Rolling Pennies

Jeff Foxworthy made a joke about being broke years ago. He called this extreme state of having nothing "rolling pennies for gas broke." You may have been there before- rolling up your change to see how much you have accumulated. Maybe you have one of those giant Coke bottles with years worth of pennies in it. It's change. It's not even a dollar and a dollar won't buy you anything anymore. So why keep track of it? It's the last thing you think about using to pay for things but maybe the coins should be spent first.

I got a coin bank for Christmas that counts the change as you drop it in. I'm going to keep funding it until I have twenty dollars or so just to see how long it takes. It's a fun thing to have, but hanging onto your change won't bring you any great return.

More than likely your change is spread out throughout the house and the car. When was the last time you checked the seat cushions in the couch? How about the console in your car? Chances are you have several dollars worth of change in places that you may never find.

You know those annoying ladies in the checkout line who dig through their purses to find the exact change to give to the cashier while you wait patiently? Well, that's me. No, I have not become a little old lady. But I spend the change in my pocket and here's why.

Spending change keeps dollars in my pocket.
Dollar bills are easier to keep track of so I don't misplace my money (usually).
Dollar bills are harder to spend so I think harder about breaking that dollar.
My pockets are a whole lot lighter withour all that change going jing-a-ling-a-ling.

It's all part of the psychology of spending your money. I also spend smaller bills first. Again, the larger bills are harder to let go of. The smaller the amount of the currency the easier it is to let it go.

And one more thing: If you find a penny and it is heads up, that's good luck. Pick it up. I say if you find any amount of money it's good luck no matter which way it's facing! I dropped some money in the Lowe's Foods parking lot not long ago. I went back to find the twenty five dollars but it was long gone. It must have landed heads up and made someone's lucky night!