28 May 2010
Tales from the Sale: People and their Money
"Tales from the Sale" -- do you like that? I just made it up. It may or may not be a series. But you see a lot of things when hundreds of people tromp across your lawn over a two-day period.
After approximately 10 hours of watching people pay for things at our garage sale, I couldn't help but marvel at all the different ways people keep track of their money. Not in a budgeting, thriftiness kind of way, but physically. It seems every person who bought something at the sale had a different way of holding their money on their person.
Men come with new wallets, old wallets, really old wallets. They come with coin pouches, or with their change just jangling around in their pockets. Sometimes a bunch of dollars are individually wadded up in their pockets. Some women keep their money like this too. Some of them keep the wadded up dollars in their purse. Big purses, small purses, fancy purses, ugly purses. Some ladies keep their money in with their reading glasses or their photo ID. Some ladies have smartly appointed pocketbooks with a zippered middle for nice, straight bills in descending denomination order and a separate pouch for coins. Some ladies couldn't find those two quarters they just know they have in the bottom of their purse to save their souls. I think my favorite was the short Asian man with the broken English who kept a vast assortment of ones and fives folded in half, clipped together with a binder clip.
I personally have a black bi-fold wallet with an attached coin purse. The wallet part snaps shut, but the snap only stays about half the time now. I bought it at a garage sale after the zipper on my old one gave out. I do that whole descending denomination order thing, too. It's just easier that way! And I have absolutely no shame in being the person who holds up the line for 10 more seconds while I find my exact change. No sirree.
How do you keep your foldin' money?
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6 comments:
Very interesting. I bet you saw all sorts of characters while doing the sale. I'm sorta afraid of garage sale people ;) I'm afraid of the hagglers and early birds. that's probably why I always chicken out and take my stuff to good Will.
I keep my money in a small silver case that looks like an old cigarette case. I like the ambiance ;)
Early birds can be dealt with, as we proved that weekend. Maybe I should write a post about that! And hagglers aren't really scary -- I think they're fun, but at the worst I guess they're annoying.
I still can't go to garage sales, too personal I think. My mom took us garage sale-ing with her every Saturday morning, the worst is when it was a classmates house. Awkward. Now estate sales I can do :)
I keep my monies in a velcro wallet I bought at the Sanrio store (when they had one in Quail Springs Mall) when I was maybe 13. Little glittery hamsters :)
My cash is fairly scattered. Some is in the little bag made from ties that Joel bought from you for me, some in the small pocket of one of my purses, and some folded neatly inside a small wallet/card-holder thing. Coins are anywhere and everywhere... Though I rarely actually use cash anymore...
I don't carry cash unless I am out of town. I keep it folded in my little 4x3 wallet. The bills are in order.
I used to use a binder clip, too! And not all that long ago. It's the same thing I use to hold manuscripts together. I'm just too clumsy to manage holding the clip well and avoid dropping my money. *sigh*
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