I noticed something about myself yesterday. I have been trying to grasp our budget and shake the shit out if it, and I am actually thinking differently about money for once in my life. Took me long enough!
Back when I was a sophomore in high school, one of my first jobs was working as a coin machine operator in the back vault of a local bank. My job was to roll change into the paper rolls and to bag up coin into certain denominations and dollar values for the bank to send off. Money would come in from all the different area stores. My job was to take all these stray bags of coin and fill up one bag of quarters, one bag of dimes, etc. I do not remember the dollar amount that the machine filled the bags. Let me tell you what. I acquired arm muscles from that job. I had Popeye calves from all the walking that I had to do and now I was getting the arms to match. The bags were heavy as fuck and I was getting definition in my arms and stomach! I could pick up Fred like he was a feather. I worked that job for about a year. Bank managers were a dime a dozen. I left because the last one wanted to lock me up inside the vault until it was time to leave. If I had to go to the bathroom, someone had to get her to come and let me out. I was doing my job fine. I was cleaning out the vault every night but the bitch did not want me talking with the tellers. I was a different class of person in the bank, I guess. The reason I am telling you all this is because money just became part of a job. I did not look at all that money and think I want it, I can buy shit! Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!. I looked at it as another dirty day at the bank. Money is filthy.
Now my homes have never been super duper clean. When I was younger and had more energy, they looked nice and they were tidy. The living room, dining area, kitchen and bathroom were always clean enough just in case company came over. Bedrooms were always a wreck! Fred had and still has a problem with dropping his change everywhere out of his pockets. I would sure as shit pick up the quarters but the rest I could care less about. Up until recently, if I was sweeping and a couple dimes or nickels ended up in the dustpan, they would get thrown out with the rest of the dirt. Now that I type it out, I realize how much money I probably tossed over the past 26 years. Don't think I am a dummy. If there was a ton of change on the floor, I would pick it up. But I was not going to heave my fat ass over for every single solitary Lincoln.
Yesterday I got a cleaning streak in me and ran with it. I straightened up the living room and dining room and vacuumed. But something changed. I was picking up every single coin I found and putting it in my pocket. Then they went straight into my jar here in the dining room. I did not throw away that one dime with the rest of the dust. I picked it up. Same with the pennies. I have a new love of money that makes me realize something. My Dad would get a nickle. He would see a double feature movie plus a newsreel, get candy, soda, and popcorn and still have a couple pennies left over. He lived thru the Great Depression and I am sort of too. I will take those pennies, nickles, and dimes to the bank. I will run them through the coin counter, and I will deposit that money or use it if I need it.
Don't just pick up all the pennies that are just heads up for luck. Pick them all up and save them for a rainy day. See how much money you can save if you actually turned in all the coins you have accumulated.
We have a large jar that we have never filled. We have gotten halfway and that was over $50 in coin when it was all said and done. If your bank does not have coin counting, you can always use a Coinstar machine at your local Walmart or grocery store. They do charge you pennies on the dollar but you still get your change converted to cash. They also have it now where you can convert your coins into iTunes money and different gift cards. You can also do it the old fashioned way. You buy paper rolls at places like Walmart. You roll the coins yourself. Put your name on the outside of each one, and then you turn them in to be deposited into your bank. Do not cheat! Make sure you have the right amount of money in each. The tellers will be using those coins to count out cash and if it is wrong, you will screw up their count at the end of the night. Here is a webpage that shows you the amounts for each coin in a roll.
I hope I gave you a new perspective on all that change you got floating around in your house and car.
It is a foggy warm Monday here in my neck of the woods. I will be doing the strawberry jam today. I finished the lavender yesterday. Very damp day! Yuck!
Hope you are having a good case of the Mondays.
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