Do you do the penny toss?
Actually I would hope none of us here do this but you never know… I’m talking about those who habitually toss pennies out the car window so they don’t have to deal with them.
Since I ride a motorcycle I get a chance to get a close look at the ground while waiting for traffic lights to change or at stop signs.
Usually I find a couple a week along with the odd nickel and even quarter… and yes I hold up traffic while I bend down and pick them up. (Wave with middle finger to horn honker as I pull off… Money is IMPORTANT!!)
Though I’ve noticed that as the economy has gotten worse the amount of spare change to be had has decreased a bit. I guess some of them have figured out pennies are actually worth something.
To be honest I’ve never understood literally throwing money away. I knew a gentlemen who was born in poverty and died a millionaire who had a simple saying…
“If You Watch The Pennies The Dollars Will Take Care Of Themselves”
Do any of you look for spare change lying on the ground and pick it up or are pennies too much to bother with for you? (I also admit to checking every pay phone I pass and glancing at the coin returns on vending machines too… once in a while you get a Bonanza.)
Photo credit: stock.xchng.
I’m all about picking up spare change off the ground. We have a big water jug at home that the spare change goes into and that’s going to be spending money for our trip to Amsterdam.
Oh, while I’m doing the laundry I also collect the spare change my partner leaves in his pants. And I’m not above looking for lonely quarters in the laundry room at our apartment complex, either.
I live in a capital city and we have a lot of homeless folks in town. I carry food, usually granola bars, but sometimes other food and sommetimes clean/new socks to give them. I’ve had a few of them tell me that drivers will actually throw change AT them. Could you imagine?
I live in a big city and did Americorps for a year. I picked up even gross pennies in the subway, then. My sister didn’t, and I asked her why. She said, “I always figured somebody would have to be really needy to go for those ones.” She made me dinner more often after that…
I don’t pick up change on the street as often anymore, though, now that I have a job with a salary. My girlfriend who’s a grad student does. A penny is a penny is a penny, but picking up a penny isn’t going to impact my finances the way it does for my gf or the way it used to for me.
I used to be sort of picky, like if I saw a quarter or a dollar, I’d pick it up, but if it was just a nickel or a couple of pennies I wouldn’t bother.
Now I pick up everything even one penny, even if it’s a bit inconvenient. Why? Because I decided if I was going to get frugal, I shouldn’t draw the line about how much money is worth my time. Now, in addition to paying attention to the big-picture financial stuff, I do online surveys for pennies, sell books online for a couple of bucks, make sure my receipts are accurate at stores (watch the screen to make sure discounts are applied), send rebate coupons in (even if they’re just for a couple bucks), and put all my pocket change at the end of the day in a jar. I’d say that jar yields $100-$200 per year, so the pennies really do contribute something!
It’s hard to quantify, but I firmly believe that picking up pennies has put me in a more frugal mindset in every part of my life and has empowered me to pay off large amounts of debt and live within my means.
NPR did a story on a family in Long Island who has been picking up ever penny/nickel/dime they found for a year+. They’ve been placing it in a high yield savings account and now have over $4K.
Zach’s comment brings up an interesting thought, based on your income level, should you pick up spare change, or is it your obligation to leave it to those who are less fortunate?
Roland: Am I the only one around here that thinks bending down to pick up a penny is a bother?
For the math geeks reading this, here’s a quirky calculation that can help you decide if it’s worth your time to pick up a penny. The conclusion: if during your work day, leave it, if during your leisure time, then bend down and pick it up:
I always pick up heads-up pennies – they’re good luck! If it’s tails up, I flip it over for the next person.
Other change, I pocket. 🙂
Serena: It took me about 2 years to fill a 5 gallon water jug with the coins out of my pocket tossed in every night. It worked out to about $2500 when I rolled it. Even though I had one of those sets of trays that let you sort the coins by shaking them it still took me 40 hours to roll that much change.
I limit myself now to a quart mason jar.
Debra: I’m sorry to say a lot of people treat homeless people the way you’ve seen/heard them treated. I never thought of passing out clean socks though I have been known to grab a Happy Meal to give to someone.
Zach, Ceejay74, and Meredith: Interesting how our habits change based on our income levels.
I wonder at what income point other things become a bother….say like shopping for clothes at the Thrift Store.
Nina: Seems your not the only one but I’ve never found it a bother..but just a thought…Do the types of clothes you have to wear for your job affect it any???
Dress or Suit vs. Jeans and Casual??
I cannot believe that people would toss out pennies. My mother would have given me or any of my siblings a tongue lashing that we would never ever forget if we did this.
We have been brought up never to step on money (coin or note) and to pick up every cent we see.
I’ve had a plastic sand-bucket that I keep found pennies et. al in… and I frequently find myself with an additional $200 or so when I take it all to the bank to deposit.
Wow. I walk to work every day and rarely, if ever, see change on the street. And trust me, I always look down, because dog owners in the yuppie neighbourhood I work in do NOT pick up after their pets! Perhaps because the streets get picked over by our homeless, there isn’t much left over.
Honestly, though, it’s not the inconvenience of picking up coins off the street that’s a problem, it’s the cleanliness issue that really bothers me. For a quarter, I might make the sacrifice. But for a penny? Really, where will it go? In my pocket? In my wallet? It’s gross no matter what!
Just my two cents! *grin*