# What to do with change



## ireflect (Jun 28, 2009)

I have 3 huge jars of change sitting on my dresser. I've already collected the loonies and twonies out of them, so the rest isn't worth the effort to count and roll.

What is the best place to take change to get it converted into bigger money with minimal effort? I know some supermarkets have automatic sorting and counting machines, but they take a cut. Which one takes the smallest cut?


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## George (Apr 3, 2009)

If it's really three large jars, it's almost certainly worth the effort to roll them manually. Coin rolls are free from most banks, and you'll probably end up with $30-$50 worth of coinage when you're done. Remember that rolls of quarters are $10 each, and rolls of dimes are $5 each - those add up quickly.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

You can buy a coin sorter fairly cheaply at Walmart which would speed up the process tremendously. I have an electric one that automatically sorts and rolls the coins.


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## Andrew (May 22, 2009)

There is currently an infomercial on TV for a device what sorts your change for you into rolls quick and easy. You simply just toss the change into the device in one big bunch and it sorts it by size and rolls it up nicely.

The name of the damn this escapes me though. Anyone else know what I am referring to?


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## steve41 (Apr 18, 2009)

First you need one of those nesting plastic sorters which will sort them into the various denominations. These must be cheap... they are simple plastic extrusions.

Now they are sorted by type, go to the stationary store and buy a bunch of the pre-rolled tubes.

Now put the coffee table between your armchair and the TV. During each commercial break... count out a pile of dimes, drop them into a tube, wait for the next commercial and repeat... Bob's yer uncle.


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## iherald (Apr 18, 2009)

ireflect said:


> I have 3 huge jars of change sitting on my dresser. I've already collected the loonies and twonies out of them, so the rest isn't worth the effort to count and roll.
> 
> What is the best place to take change to get it converted into bigger money with minimal effort? I know some supermarkets have automatic sorting and counting machines, but they take a cut. Which one takes the smallest cut?


You're right, it's not worth it. I'll do you a favour and come get rid of them for you if you'd like!  Truthfully, if you know anyone that works at a bigger retail store, they'll often take the change off your hands and give you bills. When I worked at a campus bookstore, they'd take my change since they always needed it at the tills.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

Wow, I didn't know you could get those coin-sorting machines for your home. I'm terrible about using change, so it accumulates for months and then because I don't have time to roll the coins myself I take them to the Coinstar machine, which takes a 10 percent cut. Since I usually process more than $100 worth of coins at a time, that's a pretty sizeable bite. It would make sense for me to get my own coin-sorting machine.


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## investnoob (Jun 29, 2009)

steve41 said:


> Now put the coffee table between your armchair and the TV. During each commercial break... count out a pile of dimes, drop them into a tube, wait for the next commercial and repeat... Bob's yer uncle.


+1 to this. That's what I do. Or, better yet. I have a marathon. I watch God Father 1 and 2, or the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and sort all my change.

I sorted about 900 bucks worth a couple of years ago for a vacation fund. Nickels and dimes do add up (I think I had about 250$ worth of nickels and dimes).


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## lister (Apr 3, 2009)

I used to manually roll coins. Big time waster.

Then I bought a manual coin roller which sped up the process but not significantly.

Then I bought an automated coin roller which sped up the process more but still required babysitting for jams, mis-identifying coins, emptying out slots, feeding more coins in, etc.

Now I just dump everything less than a quarter into the supermarket machines. The cut isn't that bad and is easily worth my time.

Anyone want to buy the coin rollers I have?


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## canabiz (Apr 4, 2009)

Not much to add but I only collect loonies/toonies and quarters. Rest I typically keep them in the car (out of sight so to avoid smashed windows) for coffee or small stuff.

There were some talks earlier that the pennies will be *retired*. I certainly won't miss them.


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## mork (Apr 3, 2009)

I routinley empty the change out of my pockets into a jars - maybe holding back a couple of loonies and a toonie or so for coffee's. But it adds up quickly. I don't have any coin machines (coinstar) in my area so I am forced to do it manually. Same deal - turn on a movie and roll those coins.


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## michika (Apr 20, 2009)

I empty my wallet every Friday of change, and roll it about once a year, or whenever the container fills up. I consistently get over $800, and last time I had a few dollars over $1,000. 

We don't have any automatic change sorters, and the bank will not sort for you. So I usually just put a movie on and roll by hand. It keeps me out of trouble for an afternoon, and I don't mind doing it. Plus its a nice return for only a few hours worth of work if you look at it that way.


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## hylaride (Jun 11, 2009)

TD bank has coin sorters where you can deposit directly into your accounts at a few branches as part of a pilot project. Details here:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=672990


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## Elbyron (Apr 3, 2009)

I never thought coin accumulation could be such a problem! I only use cash if I have to, since electronic transactions are easier to use when tracking expenses. Credit cards are accepted at so many places, why wouldn't I want to accumulate points for free stuff? Anyway, when I have to use cash, I keep my pocket change from accumulating by paying with exact change whenever possible, or at least trying to give the cashier enough so that the quantity of return change is minimized. I'm pretty good at math so I can often figure out my total before getting to the front of the line, and have the change ready. If you optimize your change every time, you'll never have more than 14 coins in your pocket: 2 toonies, 2 loonies, 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. 
I usually drop the pennies into those donation boxes if they have them, so then the max is only 10 coins, with typically only 5 - 8 coins at any given moment. Of course, this requires that you always have your change on hand, but I keep mine in my coat which I usually have with me.


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## coin purse (Jul 3, 2009)

Not sure if this is the same as elsewhere, but some of the Credit Unions in Manitoba have free coin depositing machines. Pretty good deal in that they take no cut.


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## specialk (Jul 14, 2009)

I like a combo idea of some of the stuff said here already. Basically, just suck it up and start rolling a bunch of it (it's money!!), but on the other hand, you can hold back a bunch here and there in your pocket or the car for small purchases like coffee etc. Or just swear off small purchases from any other source in general besides taking from the jars. Good job saving it in the first place though!!


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## dotnet_nerd (Jul 1, 2009)

I don't accumulate change. I carry it around and spend it where possible, trying to minimize breaking of bills.

If you're paying cash at the gas station, count the coinage in your pocket and stop the pump at that amount.


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## brad (May 22, 2009)

dotnet_nerd said:


> I don't accumulate change. I carry it around and spend it where possible, trying to minimize breaking of bills.


I would do this if I were better at doing math in my head. Unfortunately it's not one of my aptitudes: all my life I've had trouble doing even the simplest addition and subtraction in my head, though I have no trouble doing it on paper. If I'm at the counter and the bill is $7.83 it's a lot easier for me to put down a $10 bill than to put down a $5 and fish through my pockets slowly trying to count $2.83 in change correctly while the cashier stares at me tapping his or her foot.  I'm getting better at it but it has taken me more than 40 years of practice.


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## George (Apr 3, 2009)

brad said:


> If I'm at the counter and the bill is $7.83 it's a lot easier for me to put down a $10 bill than to put down a $5 and fish through my pockets slowly trying to count $2.83 in change correctly while the cashier stares at me tapping his or her foot.  I'm getting better at it but it has taken me more than 40 years of practice.


You don't need to give $2.83 in change to cut down on the coinage you receive. The only math you need to do is to figure out the difference between the total of the bill and the next-lowest ten- or twenty-five-cent amount (i.e. $7.50, $7.60, $7.70, $7.75 etc) and add that to the bills you hand the cashier.

In your example, you could give the cashier 3 pennies, and you'd receive two dimes back ($10.03 minus $7.83 equals $2.20). You could also give 8 cents in 'extra' coins and you'd receive $2.25 ($10.08 minus $7.83) in change.

I do this all the time and it really does help minimize the coins you need to carry at any given time.


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## csplice (Jun 20, 2009)

hylaride said:


> TD bank has coin sorters where you can deposit directly into your accounts at a few branches as part of a pilot project. Details here:
> 
> http://www.redflagdeals.com/forums/showthread.php?t=672990


Thanks for the info Hylaride. I am a TD customer and wasn't aware of the project. Since there is a location not far from my home I will be off this weekend with my beer pitchers of coins that don't seem to get rolled on their own. I just couldn't bring myself to give the locat grocery store it's 10% cut.


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## cashinstinct (Apr 4, 2009)

Pay-by-yourself cash registers at stores such as Loblaws and Wal-Mart allow you to throw your change in as a method of payment.

0% fee, you buy something you would have bought otherwise... makes sense to me.


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## ashby corner (Jun 15, 2009)

I often give the change to kids that are collecting for charity.


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## SavingMaster (Aug 1, 2009)

George said:


> If it's really three large jars, it's almost certainly worth the effort to roll them manually. Coin rolls are free from most banks, and you'll probably end up with $30-$50 worth of coinage when you're done. Remember that rolls of quarters are $10 each, and rolls of dimes are $5 each - those add up quickly.


Even one medium-sized jar should net you hundreds of dollars even if you limit yourself to saving nickels, dimes and quarters.

At any rate, I bought one of those Coin Masters you see advertised on television which organizes my change at the end of the day and automatically counts it up for me for wrapping. I look at change as a "Bank the Rest" for my pocket...I don't spend a lot of money on a daily basis so carrying change to avoid breaking bills rarely works out for me.


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## NorthernAlex (Jul 26, 2009)

I have three young kids and I am teaching them the value of money and the handling with money using my change.

We play games like

_- "If you can count the amount of $, which you have exactly right at the cent, I will double it with my change."

- "Can you give me 73 cents in dimes, nickels and cents, and I will give you the 1,50$! How much did you get?"_

When they have roughly 20-30$ in coins, we roll them and my bank will take them without fee.

They always hear while we ride to or from the bank..... "A saved $ is an earned one!"... rofl, like I did from my dad.


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## lb71 (Apr 3, 2009)

I stopped collecting coins years ago for this reason. At the end of the day, you either have to spend time rolling it or it costs you to have someone do it for you. (Although the TD coin collector machines are a nice idea.) I just use them.

My wallet is old and needed to be replaced years ago. The pockets are ripping and I have to be careful about not losing my cards. However, what this wallet has is a coin pocket. I have been trying to find a wallet with a coin pocket for years, and surprisingly they don't make them anymore.


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## domanb (Aug 5, 2009)

I roll everything, from pennies up to twoonies. I'm not sure where the notion of 
'wasting time rolling' comes from. At the end of the day, I put all the change from my pockets into an old cookie jar. After 2 or 3 months, I roll it all up and usually come up with around 100$. It takes about 20 minutes to sort through and roll. This way I get a small trickle back of change on the things I buy, and the money goes straight into a savings account. This way I am paying myself while I'm spending (not that I'm encouraged to break bills just to get change though).


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## Berubeland (Sep 6, 2009)

I have a good relationship with my corner store owner. Small business must pay for coin. They have to pay 5% I think. So he is always happy to change my coins for 20$ or $50.


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