June 12: Looking for quarters makes a lot of cents

Go through your couch cushions, keep your eyes open in shopping malls and never give away any change. A quarter is worth nearly twice as much as a dollar on a college campus. ... OK, that’s not true, but you’ll find yourself wanting to trade dollars for quarters whenever you get a chance because they are a much needed commodity. The reason: laundry.

Doing laundry on campus can be expensive. A wash usually costs 50 cents to a dollar per cycle and drying is another 50 or 75 cents, and it often takes multiple cycles to dry a single load.

Don’t go to extremes to procure quarters now, just be aware that it is a hassle to exchange bills for change no matter where you are on campus. Most of the residence halls have quarter machines in their laundry rooms,<!--more--> however, there is no guarantee that yours will be stocked, and asking a local vendor to make change is similar to asking them to give you their first-born child.

The best option is to start saving quarters now. Go through your change after you break a 20 and put aside any quarters. It sounds cheap and childish (or old people-ish), but having a quarter jar is smart. Who knows, by the end of summer you might have even saved up enough to last you a semester’s worth of laundry and it will feel like you haven’t made a dent in your cash.