Each night Hubby Tony tosses his change into a glass mug on his dresser. The other day he realized that mug was full, so it was time to take those coins to the bank and cash them in.
There used to be quite a few branches of our bank that had coin machines for
customer use, but since Covid there are fewer that offer
the service. I looked on the bank website and wrote down the closest ones, including two city
branches that were ten minutes apart. In my experience the website isn't
always accurate, and if the first one no longer had a change
machine there would be a second option.
This morning Tony and I decided to combine that errand with a trip to a different branch of the YMCA. I also had a package to mail and decided to take care of it at a post office branch along the way. After breakfast Tony and I gathered our things, got in the car, and headed east.
Tony and I have been to five branches of the Y since we joined
earlier in the year. Each is different and seems to have its own
personality.
During my visit today I realized that the people at this branch were the friendliest I've run into at any YMCA. I was using one of the machines, and the man sitting at the one across the aisle struck up a conversation with me. When a friend of his walked by he also jumped in.
Twenty minutes later I was leaving the
equipment area. The second man was standing there and stopped me to talk
again. When a woman he knew walked by, he introduced her by name. From
there I went downstairs to use the locker room. A man who had been playing
pool started yet another conversation with me. In the lobby the cleaning person looked me in the eye, smiled, and asked how my day was going. All in all, I was quite impressed.
After the gym Tony and I put our things in the car and walked through the nearby blocks of red brick bungalows. When we got back to the car we thought our next stop would be the bank, but my directions weren't the best. By the time we figured out the problem it made more sense to go to the post office first. There was no line and I was in and out of there in five minutes.
The second bank branch was easy to find, and Tony immediately saw the change machine in the far right corner of the lobby. We headed in that direction, but the teller saw what we were doing and told us it was out of order. When I asked, she said as far as she knew the closest working machine was in St. Charles County. Her announcement was disappointing, but we left with coin rolls to fill and return to our local branch.
Back at the car, Tony asked if I wanted a cup of coffee. I did. We stopped at a branch of a small local roaster, where our pour over coffees were served in a beaker.
Five years ago today: 'Willow' It Grow?
Coins are a thing of the past almost
ReplyDeleteI agree.
DeleteMy Credit Union used to have coin machines. I don't know if they still do. I'll have to look next time.
ReplyDeletePlease do, and report back :-)
DeleteMy Mainstreet Credit Union offices in the K.C. area have coin counter machines in their lobby. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteBased on a sample of two (you and Mike), it sounds like credit unions are the way to go if you need to cash in coins.
DeleteBest wishes to you and yours.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Thank you.
DeleteThe Presbyterians have a special offering around Easter called One Great Hour of Sharing (actually there are other denominations who join in on this) so I use my loose coins at that time. We get an origami fish to put together and place our coins in. Then we put our "fish boxes" into a very large fish box in the narthex on Palm Sunday. I never have to wonder how I will get rid of my coins.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds similar to the Catholic Rice Bowl program which my children participated in when they were in school.
Deletethe teacher's credit union where I bank has a coin machine. I think all of their branches have them. Almost every time I go there is usually a person putting coins through it. One day the security guard, who is usually outdoors, had brought an elderly lady into the lobby, carrying her container of coins for her, and put them through the machine. It spits out a receipt that you then take to the cashier and can have it credited to your account. He helped her with that, too. I would never change banking institutions as I have the very best.
ReplyDeleteYou've described how our bank's coin counting system worked back when the banks had functioning machines.
DeleteWe have had the same experiences at our local Ys as well. Each one has different energy and personalities. The problem for us was that the kids had their personal favorite so it made it difficult to settle on a winner.
ReplyDeleteThe larger the group the harder it is to make a communal decision :-)
DeleteI know of someone who purchases ALL of the coins at the end of the day from the coin counting machines at the grocery store,and sorts through them to find valuable old coins.
ReplyDeleteInteresting!
DeleteIts hard to find the coin machines here too. And I've got two cat treat containers full of change.
ReplyDeleteThat spare change adds up!
DeleteI haven't seen a Coin Machine in a while...we just use the change for small purchases. That YMCA sounds pleasant...our Lifetime Fitness is a great Gym but people do not interact unless they already know each other...Dawn the Bohemian
ReplyDeleteThe people at the branch of the Y we use most often sound like the ones at your Lifetime Fitness.
Delete