Man Bought a Car with Spare Change

Posted by L. Marie Dubuque Aug 14, 2008

When I read the article about the 70 year old Ohio man who brought 16 coffee cans full of spare change to the car dealership I was intrigued. Actually the coins only paid for half the car. He wrote a check to cover the rest of the $16,000 vehicle. Still, what a great use of spare change!

I try to save my extra coins. I envision what I can buy with them. But I've found I collect less and less spare change. I get cash back on my credit card purchases. So I try to put as much as I can on my card, even coffee or a newspaper. It works great. I get a check every couple months. It's like a windfall. But that only works if you pay your entire credit card bill at the end of the month. Otherwise you'll pay more in interest than you get back.

Will we become a cash-free society one of these days? I already see it happening. With direct deposit becoming more popular and the use of credit and debit cards rising, will good old fashioned quarters and dollar bills simply disappear? It's happening in Europe, so why not here? I'm prepared for the transition, but I'm not sure I'm ready. No more tip jars at Starbucks? No more coin operated newspaper machines? I guess we'll have to get used to the idea...because there really isn't any other choice.