Do You Perform Any of These Strange Money Rituals?

Money is one of those subjects we don’t discuss in polite society. But the other day, I found myself doing one of several bizarre cash rituals and asked myself if it’s just me. (Already, as I list several of these, I imagine the look of horror on my husband Randy’s face).

Keeping dollar bills in order – At the end of the day, or before I go out, the bills in my change purse must all face the same way, in ascending monetary order. Part of its practical. I don’t want to go flipping through my money at the crowded check-out line. But part of its this neurotic need for control. There’s something soothing in ranking things and making them orderly. Reaching into a messy wallet is like walking into a cluttered room. Icky.

Scoping out ‘lucky” pennies – I’ve been known to cross a rainy, muddy parking lot to pick a penny up off the ground. If it’s heads, my day is made. Once I took a grimy-looking coin off of the floor of the Orlando airport. I stood there and wished for a safe flight home for me and my family. What do you know, it came true! I figure most of us need all the help we can get in the fortune department. If the Gods want to put a little help in our path, why not take it?

Refurbishing old coins – You know when you clean out a drawer or old purse and come across a tangle of stuck-together old dimes and nickels? Especially at the bottom of old purses, they congregate like wildebeests, coated in old chewing gum and dust, paper clips stuck to them. Do I toss them out like a normal person? No. I put them in a colander and wash and rinse them off, like I’m rescuing wildlife. Throwing out any money, no matter how decrepit, somehow feels wrong.

Returning found money – If I see bills fall out of a stranger’s pocket, I always tell them. Once when young, I found a wallet full of cash, when I could’ve used it, but returned it to the police. Thank God, karma came back to say thank you several times. Twice, I left my pocketbook in grocery shopping carts and when I came back for them, they were gone. I panicked but in due course, my purse was returned each time. I do believe with money, like much of life, what goes around comes around.

However, there’s one exception to that rule ….

Stealing Randy’s money from the clothes dryer – Sometimes when I do laundry, I’ll find crumpled bills in Randy’s pockets, which drives me crazy. Randy’s good at making money, but his money nurturing skills could use improvement. I’ll take out the bill, sometimes several, like abandoned orphans, smooth them out, and put them into my change purse, in the right order, of course. It’s like my tip for laundry services. Randy calls this “money laundering”.

In the end, I guess money means different things to each of us. For me, it’s mostly about security. The world’s a chaotic, uncertain place. Doing little things—lining up cash just right, pilfering my husband’s laundry money, and washing off disgusting coins—are just some of the ways I try and maintain control.

That, and searching for lucky pennies.

Do you have strange money rituals? Comments are always welcome. If you’d like to receive posts by email, just press here. Thank you.