The Euro

Europe began to unite shortly after WWII realizing, among other things, the United States and Soviet Union had a very superior economic, political and military power compared to the mixed and clashing European States. This idea culminated into what is today’s European Union.

The European Union has brought 27 European States together under one geo-political party. It has brought economic, political, social and environmental benefits to all parties involved. Travelers are free to roam from country to country without the disturbance of boarder control. Countries are given the opportunity to reach European standards in the aspect of citizen safety, job security, health and education. Business greatly benefit from economical laws including free transfer of goods, freedom to provide services and free transfer of capital. But, it is the people who possibly benefit the most from the adoption of the Euro.

Imagine traveling through the colonial states on business or vacation and having to exchange currency several times. That is what it was it was like in Europe before they adopted a centralized banking system. The European Union is less than half the size of the United States and has a population density three times that of the United States.

People could debate the pros and cons on uniting Europe with a single monetary system for years but personally… I think it is extremely inconvenient. I am not speaking of the effect it has on society but rather the effect it has on my daily life. In particular, I am talking about the coin system.

I am being completely bias because in the US we have a relatively simple coin system; penny, nickel, dime, quarter. Of course there are the half dollar, Susan B. Anthony, Sacagawea and specialty coins that are still in circulation but honestly. When was the last time one of those was in your pocket?

In Europe, we have eight coins that are regularly used; 1 cent, 2 cents, 5 cents, 10 cents, 20 cents, 50 cents, 1 euro and 2 euro. For me, change is change. It is given to charities, placed in a pool table, or ends up in a jar at the edge of my dresser. There is no second though if I hear change hit the ground because nine times out of ten, it isn’t worth bending over and picking up. Now, I have to be weary of the jingle in my pocket, it could be worth quite a bit.

Before I go into detail about the change, let me give you a rundown of using a visa in The Netherlands. It is nearly impossible. American Visas will only work in a very select few stores, I haven’t found any restaurants, and at the ATM for a cash advance. The only cards that are accepted here are cards with a smart chip embedded into them. This isn’t a huge problem nor do I mind, it simply means I have to pay in cash.

I have a foolproof system for not spending too much money when I go out to a bar or a pub with friends. I only bring X amount of dollars with me (pretty simple) but sometimes I forget to empty my wallet of unneeded currency and bring more than I wanted to. This is where the change comes into play.

Since I have to pay for everything in cash, I always have a reasonable amount on my person when I leave my apartment. So when I step into an establishment which serves refreshing beverages, I ultimately have too much money in my pocket. I often wake up, look in my wallet and nearly have a heart attack thinking I spent more than I originally planned then, reach in my pants pocket to find 20 Euro in change. 20 Euro! That is more than 25 dollars.

As if having all this change isn’t a big enough problem, I have to find a place to store it all. Currently I have simple wallet with 4 card slots and a money clip. The typical European has a large wallet with a convenient pocket that zips to store all of the change. Obviously I don’t have that so my change ends up in all 4 of my pockets and when I go to pay for something I look like I’m doing the shimmy.

Once I stop dancing and finally get the change out of my pocket, I have to count my change like the nearly blind person who holds up the line in McDonalds. With one palm open in front of me, I use the opposite forefinger and thumb to poke and flip coins in an attempt to see what their values are.

I am getting better with my change management. I have graduated to storing all of my change in one pocket while keeping my wallet in a separate pocket. I also got myself into the habit of checking how much change I have before opening my wallet.

The Euro is a great tool for uniting a continent and mustn’t be looked at as a hindrance. So, I need to get over myself and do as the Romans do; or the Spaniards; or the French; and get with the times.