Folding Money

[StanleyVanBuren]

Actually, Americans are known and appreciated worldwide for their big, fat wallets.

That doesn't mean the rest of the world thinks they LOOK good with them, though.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I recently went on a wallet-thinning exercise and bought a new, very thin one...driver's license, insurance card, atm, AmEx, AAA (although, now that I think of it, I should just put that in the car).

I use a money clip for cash, and very little of that...maybe a yuppie food stamp or two. I have almost no need anymore for carrying cash what with ATM/Debit cards working everywhere, it seems. Still, I like to have a little cash for dire emergencies (funny, now that I think of it, I've never actually HAD a dire emergency where 20 bucks would have solved it!).

Now Im not talking bout excessive greed
The kind that puzzled the scribes and pharisees
I dont worship it like a golden calf
But change in my pocket is always good for a laugh

Seen it brighten up the eyes of a child
It even makes the dalai lama smile
Its no relation to the meaning of life
Its a dang fool husband doesnt spring for his wife

A little spending money
Money to burn
Money that you did not necessarily earn
Rainy days seem to wind up sunny
Long as you got a little spending money

I got no financial conscience
Cant worry where it went
A lasting treasure a moment of pleasure
Worth in every cent

Coin or paper, silver or gold
All denominations nouveaux or old
Cant have a turkey without oyster dressing
Its the root of all evil the sum of your blessings

Dont need no armored car or time-locked vault
Dont need a shaker full, just a few grains of salt
You may get by looking good and being funny
But lifes a little less restrained with a little

Spending money
Money to burn
Money that you did not necessarily earn
Rainy days seem to wind up sunny
Long as you got a little spending money
Long as you got a little spending money
Oh give me some spending money

Jimmy Buffett, Spending Money

 

[vintage68]

Hey Scotsman, what exactly is a "Yuppie Foodstamp?"

 

[Chanfan]

I suspect what I call a "Yuppie Food Coupon" - a $20 bill.

I normally carry around $20-40 cash, but use my ATM card if I can. In fact, I've been getting less cash recently, as I tend to not think about how I'm spending it - kind of the opposite of how others seem to do it.

I have a credit card / license holder with a clip for the bills. I have too many cards stuffed into it, even though I try and thin them down from time to time.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I suspect what I call a "Yuppie Food Coupon" - a $20 bill.

I normally carry around $20-40 cash, but use my ATM card if I can. In fact, I've been getting less cash recently, as I tend to not think about how I'm spending it - kind of the opposite of how others seem to do it.

I have a credit card / license holder with a clip for the bills. I have too many cards stuffed into it, even though I try and thin them down from time to time.

Yep...$20 bills. Unless you're in Vegas, of course, where the ATM's dispense hundreds LOL!

 

[farnham54]

It really depends what I'm doing. If I'm out an about on some zany kind of adventure, I tend to stash my cash all over my body--all my pockets, and in a money belt as well. Usually seperated by denomination--in the event of a mugging, you toss over the stack with the least amount, and you get off easy.

If I'm in a suit or tuxedo, money clip all the way. A wallet just ruins the lines.

If its an everyday thing, I carry a wallet. It's a handy spot of incidental cards, business and credit, as well as retirement planning slips (lotto tickets) and the like.

Cheers
Craig

 

[Indy Magnoli]

Normally I start the week with 10 $20 bills folded in my money clip. I carry it in my right front pocket. I also developed a habit of never using the coin change I receive back and saving it all in a jar on my dresser. It adds up nicely. I carry 1 credit card and use it primarily for fuel purchases, it is much easier to track that way.

Whoa... this is exactly what I do!

Whenever I'm wearing a jacket (which is most of the time), I'll also have a long wallet in my left jacket pocket where I keep my larger stash of bills.

Kind regards,
Indy

 

[vintage68]

I read about a great savings idea even better than not spending your coins. It suggests that you never spend your $1 bills. Spend coins freely but save your dollars, they accumulate faster and store easier when it's time to take them to the bank...

 

[Harry Pierpont]

I usually don't carry much cash, $10- $20 unless I'm going antiquing! Then I carry what I can get! Always carry a little extra cash in cyclinder #6.

 

[anon`]

Like many here, I seem to have a slight addiction to plastic (or rather, the fact that I can cancel it, as opposed to a wad of bills). I keep two wallets: one slim bifold that, like a previous poster, I keep my license, debit card and one credit card (just in case) in. The second is just a leather chequebook cover that--conveniently--fits American money just lovely. In the event I have cash, that's where it goes; I find that I'm rather more protective of that, for obvious reasons.

 

[carebear]

Always carry a little extra cash in cyclinder #6.

The wheelgunner's wallet.

 

[Twitch]

I carry a minumum of $300 in a wallet with a "secret" compartment and usually $10-40 elsewhere. I used to carry about $600 when I was in the business world. And I carry a debit card.

 

[Tomasso]

I start every day with $300 cash(three $100 bills), one debit card(5k checking balance) and one credit card(Amex). I use all three, depending on the circumstances.

 

[Martinis at 8]

My Money Clip

My dad gave this to me about 41 years ago. I was an 8-yr. old. He bought it on a business trip in Mexico City. I didn't start using this money clip till about 10 years ago. A few months ago the metal broke where the clip bends. Now I am looking for a similar as a replacement. This clip held my license and a couple of credit cards, in addition to the bills.


http://i112.photobucket.com/albums/n169/auto447019/moneyclip001.jpg

 

[Tomasso]

A few months ago the metal broke where the clip bends.

I've had that happen, it's a relatively easy and inexpensive repair.

 

[Martinis at 8]

I've had that happen, it's a relatively easy and inexpensive repair.

I took it to a jeweler. She does her own gold work. She told me that if she welded it, the break would just occur again at the bend. I guess I need a metal spinner or a sliver smith. What do you think?

 

[Tomasso]

She told me that if she welded it, the break would just occur again at the bend.

Well maybe in another ten years, as the weld should be stronger than the original. I hate to be cynical but she may have been angling for you to replace the entire clip portion, which is a much more expensive option. I shopped my repair job at a dozen shops on 47th(NYC) and nobody advised against the repair. [huh]

BTW, I'm assuming that it's 14 or 18k gold. The repair wouldn't work on plated/filled gold.

 

[Martinis at 8]

Well maybe in another ten years, as the weld should be stronger than the original. I hate to be cynical but she may have been angling for you to replace the entire clip portion, which is a much more expensive option. I shopped my repair job at a dozen shops on 47th(NYC) and nobody advised against the repair. [huh]

BTW, I'm assuming that it's 14 or 18k gold. The repair wouldn't work on plated/filled gold.

Actually it's just anodized metal. It cleans nicely with silver polish. She's a goldsmith. She said that the weld itself would hold, but that the area around it would be where the next failure occurs. The clip is one single piece of metal except for the medallion. When it was formed it was heat treated where the fold/bend is, which is where it it eventually failed shortly after the springiness died out (I must have taken it past the elastic yield point). She offerred no other sales angle, but did say that a metal spinner could melt the whole thing down and then remold it in a wax mold, then attach the medallion afterwards. There's plenty of silver smiths here in Houston that do fancy belt buckles for the cowboy types, so I may take it to one of them, or ask for a referral.

Thanks for the dialog.

M8

 

[Nts]

I almost never have cash on me I use my debit card for everything. If I ever "need" money I work on the 5th floor of a bank so it isnt to hard

 

[poetman]

I took it to a jeweler. She does her own gold work. She told me that if she welded it, the break would just occur again at the bend. I guess I need a metal spinner or a sliver smith. What do you think?

You might want to try a different style money clip. Some clips are just a metal fold, and the clip tightens over the bills by squeezing it together. There are other types of clips, which I find more durable, that have some sort of metal inside the clip itself, either a bar, or like mine, which has two arcs on either side, so when I put my bills inside, they push the arc down, and the pressure of the arc trying to push back up causes the bills to stay snug. This puts the strain on the arcs--which only slide back--and not the actually clip. (I hope that made sense.) The other benefit of this latter style is that you can keep a thinner fold that is equally as tight. It takes a little effort to find a durable and attractice money clip. I bought mine at Filene's in Boston. I believe the stores are now closing out. I *think* the brand is Perry Ellis.


This is the type of clip I would discourage. There is nothing between the metal, so the strain is constantly placed on the crease of the clip.

http://diamonds.bluenile.com/assets/product_images/moneyclip/UA16700700_zoom.jpg


This, however, is the same style that I own. You can see the metal arcs between the fold. This is druable and sturdy; it also keeps the fold tight, which I really like.

http://dts.ystoretools.com/1074/images/500x500/stainless-money-clip-ggr254.jpg