bank all my loose change

How I did it: I work in a bar (in a British pub setting), and it's a peculiar job because it has two sources of income - that for which you are contracted, and the perks that come from satisfying customers' demand for good service -- namely tips.

Often, bar staff use their wages to feed important, larger purchases, and get by using their tips to buy every day items.

Due to their nature though, (tips are just that - small change which slowly, slowly accumulates) it can take a long time to change tips into 'real money', so I'd always end up with lots of loose change it would be unfeasible to carry with me.

Over time a lot of this change accumulates on my desk to the extent that it becomes a hindrance and needs to be swept aside when using the computer.

Eventually my obsessive-compulsive tidiness side had literally had enough, and decided to count it. At the time I didn't have a bank account, so I used the CoinStar machines in the local ASDA to change my loose change into a cash-exchangeable voucher (for a fee of 0.0725 in the pound - or something unremarkable like that anyway).

Now it's a regular habit, and I make the trip frequently.

Lessons & tips: While struggling to last out the week until the next pay day, and
needing to survive on budget foods like noodles - never mind being able
to afford luxury non-essentials - look down the back of your sofa, collect change from shopping for which you don't care in the one place for convenience sake.

Then when the time is right, simply take your change to the bank (be sure to have it correctly counted and bagged though, they may refuse it otherwise) or CoinStar machine (I hear they operate machines in the States and other countries too).

Failing that you could always try local shops and small businesses. Nobody likes keeping change around, unless they're expected to supply it - and small businesses exactly fit that description. They'll likely be only too happy to take it off your hands.

Resources: http://www.coinstar.co.uk

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Apr 04, 06:35AM PDT | 0 comments | 1 cheer