Keep the change! Literally

CHUCK BERMAN/MCT

Money talks; the loudest is certainly that noisy change. Imagine sitting in class and hearing the jingle jangle of coins bouncing around in a pocket of a student passing by. It can be irritating and highly distracting. Why not just turn it into cash?

The process is very simple. Simply gather up all the loose change you can find lying around. Always remember to check places you’d least expect like your car or drawers. If you’re feeling really adventurous walk around campus and pick up some coins you find along the sidewalk.

Gather up all the coins and take them to the nearest Coinstar or Penny Arcade which is located exclusively at Commerce Bank.

“We do not take out any tax on the coins we gather,” Michael Armellino, a Clinton, N.J. Commerce Bank employee, said, “a lot of people think we steal some of your money but that is definitely not the truth.”

Change is very easy to store. Most people keep bags, shoe boxes, lunchboxes or other containers to collect their loose change. It’s better to keep it in one spot than have it floating everywhere.

“I hate having change all over my purse,” Michaela Enriquez, a sophomore education major, said. “I’m not working out at the gym, I don’t need to be lifting a heavy purse. I keep my change in one of those old giant plastic pretzel tubs.”

“The Penny Arcade of Commerce Bank is a FREE service for customers and non-customers,” Commerce Banks’ Penny Arcade policy states. “A Penny Arcade can be found in nearly every Commerce Bank.”

An alternative to the Penny Arcade is a Coinstar machine. Coinstars can be found at many grocery stores or malls.

The machine is similar to the Penny Arcade except it takes out 8.9 percent of your total for its profit.

A person may also exchange their amount of change for cash or store credit. It is a great alternative if they’re looking for the simple store credit.

“I don’t use either of those machines. I’m definitely one of those people who will pay with nickels and dimes at the drive-thru,” Lindsay Buckley, a sophomore education major, said.

“I don’t understand why our bank doesn’t have a Coinstar type machine,” Becca Lynch, a Clinton, NJ Wachovia employee, said.

“I think it would attract a lot more potential clients.”