Comments on: We Spend Coins Faster than Bills

By: Car Insurance Phi

Car Insurance Phi — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:30:12 +0000

I absolutely see your point on this, but I tend to never spend my change and end up having a thick wallet full of lesser bills.

By: Randy @ Buy Morgan Dollars

Randy @ Buy Morgan Dollars — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:43:28 +0000

Great study. I always spend my loose change like it is burning a hole in my pocket. I never really count my change so I don’t know the total that I have.

My wife uses her version of the envelope system. She has money in piles all over the house set aside for various bills and expenses. It does work

By: Lindsay

Lindsay — Mon, 25 May 2009 05:23:24 +0000

I suppose it depends on the person. The only time I spend coins is if I’m going through the drive through at the coffee hut or something and I have nothing better to do than find exact change (I tend to just dump whatever coins I get in my drink holder in the car). These days coins almost seem so worthless that it’s hardly worth the effort to carry them around and try to use them.

Yay for inflation. :\

I do believe that psychologically I’m a lot more likely to spend money I never see (as with a swipe of the old debit card) than bills.

By: Weekend Reading: Can You "Digg" It? | Man Vs. Debt

Weekend Reading: Can You "Digg" It? | Man Vs. Debt — Sat, 23 May 2009 14:26:59 +0000

[...] The Happy Rock: We Spend Coins Faster Than Bills [...]

By: Debt Destroyer

Debt Destroyer — Thu, 21 May 2009 03:03:42 +0000

Thanks for taking the time to comment.

@ Baker – The envelope system has helped me too.

@ The Weakonomist – My summer reading list is already pretty long, but if I need a change of pace I will take you up on a book recommendation.

@Lulu – About how long does it take to find a roll of pennies lying around?

By: Lulu

Lulu — Tue, 19 May 2009 13:59:59 +0000

I don’t carry cash so I don’t have the problem of carrying coins around. I do pick up pennies I find on the ground and those go in a sandwich bag at home until I have enough to roll and take to the bank.

By: The Weakonomist

The Weakonomist — Tue, 19 May 2009 00:43:28 +0000

The high dollar deonominations came as no surprise to me when I heard about this a few weeks ago. What I didn’t hear about was the coins, that really does surprise me.

It sounds like you’ve been turned on to the world of behavioral finance, welcome! If you want some book ideas shoot me an email.

By: Baker @ ManVsDebt

Baker @ ManVsDebt — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:08:07 +0000

Very interesting. I love these type of studies. I absolutely agree that I tend to spend coins more than dollars. I also cave in when spending ones much more than when breaking a twenty.

We use the envelope system to help fight this a little. For example, I’m far less likely to pull coins or dollars out of an envelope marked groceries, than to spend them if they were just in my pocket.

Cool stuff!