Several years ago my father gave me a big wine jug that I started using as a spare-change bank. When I get home each evening, I put all my spare change in the jug. Well, I put the nickels, dimes, and quarters in the jug. I put the pennies in a separate jar. I've filled the penny jar up a couple of times and it comes out to about $20 whenever I cash it in. I always end up cashing the nickel-dime-quarter jug in when it's about one-third to one-half full. And, that usually comes out to about $200-$300. I generally cash it in once a year or so, right before I go on a trip, and use the proceeds as my "spending" money while on the road. For some reason, I haven't cashed it in over the last couple of years, though. And, suddenly, it was full! It's a 4-liter wine jug. Full of nickels, dimes, and quarters. Wow.
So, I decided it was time to cash it in and buy something fun. It is that time of year, after all. So, I emptied it into a canvas bag and...lemme tell you...it was an awfully heavy bag o' change! How much did it weigh? 40 pounds. Oh my.
I dragged my heavy bag of change into the credit union on Thursday to cash it in and find out just how much money it was. Esther had warned me that things had changed at the credit union since the last time I'd taken my spare change in. And, sure enough, they had. The change machine is now in the lobby and is self-service. You start the machine up, punch your account number in, put your change in, and get a print-out of the total. You take the print-out to a video-teller station and get the cash back or credit the amount to your account. Fine. Only...not so fine. It turns out they've got a $100 limit. It isn't clear if the limit is $100 per day...per visit...or what. I wasn't at all happy to see the note about the limit. If you go over $100, the credit union charges a 5% surcharge. Excuse me? My credit union is going to charge me for this? 5%??? I can understand a grocery store charging something if you use their machine. Or a "regular" bank charging since they're in the business of making money. But, my credit union claims to be there for me. Right? Apparently, not right.
So, I stopped the machine when it hit the $100 mark. And, credited the amount to my account. And, I went back the next day. And, the next. And, today. I've cashed in $100 each day. We're up to $400. I can't wait to see the final total. There's still a lot of change to go. By the way, after that first day, I quit taking all the change in when I stop in. I just take a few pounds of change at a time. That 40-pound bag was a bit much to be lugging about. Heh.
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