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, 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.