When I get back from lunch I empty my change out into a small compartment in my desk drawer. Today, as I was culling quarters for laundry ($10.50!) I realized that this was one of my things, the putting of my change into a compartment in my desk. Do other people do this? When I die suddenly in an unexpected stapler accident, will my co-workers shake their heads sadly when they come upon my stash and say in a whisper, “Ah look… that’s so Dave *sniff*”?

Many people (most people?) keep their change on them, recognizing it as viable currency, in case of need. Parking meter? I’m not your guy. To me, change is something that should be disposed of as quickly as possible.

My Dad always has change on him. When he comes home (at least as memory serves) he puts what he has in his pocket on his dresser next to his wallet. In the morning, he sweeps this same pile back into his palm and then into his pocket, ready for use. When I was growing up, he would periodically dump some change into an Apollo (or Mercury) capsule-shaped piggy bank I had… presumably when his additions to his change pile out-distanced his subtractions.

I have another compartment in my apartment. A small wooden box (that looks like it probably has weed in it) that I immediately empty into any change I might have accrued during the night. When it fills up, I dump the contents on to my bed, sort out the quarters (again for the laundry), and then carry the remainder in a double-layer of grocery bags, take it to the market, and have the Coinstar machine spit out a piece of paper representing about $30.

Do other people actually use this stuff, or do we all have coin stashes?