What is your threshold for passing on change?
 

I am a tightwad. Really, I am.

Living in Oregon were we don't have sales tax that means if I use cash (different topic, I am cashless now) I don't get or need change as much as states with sales tax.

In my youth, I would pick up anything. Now, I often will leave change in the dish at the cash register. Or tip to clean out my change.

So here is the question: What denomination do I decide to pick up change?

I think for me it is a quarter and above is a mandatory pick up.

What is your threshold value to pick up change?

I almost always pick up change on the ground. I might occasionally pass over a penny, but not usually. I think I did when I was younger, but I don't think I have in years.
If there's a little tray by the register with pennies or change, I don't take or leave any.

I tip where that's normal (even for take-out), and round to even amounts since I'm 99.99% electronic payment. I generally tip pretty good since I tended bar when I was younger.

I've got a jar at home, I think it's a quart jar, full of change.

I've always felt it was bad luck not to pick up change - coins laying on the ground/floor included.

It's not beneath me one bit - in fact - back in the 60's on walks with my Grandfather, I remember seeing him do it - and thought it was very observant of him.

It's not about the money - it's the principle. Different strokes for different folks though....

I was just at the hardware store buying some set screws for my sewing machine fix. Two worked out to $1.01 total. I told the lady at the cash register I had a penny out in the car. She said not to worry about it. I gave her a dollar and went out to the car. Got a penny out of the coin tray and took it in to her. She looked perplexed but I told her I appreciated that they were there and had a good selection of screws/nuts etc and I had been rescued by their being there many times. This was just my way of helping keep the doors open for next time I needed some odd nut that I don't have in my stash.

A story from long ago. Our family is at the beach and we're just walking along. My brother spots a 50 cent piece in the sand. (You remember those don't you? Bigger than a quarter so easy to spot)
He picks it up, shows it to Dad and says "Oh well, not mine!" as he throws it with all his might as far as he can! Dad was just dumbfounded and was like 'Hey! What'd you do that for?'
This was way back in the early '60's so 50 cents was worth 50 cents.

I was driving in the parking lot of the local Harbor Freight and stopped the truck to pick up a penny. My son was embarrassed.
There is no denomination to small for me to pick up.

A penny found is a penny gained. (Or somethin' like that.)

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I worked for a guy, Fred.

Fred squeaked.

Whenever he was having a bad day we'd wait for him to go to lunch across the street then toss some loose change in the crosswalk.

He'd find it on his way back and be happy as a pig in **** the rest of the day.

The real joke though was, we'd get the change from his petty cash box in his office.

I once knew a fellow.
Wouldn't pick up any change on the ground less than a quarter.
Wasn't worth his time.
So he'd drop a quarter next to the coin on the ground and pick them both up.


Local auto parts store decided they'd try out a tube of JB Weld. They JB Welded a quarter on the sidewalk outside the front door. Nobody has been able to pick it up to date.

We screwed a well-worn and over-stuffed wallet to the temporary wooden floor of a commercial reno job and would watch as cheap guys did cartwheels being nonchalant and discreet trying to pick it up without breaking stride.

That was before lawyers, I think.

As would be expected, an unattended stray fiddy-cent piece would not last long so a kid heated one up really, really hot and ‘accidentally’ left it on the soapstone counter in chem class.

Kid’s probably still in prison.

I will always pick up a penny. An old habit. I figured if I need to pay for something with a total one cent over like $10.01 or whatever, I could use it and not end up having to split a dollar and get .99 back. It was a challenge to use as many pennies as I could at any transaction in order to have the fewest left in my pocket. I don't pay with cash that much anymore but old habits still rule.

And then there is paper money which I have picked up every now and then. Back in my college days, my friends and I were leaving a midnight showing of the Rocky Horror Picture Show. The lobby had paper money scattered all over it. Everyone else thought it was play money, folks would show up for that show in costume and equipped with all kids of props. I was about getting run over by everyone trying to leave but collected near $50 in 5s and 1s.

People dreaming they are finding money all over the place is very common, apparently.

I leave pennies behind and pick up the other coins.

Presumably, your grandfather lived through the depression. I don't think those folks would pass any opportunity to collect items of value. I wish I'd known my grandfather better as an adult, but I suspect I wouldn't have asked about history much as a young adult.

Wow, that's weird. I'd never have done that at any age.

When I stop at the local Taco Bell, they often ask if I want to "round-up" for college donations. I do not do that.

I have occasionally found cash on the ground, usually in parking lots. I think up to $100. But it's been a long time since that happened. I assume fewer people having/using cash, and I am out and about at stores less than I used to be.

For the last 20 years my cousin will just dump any change he receives, smaller than quarters on the sidewalk outside the business. He figures homeless and kids will pick it up. It is meaningless to him, and makes a big difference to some others.

Personally I don't pick up much under a quarter. If I see a dime in a very easy to get place I will pick it up. All I do with the change is take it home and throw it in a small basket on a shelf in my closet. When the basket gets full, I cash it in. I use very little cash anymore, mostly plastic which is much faster and no change in my pockets. It has likely been 10 year since I cashed in my change, and the bucket is only 60 percent full, so it will be many years to go before it needs to be emptied.

I hate having change in my pocket, so I generally would take whatever I got and put it in whatever local charity jar that was on the counter. That said, I honestly can't remember the last time I paid cash for something, I almost universally just put it on the card. It's easy, no change, and I can accurately track all my spending at year end. I carry a spare $100 or two in my wallet for emergencies and I think I've had the same bills in there for over a year.

I always throw my change in the bucket at the end of the day. Did it for decades, but with cashless and amazon that has slowed considerably in the last ten years or so; still the bucket got pretty heavy after a while. Eventually I had it on wheels, ha ha.

I also have a very good friend who lives in an apartment, and has to use the coin-op washer and dryer. A few years ago, I started giving her 100 bucks in quarters on her birthday to use for the w/d, just on a whim. It was well received, so I kept it up and finally this year I got through my stash. 500 bucks in 'free' quarters that went to an appreciative recipient. I still have oodles of dimes and nickels left over...

My grandfather talked of the days of the great depression. He worked for Amour and Co from the day they opened until the day they closed down for good. He said in worst days of the depression the managers called a meeting of all employees. He was told there would be no firings or layoffs, BUT, they did not have enough work for everyone. They had to share a job, so grand dad only worked every other day. In a time he was making what is pocket change now in a week. He would have fought for a penny. But that was a loaf of bread, or a quart of milk for his family.

I never even look at the price of the food I am buying. It is whatever it costs. I swipe the card, and forget it. I see the charge a day later when I download the transactions. I am not going to skip buying food whatever the price.

Yep, many/most/all of us here are likely super fortunate. I hear all of the talk about the cost of gas. I rarely even notice the cost. I need gas to go places, so I get gas. I supposed if I frequently drove many/high miles, the cost might be more important to me.

I am pretty sure I am the luckiest guy who frequents this place. I think maybe a lot of people do not appreciate how fortunate they are, maybe most people.

You hit it from the side, rather than try to pick it up.

About the only coin I will not pick up is a penny that is not heads up

I once read that it's not worth Bill Gates time to pick up a $100 bill as he makes more on interest of his accounts than it takes the 2-3 seconds to pick up the bill. :eek:

I move the money around in the hopes a little kid will find it and it makes their day.

Yep, no doubt folks like Bezos, Gates, whoever the new Apple guy is, Warren Buffet, etc... make money faster than I can spend it.

Still, that's a silly statement. It's not like he stops making money if he bends down to pick up $100.

A friend and I were walking home from a bar in the keys, feeling no pain when we stumbled across what looked like a spilled change purse on the sidewalk. Dozens of quarters, nickels, dimes.....

After the shaking of the heads, and the do we really see what we see dialog, we bent over to try to collect our newfound 'loot'. All of the coins were neatly glued to the sidewalk.

Luckily we don't have pennies here because I can't bend over like I used to be able to :D

Neil Degrasse Tyson on picking up change and Bill Gates.

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Being a germaphobe, I don’t pick up coins. I will pick up paper money though.

Which reminds me, years ago I was in a bar and I saw a $20 bill on the floor. As I went to pick it up, it went flying off. A guy had it rigged up to some kind of quick wind and pull that trick all night long on everybody. It was humorous.