A few weeks ago, my wife and I went out with my mom to the mall to help her buy a helmet she can use when driving her motorbike. Yes, my mom drives a motorbike! Cool mom, huh? Well, it’s more like a scooter so it’s perfectly safe. Anyway, while looking through the men’s accessories section (yes, my mom doesn’t mind that we’re shopping under MEN’s accessories), I chanced upon a display of wallets. There’s a small table where you can see and touch all kinds of wallets.
My wife, being the very thoughtful person that she is, saw the wallets and immediately prodded me to buy one! Not for bills, but for my coins! My coins seem to have a life of their own. Most of the time, they are scattered everywhere in the house. You can see them on top of our refrigerator, inside the drawer, scattered on the floor, etc until they are found out by my wife when she cleans the house. And I get that glaring glance that I so love. 🙂
Why am I having a field day about a coin purse? Because having a coin purse reveals an interesting money habit. Why do you think men don’t like carrying a purse? Because it is NOT cool and manly? If you’re a guy, can you imagine yourself mustering the words, “oh wait, let me just bring out my purse”. Only ladies carry a purse. For the most part, that’s what I thought. But when you’re like me who hates carrying heavy coins in his pocket all day, I’ll take that coin purse anytime. And so, on that faithful day…I finally brought my coin purse.
Buying a coin purse is one of the greatest organizing tool I’ve bought for quite some time. Whenever I buy at McDo, KFC, or even at the grocery store, the smiling lady at the cashier would always ask me if I have a spare change or coins? Most of the time, I don’t because I hate bringing coins in the first place. Whenever I have coins in my pocket, I try to empty it out immediately and put the coins inside my drawer. They are too heavy on my pocket. Unfortunately, when I try to have my lunch a few hours later, I (again) no longer have any coins with me. When I am (again) asked if I have a spare coins I can only smile to my teeth and say I have NONE (again).
Since I don’t have the exact change,guess what the lady would give me as change? I get another set of big bulky coins! Yes, another set of coins! When that happens I feel like being penalized for not carrying the exact amount. I guess my pocket is going to be heavy again…for a little while, until I get to dispose it into my drawer. 🙂
So how does having a coin purse make you rich? The answer? It’s in the habit. The habit you cultivate in putting importance to the littlest of things like spare coins is priceless. You learn that when you have more of those little things, they become big. When they become big, their importance becomes more glaring. They can give you something you cannot take for granted. Like for example, having those extra coins allowed me to treat my wife for a simple lunch. Nothing too fancy, just good food from good old coins.
When you have coins, it forces you to use them. Otherwise, it becomes heavy on your pocket. When you use them, you become more precise. How much is that meal again? Oh, PhP85. Let me give you one PhP50 bill, one PhP20 bill and three 5 peso coins. Back when I didn’t have any coin purse, I would have just handed over the PhP100, get my change and forget about it. Let that PhP15 change rot inside my pocket, or my drawer. This time though, that PhP15 never left my wallet. It’s still there, waiting for its chance to be a blessing to me and to other people.
How about you? How do you manage your spare coins?
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6 replies on “Why having a coin purse can make you rich”
I put my coins in my big bamboo alkansya and at the end of the year, I count them out and they usually are in the thousands!!! These I then deposit, to the teller’s annoyance.
I use empty film containers (back in the days of non-digital) for my coins. Perfect size for our 5/10-peso coins!
I thought you will discuss that coins purses will make you NOT bring big amounts of money, thus will lessen spending. ;p
@Topaz, wow! must have been a great feeling to save up thousands in coins…and seeing someone else count it for you 🙂
@Je, I remember seeing those black film containers way back…and I must agree, they totally fit the 5/10 peso coins. Good point on NOT bringing big amounts of money to lessen spending. But maybe not to the point where you only bring coins with you. 🙂
I make Every Peso Count or Every Penny Count so I always bring a coin purse with me. There are two purpose for carrying a coin purse with me all the time!
1. Convenience – It’s small, I love carrying it around!
2. Security – Since I can easily grip it with my hand, I can hide it in a way
3. Saving – I don’t like it when jeepney drivers or taxi drivers taking advantage of me not having a spare coin. It’s very handy!
@Tim, you’re absolutely right. Which reminds me, taxi drivers sometimes don’t ask you for a spare change, they just round it off. Worse, if you pay with a PhP 500 or PhP 1,000 there’s a chance that the driver doesn’t have any bill or coins for change. Sometimes, they even require you to go the trouble of finding a convenience store to have your bill changed. In those times, I wonder which is better, bringing a thousand 1 peso coins or a 1000 bill. It might be fun paying your next taxi fare only with coins 🙂