Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Managing Change (as in currency)

In our home, we have two mugs that are "drop boxes" for coins found around the house.  I just scoop up the coins left by my husband when he empties his pockets, and in they go.  As the mug gets full, I have a small oatmeal box in a cupboard that will hold a year's worth and I empty the coins in there.  Once a year, I roll all the coins and take them to the bank for a nice surprise (often $70 or more). 

Suze Orman suggests that if you want some extra spending money in your budget each week, pay only with bills for everything and collect the change into a cup.  She says many people will rack up an extra $10 per week doing this.  (I haven't tried it, but it intrigued me!)

With traveling, sometimes foreign coins get mixed into the change cups.  What to do with them?  I recently sent all our British pounds with our son who is studying there for the spring, but there was also a pile of Euro coins.  I've gathered them into a baggie as a "tip pack" for if someone ever needs them.  There are banks that exchange currency if you have an amount worth exchanging.

Anyone have any hints with this?

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