15 Best Places To Find Loose Change
Every year, people find more than $10 billion in spare change beneath couch cushions and on street corners. The typical American pocketed more than $600 in change from their everyday purchases. There are a lot of best places to find loose change, and collecting spare change may greatly increase savings.
Author:Emmanuella SheaReviewer:Camilo WoodJan 24, 2024707 Shares39.3K Views
Every year, people find more than $10 billion in spare change beneath couch cushions and on street corners. The typical American pocketed more than $600 in change from their everyday purchases. There are a lot of the best places to find loose change, and collecting spare change may greatly increase savings.
Being vigilant about picking up spare change won't make you rich, but it may add to your savings. The intention of this article is purely recreational and not to dissuade anybody from seeking financial success; it only offers a list of potential locations to look for spare cash. Think of it more as an exciting adventure while you're out and about.
Vending Machines
Thanks to the proliferation of credit card machines, this isn't as common as it once was. However, it never ceases to amaze me how many people either don't care to verify the coin return or don't even bother if the machine still utilizes coins.
One good place to look is at vending machines, but other options include parking meters, u-scan machines, and even payphones (if you locate one). To the extent that it takes coins, it will have a coin slot return.
Even though most people look in the coin slot, you should also habitually check the top and bottom of the vending machine. It's not uncommon for individuals to drop coins and watch them slide under the machine without getting them. Coins like these may be tricky to come by, but with a little ingenuity, you can usually pull them all out.
Junk Drawer Purge
If your house is anything like the vast majority of them, you probably have a trash drawer. Search it for gift cards. Find out how much value is left by calling the number on the back of the card. The plastic is holding on to that free money. Make use of it before you lose it.
Drive-Thru Windows
The drive-thru remains open even while the restaurant is closed, yet customers often see money scattered all over the floor. People don't even bother to pick up the pennies that they drop.
Since most drive-thrus are open around the clock, you may try to sneak a peek at slower times to see if anything catches your eye.
Bars
Check the parking lot, as well as the flooring around the bar, tables, and booths. Look on top of and below pool tables, jukeboxes, video games, and the dance floor. If the pub has outside volleyball courts and you possess a metal detector, you could want to inquire whether you can detect them after hours.
If they say no, you might always volunteer to help find any reported missing rings or jewels. Many times, this offer will quickly turn a no into a yes. Even if it doesn't happen right away, the first time you come to the rescue of a customer who has misplaced a piece of jewelry, you will very certainly have unrestricted access to metal detection in the courts.
By The Cash Register
If you look closely enough at the floor of a store's register the next time you go shopping, you will almost certainly find some pennies.
When you see that someone is too lazy to pick up their dropped currency, you may scoop it up.
There are several accounts of employees who, on their own, scoop up money near the register and may earn more than $30 each month.
Shopping Center Parking Lots
Parking lots are a certain place to discover spare change. On occasion, valuables like jewels and money may be discovered. Because it is possible to discover cash concealed within a folded receipt, it is imperative that you examine all envelopes and folded receipts. Try to find cigarette packets as well; these can contain hidden cash.
A good place to look for a shopping center is Aldi's, where customers are required to put down a quarter in order to get a shopping cart. Shoppers may reclaim their quarters after returning their carts by locking the cart in front of their returned cart. Many consumers are too busy or too sluggish to think about returning their cart, so they just leave it in the lot and take the quarter.
Coin Operated Wash
Seek to find all the vacant bays above the control panel box where you input the money if your neighborhood has a coin-operated vehicle wash; this occurs more often than you may expect. There are also change machines that you may use.
In most cases, after washing a vehicle, the person will forget to remove the quarters from the top of the sink.
In spite of the filth, there are some areas, like the outside vacuums, that are cleaner. Sometimes, you may discover as much as ten dollars in change if you can remove the canister. Occasionally, even more. After unclipping the vacuum, you should be able to see what's within. Check out this video for the step-by-step recipe. Not to worry if it has a lock on it since it can't be opened.
To reiterate, this is very unclean, but it almost guarantees success every time.
Coin Operated Landry
Lounging about is probably in your future if you have to use a coin-operated laundry to wash your clothing. This is a great spot to locate money.
In case you ever find yourself bored, try checking on the floor around the machines—or even under them if you can reach it—for clues. There are certain machines that allow you to open the top and look inside to see whether there are any coins around the base.
Many individuals, similar to those at the car wash, tend to drop pennies and then watch as they roll under the machines.
Movie Theaters
The floors beneath the seats in a movie theater are the most effective spot to hunt for lost money and other belongings. You should examine the parking lot, but the floors under the seats are the most significant.
When the moviegoer gets up, the seat automatically flips up, and the coins and everything else that is on the seat fall to the floor. Coins will slip out of pockets or be laid down between the legs of the moviegoer, and then the moviegoer will forget about them.
The majority of individuals leave during the credits while it is still dark in the cinema, and they are unable to see or even hear what has just occurred. All that is required of you is to wait until the credits have rolled and the lights have come on, and then do a cursory examination of the floor where you are standing.
Stop By Aldi!
For its shopping trolleys, Aldi, a grocery store business with more than 1,500 outlets, uses a novel technique.
Also, you are already familiar with this bargain grocery store if you have bought there before. If that isn't the case, I'll clarify the relevance of broken currency.
In order to use the shopping cart at Aldi, you must insert a quarter into its slot. You may find this area next to the store's front. When you've finished your grocery shopping, you'll need to put the cart back where you found it so you can get your quarter. To retrieve your quarter, all you have to do is click a lock on it from the cart ahead.
Let me get this one straight. A lot of people don't put the carts back, so you can just steal them and use the coins for yourself.
Coinstar Machine
People utilize the Coinstar machines, which are common at Walmart and supermarket stores. For those who aren't acquainted, it will accept your coins and either turn them into cash (for a charge) or a credit card.
So, here's the deal: these machines are so noisy while they're processing money that most people won't even notice when the coins reach the "rejected" bin. Even computers can make mistakes, so this bin shouldn't be spewing out coins that aren't legal tender in the United States.
A lot of people forget or don't bother to check as they leave the shop, so the next time you're on your way, stop by the machine and peek into the rejection bin to see if you can uncover some coins. It is possible that you could come upon valuable foreign objects or coins.
Melted Snow Piles
When clearing big parking lots, the snow plow will gather all the snow and any other debris on the pavement and dump it into big mounds in one spot. This spot stays the same all winter, so the snow and rain keep falling onto the mound.
Because the snow pile will gradually reduce, revealing fresh treasures every warm day, you should check on it many times as it melts. From one dollar to twenty dollars, I have discovered various gadgets, coins, jewelry, keys, and cash.
Any Public Seating Area With Cushions
For the same reason that the cushions on your sofa collect loose change, the cushions on the chairs and couches in the mall will do the same thing. The optimum time to check would be later in the day since you can rely on the fact that the custodians are aware of where all of this loose change is located.
Additionally, they will check and remove all of the loose coins at the end of the workday, which will make the morning time less beneficial. It is also possible to make a lot of money working at a restaurant booth; however, you should certainly wash your hands before you eat.
Gas Stations
Around the petrol pumps, you may discover a few pennies if you're lucky. A few minutes of folks emptying their garbage cans as they fill up their gas tanks may be necessary.
They run the risk of dropping some cash on the floor while they're doing it. If the gas station has a shop, you should definitely check it out. Some coins could be lying about at any given time.
Thrift Stores
Dedicate a half day to perusing the aisles of a local secondhand shop. As many individuals like keeping their money under wraps, it is possible that someone gave an item with concealed funds without recognizing it. On the other hand, a loved one may have given everything without looking through it first after someone died.
Look in all the unexpected places—in the inside of garments, within books, behind picture frames, etc. Any place there may be money, you should go find it. You may even look under the sofa's cushions. The most important thing is that no one should suspect anything.
FAQs - Best Places To Find Loose Change
Where Is The Best Place To Buy Change?
Place a container, bottle, or real piggy bank on your desk, in the bedside drawer, atop the clothes dryer, or on the center console of your automobile if you like to accumulate loose change there. Then you'll always know where to put your spare change whenever you get it.
Where Can I Find A Lot Of Change?
Many antique stores have old coins for sale. Where can one locate coins? Sometimes it's best to search in places that are often unoccupied, unnoticed, or not regularly visited, including under bridges, in attics, and in areas with posthole banks.
Where Is The Best Place To Find Old Coins?
Check the Spaces Beneath Your Sofa Upholstery. Your sitting cushions protruding from your sofa or a deep depression between them are telltale signs that there is likely a great deal of neglected belongings within. One of the best areas to hunt for spare change is right here.
Where Do People Keep Loose Change?
For regular quarters, you may find them in a wide variety of places, including banks, supermarkets, convenience shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, fast food joints, vending machines, and even laundry facilities. For anyone in need of a substantial number of quarters—ten dollars or more—banks are the ideal choice.
Final Thoughts
These are the best places to find loose change, whether you need it for financial objectives or just to make ends meet. You probably won't uncover a ton of money, but even little sums may build up.
Finding spare change isn't a certain way to strike it rich, but it is a thrilling pastime. If you look at the ground before you go out, you'll remember these spots. You may be amazed at how fast the spare change you discover accumulates. It may not seem like much now, but it can build up.
Jump to
Vending Machines
Junk Drawer Purge
Drive-Thru Windows
Bars
By The Cash Register
Shopping Center Parking Lots
Coin Operated Wash
Coin Operated Landry
Movie Theaters
Stop By Aldi!
Coinstar Machine
Melted Snow Piles
Any Public Seating Area With Cushions
Gas Stations
Thrift Stores
FAQs - Best Places To Find Loose Change
Final Thoughts
Emmanuella Shea
Author
Camilo Wood
Reviewer
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