It was awesome (yet ridiculously heavy).
Comment by sarah — October 7, 2008 @ 11:54 am
A Maxwell House coffee can – the huge kind!
Comment by Christina — October 7, 2008 @ 12:05 pm
In a glass that I won in a debate tournament in college. It never gets full, though, because we use it to buy Diet Coke from the machine in the laundry room whenever we run out.
Comment by Jess — October 7, 2008 @ 12:19 pm
i don’t accumulate too much change, because i am 85% of the way to a personal cash-free society. check card all the way!
but when i DO have change (or when the boy stays over and his change ends up on my floor) it goes in a cute decorated vase from nicaragua.
this totally makes me want to save up change now, though, and miraculously make hundreds of dollars when i cash it in!
Comment by Alice — October 7, 2008 @ 12:55 pm
Oh, man – it is KILLING me not knowing how much change they ended up with!
You guys made a good haul. We keep our change in a 32-ounce yogurt tub. It never gets more than half-full as I raid it to support my not-so-secret pop tart habit.
Comment by Artemisia — October 7, 2008 @ 1:21 pm
I keep mine in an old Bath and Body Works container. Looks pretty at least
Comment by diane — October 7, 2008 @ 2:11 pm
We keep change in the top to a deck of CDs…but there isn’t much other than pennies and maybe some nickles in there, because I raid it to buy Diet Coke at work, and we don’t use cash much. But this does make me want to start. It’s like winning the lottery!!
Comment by Becky — October 7, 2008 @ 4:05 pm
We hardly ever use cash, but what little change we do accumulate goes into a ceramic container my husband’s grandparents gave us for that very purpose. It’s not very big, but it doesn’t need to be. We cash it in anytime it starts to fill up. I can’t stand change lying around. To me, all I see is interest being lost if I save that way!
Comment by Gretchen — October 7, 2008 @ 6:34 pm
Spare change? I keep mine at the gas station, where I buy SNACKS.
I love those pics in your last post. You guys are adorable.
Comment by erin — October 7, 2008 @ 8:16 pm
I think I’m the only person alive without ANY spare change. I never have even a nickel to my name! I never carry cash, so I never get change.
Comment by slynnro — October 7, 2008 @ 10:18 pm
Let me tell you a story about quarters! My mother, Jason’s grandmother, took a container of quarters to the bank to exchange for cash. She had $14.50 worth of quarters. The teller told her that they were silver and she should try to find someone who deals in silver because they were really worth more than 25 cents. They found someone who was buying silver and she received $2 for each quarter! She turned $14.50 into $116!
Comment by Becky — October 8, 2008 @ 6:50 am
Well, we have a semi-fancy ceramic jar that says Wine Fund on it that we keep quarters in, but everything else is in Mason jars or piled on the counter. We do roll change fairly often, though, so there isn’t that much. In college though, I used to keep dimes in an Absolut bottle. Somehow, my hubby wasn’t thrilled with that setup. Huh.
Comment by Shelly — October 8, 2008 @ 8:20 am
We used to keep it in an old coffee tin for that depression era feeling. Then I saw the most adorable ceramic pig and had to have it, so that’s now where we keep it.
Comment by Deni — October 8, 2008 @ 12:20 pm
if only we HAD spare change!!! mine all goes to the tolls i have to pay to go to work every day… isn’t THAT a bitch?!
Comment by Caren — October 8, 2008 @ 1:05 pm
Hello again,
I just found this free camping pumpking carving site and thought of you and Jason:
http://koa.com/familyzone/activities/pumpkincarving.htm
Comment by Me Today — October 8, 2008 @ 2:01 pm