My wallet versus a parking meter in Chicago

I tried paying a $4 parking fee with a stack of quarters, but the meter kept spitting them out, so I had to ask a stranger for change and ended up paying him with a five dollar bill. The whole thing took fifteen minutes and made me miss the digital pay app for about three seconds. Anyone have a good trick for carrying exact change without it sounding like you're in a mariachi band?

3 comments

3 Comments

brian_coleman1mo ago

Honestly, I just keep a little coin pouch in the glove box now (it still jingles, but at least it's contained).

emma_mitchell22d ago

ugh the struggle is SO real. i feel you on the mariachi band thing, lol. i tried that cloth bag trick and it definitely helps a bit, but i swear, every time i pull it out of my purse it still sounds like i'm smuggling sleigh bells. honestly i gave up and just started keeping a small zip pouch in my center console with a bunch of singles and quarters pre-sorted, but it's still a whole production to find the right ones. sometimes i just pay the extra $1 to use my card because the hassle isn't worth it for a single parking spot

evan_nguyen231mo ago

Try keeping your change in a small cloth bag instead of a hard pouch. That trick from @brian_coleman is good, but the cloth really cuts down on the jingle. You can just toss it in a cup holder without all the noise.