Some advice from an old fart...

Just thought I would pass on a little wisdom regarding money tracking- some of this is obvious, some not so obvious. If you can benefit- great! If you have some hot tips, I'm eager to learn from the rest of you. I am by no means the ultimate authority on this topic. Here goes:

1. Get a stamp. They are not expensive, and stamping bills allows you to mark far more bills, and usually more legibly than writing on them.
2. For those of you who insist on writing on bills by hand,
   -Get a stamp.
3. When stamping bills use an old mouse pad- preferably one with a soft surface. Sometimes, especially with the larger stamps, the edge doesn't imprint completely and I find that stamping on the mouse pad helps eliminate this problem. Another good reason is that if you miss the bill a little, you aren’t messing up the top of your desk.
4. Use different colours of ink in your stamp. I have red in my large stamp, and it’s worked well for me. I’ve seen blue, green and purple too- all very effective in getting someone’s attention.
5. Carry your stamp with you. If you go shopping and you get change, you can write the serial number down, stamp the bill, and voila! You are all set to spend the change.
6. When you go to a CMT ‘gathering’, make sure you are the first to pay your meal tab. Nothing worse than getting someone else’s already-marked bills. Get to the till first and pay with fives, then return to the table like you just came from the washroom. Then watch the others in your party come back grumbling about getting your marked bills as change. Exercise caution using this tactic too often. Sometimes stampedes can result from other CMTers trying to get to the till first, causing possible injury and/or expulsion and blacklisting from the restaurant.
7. Use smaller denomination notes. If you want to mark a lot of bills, and you are on a budget, try to use 5s or 10s as much as possible. It’s easier to get smaller denominations, and a lot of bills will pass through your hands in an average month. There are different philosophies out there, though- some don’t like fives because they tend to wear out faster and pass out of circulation too soon. Others think that 20s, 50s, and 100s are better because they last longer and therefore have a better chance of being hit. As a storekeeper, I think 5s are the best because stores tend to keep them out of deposits because they are needed for change. The rest goes to the bank, and at the very least are kept in storage- therefore no hits. If you are one of those who likes large denominations, please private mail me your address and your schedule.
8. Be peaceable among your contacts. Every once in a while, you will encounter someone who wants to accuse you of destroying the country because you track money. Remember, these unfortunates are just jealous because you have a fascinating hobby and are enjoying life as one of the elites in your circle of comrades. Ignore the petty slings and arrows of these malcontents, and transact your business with those who do not harass you for patronizing their place of business. Remember: there is always a choice.
9. Try to organize local ‘gatherings’ with other CMT people in your area. This gives you an opportunity to meet like-minded people and really does enhance the tracking experience. These are a great place to network and learn. I was a little nervous about attending the first coffee night years ago, but had a great time and have even drove to Regina for one (a couple of hours each way). Only one caveat: don’t let people take pictures of you. These turn up on the site and (in my case), will frighten people away.
10. Have fun. Tracking money is fun, and even on a great site such as this, it’s all too easy to get sidetracked by something you read in the forums that makes you mad, or someone else’s site that makes you mad, or somewhere else that makes you mad. This will cause you to write things in the forums that will make someone else mad. Then they will write things that make you or someone else madder, and all this time, you are not tracking money. This kind of fighting in forums often winds up being a gory, bloody mess, is never productive, and does nothing to promote money tracking. My advice? – don’t.
    I hope these suggestions will be helpful.
    Idjit

love it, thanks idjit! If you'd make the drive all the way to PG for a coffee night there would be 2 of us here…lol

I'm a lonely BC tracker….
\lol

great advice. but for the picture part Idjit, I dont think you scared anyone away. I personally thought I took a great picture!! You looked cute as a button. :o)

Pretty good advice, you young old fart…

Pretty good advice, you young old fart… - BDKINGSTON

Hang on a minute I thought he was an old young fart…..

Hang on a minute I thought he was an old young fart….. Gouche92..

Okay now you have me confused…Maybe he is an old young fart, but maybe he is a young old fart..But I know for sure that he is not an old old fart…

Idjit,
Along with being a very wise man, you're thoroughly entertaining as well!
God Bless You!

Alright give it back … while I was out plowing snow somebody stole (borrowed) my soap box. That is the most I have read from you Idjit in a very long time. Well said and well written please feel free to borrow the soap box anytime Pop.
That's my hit dad:-)

holy Moses Idjit that is pretty detailed info and I for one have nothing to add since you have used up the whole page lol…..I think you covered just about everything and it makes sense to me…. :-)

For the record, I STILL write on my notes by hand. Oh, and you should refer to them as 'notes' not 'bills'. Other than that, very entertaining. I think that should be in a future FAQs.
-dr