How Do You Count Your Cash?

• johzephine
  February 16th, 2008 at 7:51 am

  But why?

• AL7AIR
  February 16th, 2008 at 7:54 am

  Sometimes like a guy in Pakistan (even though I stack them a little nicer) bus most of the time like an English guy.

• silversand
  February 16th, 2008 at 8:09 am

  What about central Europe? I’d like to know if Danish count their money differently than Italians, for example. Or Swiss and Spanish.
  I will try to check next time I’m in a bank to see how they do it in Germany

• Jordan Bradbury
  February 16th, 2008 at 8:11 am

  I have no cash! =(

• medussa
  February 16th, 2008 at 8:40 am

  I’m sure there’s a cultural connection here somewhere, like how different cultures hold the cash even before counting, and how money is perceived. I wouldn’t have a clue what it is, since I’m only familiar with 2 of these varieties of counting, and had never noticed that there’s a difference.

• quinnn
  February 16th, 2008 at 8:50 am

  I’ve seen most of them before. They forgot one that is big at least in the midwest with men. It’s like the American style but from the bottom, not the top. As a bank teller for 10 years I have to say at least 50% of the men I waited on counted their money that way.

• Sarah Juzt
  February 16th, 2008 at 9:13 am

  Really liked it!!
  It`s a small action we almost don`t pay attention.

  Here in Brazil we count money like you americans… Sometimes like in Pakistan!! ehheheeheh
  But only when you`re really desorganized!!!

• Jon C
  February 16th, 2008 at 9:50 am

  I definitely count like I’m supposed to - the American way!

• Blaise Pascal
  February 16th, 2008 at 9:54 am

  I wonder if there is a difference in the purpose of counting. I’ve noticed that when I go to a bank and get cash in ways that has lots of bills, the teller will first count the money in a way somewhat similar to the “American” method, then count it again in a way somewhat similar to the “Turkish” way, and which point I scoop up the cash and count it myself, similar to the “American” way, despite having counted it twice when the teller was handling the cash.

  Some of the methods seem designed to keep others from seeing how much money you have, some don’t seem to care that much, and Turkey seems specifically designed to allow multiple people to count to verify the transaction all around.

  Obscured: Far east, middle east, africa
  Semi obscured: eastern europe/western asia,
  Unconcealed: Arabia, English-speaking.
  Blatantly Open: Turkey

  I wonder, if anything, what that says about the treatment of money in those cultures.

• MALE MODEL, FABIO
  February 16th, 2008 at 10:00 am

  OMMMMMMMMMMMMMG I JUST HIRE SOMEONE TO COUNT MY CASH…

• Stakker
  February 16th, 2008 at 10:40 am

  In Europe we don’t really have small bills like the dollar bill, so it’s mostly coins

  Debit and credit cards are widely used in Finland, so I really haven’t used much cash at all in the last few years. It’s very difficult to find a place in (southern) Finland where a debit card isn’t accepted. We also don’t have the US tipping culture here, so there’s really no need to carry cash with you. Well, maybe coins for vending machines, but that’s about it.

  So, it’s a dying craft over here!

• jodie
  February 16th, 2008 at 10:49 am

  one of those is not like the others….

• alison
  February 16th, 2008 at 11:04 am

  It’s true, I count cash the American way! But I think the Middle Eastern way is really neat.

• astrodex
  February 16th, 2008 at 11:20 am

  I count the American way, but strangely enough, although I am right handed I count money as if I am left handed. (From the right hand into the left.) It feels awkward the other way. I wonder what that says about the way I perceive money?

• Josh
  February 16th, 2008 at 11:50 am

  I count my money like non of those. I fold the bills in have then count it like the first way in the video because it is the easiest way.

• bazik
  February 16th, 2008 at 12:17 pm

  Portugal here…
  Japan way and American way

• Pudifoot
  February 16th, 2008 at 12:54 pm

  I failed to pay attention to how vietnamese count their dongs. now i am curious.

• Dan
  February 16th, 2008 at 1:05 pm

  Interesting…

  i dont understand it, maby its beacuse of the different size of the notes, as they mostly have different length and width dimentions - and so fit differently into the hand. or perhaps its just a culture thing.

• Rohin
  February 16th, 2008 at 1:16 pm

  I don’t think I’ve ever held enough money to bother counting it.

  “One…”

  is normally about as far as I get before I finish.

  Of course when I’m a rich and powerful international dictator, I’ll have my millions in solid platinum money clips with dragons’ heads that breathe fire. And shoot lasers. And automatically count the money for me.

• Jake D.
  February 16th, 2008 at 1:23 pm

  I count the American way! GET-ERRR-DDUUUUUN

  I’ll put a boot in your cash, it’s the American way!

• sure buddy
  February 16th, 2008 at 3:06 pm

  this is bs.

• Mara
  February 16th, 2008 at 3:07 pm

  In Brazil we do the japanese way and the anglo way.

• Lady Cooper
  February 16th, 2008 at 3:37 pm

  I’ve always done a variety of the Anglo stacking. I build a nice pile of bills from largest to smallest. It works great with Canadian money, since if you just go by colour you can count it very quickly, but I can’t do it with American money; it all looks the same.

• K!P
  February 16th, 2008 at 3:54 pm

  Don’t think we count money in europe

• Queer in the Cincy
  February 16th, 2008 at 4:26 pm

  The “stan” way (Turkmenistan/Pakistan/etc) looks exceedingly … inefficient.

• VonSkippy
  February 16th, 2008 at 4:36 pm

  Carrying paper money - how quaint.

  I count my credit card thusly…

  ONE.

  //and yes, it’s paid off in full each month (so yeah for bonus miles and nay to interest).

• steve
  February 17th, 2008 at 1:48 am

  This makes sense. My grandfather, an immigrant to canada from italy counts money the european way, and I count money the american way. PROOF!

• yetsune
  February 17th, 2008 at 6:06 am

  It would probably depend on the situation. If i was counting cash at a supermarket I’d use the East Asia method, and at home with a table I’d use the American method. The turkish and middle east methods are simply just too awkward.

• Alex
  February 17th, 2008 at 7:26 am

  I think it has a lot to do with how many bills you need to count. In many countries, cash is king but since the denomination is small, you need to carry lots of it to buy stuff. So counting methods evolve for speed.

  I’ve seen people count money this fast in China: YouTube clip (accurately too!)

• MoonCake
  February 17th, 2008 at 8:13 am

  wow! never really thought about this before. i count the american way. after having to count piles of money multiple times as a supervisor at a chili restaurant, i really developed a style. i also have to have all my bills facing the same way, and if i fold the money in half, i make sure the smallest bill faces the outside, as to possibly avert someone’s attention of how much money i really have.

• Franz Kafka
  February 17th, 2008 at 12:52 pm

  American: with a machine! $$

• vandoo
  February 17th, 2008 at 5:12 pm

  I take all my cash (coins too) put it in a little sac, tie a string to it, swing it around until I hit people like Von Skippy who use ther cards for small purchases and hold the rest of us up.

• VonSkippy
  February 17th, 2008 at 5:45 pm

  @vandoo
  You’re confusing people who use credit/debit cards for purchases with the morons who writes cheques.

  Unless the shop is so behind the times not to have a automatic card reader, I can swipe my card and enter my pin way (WAY) before you can untie the knot on your little cash stash bag and fish around for that nickel and three pennies because we all know you cash freaks would hate to speed things up and just pay with a twenty and get change back.

• vandoo
  February 17th, 2008 at 9:56 pm

  No, actually VonSkippy, I didn’t confuse you morons with the cheque writing morons.
  Thanks for taking the bait.

• Adamg
  February 18th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

  Interesting…especially the “throw it all down on the table” method. I’ll have to bust some of these out during my next monopoly game

  Also, In soviet russia, money counts you. It had to be said.

• aln
  February 18th, 2008 at 2:28 pm

  i live in an eastern european country (romania) and nobody counts money like they say in the video. they count them as shown for Japan and Korea

• Larfin Jackarse
  February 19th, 2008 at 3:17 am

  Having been thru. a few of these countries (get it count ries?) including Ameristan (sorry, just had to say it). Let me tell you this.

  I have no idea.

  My theories were:
  -how dirty the money was
  -how old the money was
  -they wanted you to see and count it with them
  -the physical size of the money ie dimension in the hand
  -how many notes make up a useful amount of money to buy something
  -whether they thought you were slipping a dud, recalled or counterfeit note in
  -culture

  As an aside: I always collected the cheapest paper note I could from each country I went to for keepssakes. I ended up with so many that I created some montages for my house. The bestest, pridest superest note of place right in the center of the thing?

  Of course Goofy on the 5 dollar note from Disneyworld

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