Laundry money

[DutchmenSport]

We don't have a washing machine in our TT, so we plan on doing laundry if we are out for a week or longer. The only problem is, we have to use coin operated machines, either at the park we may be at or a public laundry mat. When the kids were still little and we had a pop-up, laundry was a much bigger issue.

We don't mind doing laundry at all, but a few times in our past when the kids were still little and we had a pop-up, laundry was a much bigger issue. A couple times, in our early camping experience, we came up short on change to feed the machines. It only took a time or two and then we started planning ahead.

Fast forward years later. Kids are all grown and gone now and it's just the MRS and me. As we get home from work every night, for years now, we've been dropping our pocket change into a bucket and it accumulates fast. Sometimes, the pocket change has paid for several nights of camping.

Well, when the son and grandson moved back home, the grandson just loves playing with the change bucket. So, a new change bucket got started in the camper.

Then the little rascal found the bucket in the camper. So, last Summer when we were in South Dakota, we bought a buffalo (piggy bank) and we started putting only quarters in it. The rest of the change went to the bucket for the grandson to play with (By the way, he's 5 years old now).

Well, a couple days ago I decided to empty the buffalo and count the currency. I was pleasantly surprised to find we had over $100, all in Quarters!

I guess the next time we do laundry on the road, we won't be short of change!

It makes me wonder how much in coin the grandson has stashed in his bucket in his bed room now? He doesn't spend it, he love to just play with it.

It adds up. Try it. You'll be surprised! Next time we take the trailer out (this week-end actually), we may take the buffalo and go out to eat one night!

[hokeypokey]

In the AZ park we used, we bought $5.00 laundry card. We could load money on it and that’s how we paid for machine operation. She cautioned us to not load it up near the end of our stay because there were no refunds. We turned in the card when leaving and got the $5 deposit back. Worked good for them and us, I think.

[johnwalkerpa1]

2oldman wrote:

rv2go wrote:
I guess I am one of the odd one's. I use a credit card for ever purchase I make. I can't remember the last time I paid a bill with cash.

I can't remember the last time I saw a laundry machine that takes credit cards.

.

I've seen them once or twice at campground laundry rooms.

I got the credit card to work fine but trying to start the washer was a challenge...the controls looked like the cockpit of a small jet...

[valhalla360]

ddndoug wrote:
When we are headed out on vacation, I grab an old Rx bottle and a roll of quarters from the bank. I throw the quarters in the prescription bottle and call it good. (you can see the amount of quarters you have left, also)

Doug

That's what we do also.

As far as the other random change, our credit union has a free machine (not like the ones at the front of big box stores that take 10%) that we can dump the change into and it will deposit the money into our account.

[2oldman]

rv2go wrote:


Don't use the laundry machines.

OK. Then I guess you wanted to change the subject.

[dblr]

We were also one that used old r/x bottles, held almost if not $10 plus easy to carry to the laundry, now have a w/d in our unit, but still save all the chage in a jar.

[bigorange]

rv2go wrote:

2oldman wrote:

rv2go wrote:
I guess I am one of the odd one's. I use a credit card for ever purchase I make. I can't remember the last time I paid a bill with cash.

I can't remember the last time I saw a laundry machine that takes credit cards.

You must be a big hit at the truck stop when you get a coffee and donut and pay with a cc.

Don't use the laundry machines. I don't fell bad paying for a cup of coffee, a donut and leaving a tip with my CC.
I have never got a bad reaction using my CC.

I tend to tip better on a cc than cash...especially on cups of coffee.

[bigorange]

My kids keep raiding my change buckets for vending machine change. LoL

I do keep a roll of quarters in my go bag for laundry on deployments...maybe I should add a roll to the trailer.

[newman_fulltime]

romore wrote:
CC's don't work in laundromats lol. I keep quarters in the ashtray, I don't smoke, for parking meters along with a loonie, Canadian 1 dollar coin, for supermarket shopping carts. I used to dump my pocket change in a cardboard tube that originally contained a bottle of whiskey.There were no quarters, they had all gone to the laundry, and we didn't yet have 1$ or $2 coins. I rolled $156 in dimes, nickels and pennies! It adds up fast.

They do around here

[rv2go]

2oldman wrote:

rv2go wrote:
I guess I am one of the odd one's. I use a credit card for ever purchase I make. I can't remember the last time I paid a bill with cash.

I can't remember the last time I saw a laundry machine that takes credit cards.

You must be a big hit at the truck stop when you get a coffee and donut and pay with a cc.

Don't use the laundry machines. I don't fell bad paying for a cup of coffee, a donut and leaving a tip with my CC.
I have never got a bad reaction using my CC.

[ddndoug]

When we are headed out on vacation, I grab an old Rx bottle and a roll of quarters from the bank. I throw the quarters in the prescription bottle and call it good. (you can see the amount of quarters you have left, also)

Doug

[2oldman]

rv2go wrote:
I guess I am one of the odd one's. I use a credit card for ever purchase I make. I can't remember the last time I paid a bill with cash.

I can't remember the last time I saw a laundry machine that takes credit cards.

You must be a big hit at the truck stop when you get a coffee and donut and pay with a cc.

[romore]

CC's don't work in laundromats lol. I keep quarters in the ashtray, I don't smoke, for parking meters along with a loonie, Canadian 1 dollar coin, for supermarket shopping carts. I used to dump my pocket change in a cardboard tube that originally contained a bottle of whiskey.There were no quarters, they had all gone to the laundry, and we didn't yet have 1$ or $2 coins. I rolled $156 in dimes, nickels and pennies! It adds up fast.

[rv2go]

I guess I am one of the odd one's. I use a credit card for ever purchase I make. I can't remember the last time I paid a bill with cash.

[KCFDCapt]

When we married 10 years ago, the wife and I started putting all coin into cigar boxes. I also save $1 dollar bills I get back for change. Last year we had solar installed on the motor home. We rolled over $3,000.00 in coin and had over $1,000.00 in singles.

I never missed the money as it was small amounts each time. It sure helped pay for the solar array.