How to Count Money (2024)

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The quick and easy guide for teaching your kids how to count money

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Author
Tess Loucka

How to Count Money (18)

Published
August 31, 2023

How to Count Money (19)

How to Count Money (20)

The quick and easy guide for teaching your kids how to count money

How to Count Money (21)

Author
Tess Loucka

How to Count Money (22)

Published
August 31, 2023

How to Count Money (23)

How to Count Money (24)

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Tess Loucka

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Published
August 31, 2023

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Key takeaways

  • One dollar is worth 100 cents. Once you have more than 99 cents, money should be written in dollar terms.
  • To convert cents to dollars, move the decimal point over to the left by 2 spaces.
  • To count money faster, use the “counting on” method. Start with the greatest value and gradually move on to the smaller values as you go.

Table of contents

  • Key takeaways
  • What Kids Should Know Before Counting Money
  • How to Count Money
  • Practice problems
  • Parent Guide
  • FAQs

Have you ever heard the saying “money makes the world go ‘round”?

It’s a fact of life that we all become aware of at a young age. From the first time we beg our parents for a piece of candy or a new toy and hear, “that’s too expensive,” to when we earn our first few dollars of allowance for washing the dishes the importance of money is carved into our minds.

Once you understand that money has value, the next thing you need to know is how to manage it. That’s where knowing how to count money comes in handy!

What Kids Should Know Before Counting Money

Counting to 100

When counting money, understanding how to count to 100 is foundational. The dollar (worth 100 cents) should be used as the reference point so if your child can’t count to 100, start there. Every amount of money is either a multiple of the dollar or a fraction of the dollar, whether you’re referring to dollars or cents.

Addition

Counting money is all about addition. Without a good understanding of how addition works, being able to calculate the combined values of coin and bill combinations will be very difficult. So, a solid foundation in addition is key.

Skip-counting by 5s, 10s, 20s, and 25s

Skip-counting is the process of counting up by multiples of a number.

Pennies and dollar bills are the only money that can be counted by 1s. Once you have nickels, dimes, quarters, $5 bills, $10 bills, $20 bills, etc. knowing how to skip-count is key.

If you have 5 nickels for example, rather than counting by 1s, you’d want to count by 5s, since a nickel is worth 5 cents, $0.05. To count 5 nickels, you’d skip-count by 5s: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. In total, you’d have 25 cents, $0.25.

Values of Coins and Bills​

You can’t learn how to count coins and bills without knowing their values. Use the chart below to learn the value of each type of money in use in the US today.

Values of Coins

Least valuable coin
Penny = 1 cent, 1/100th of a dollar, $0.01.
Nickel = 5 cents, 1/20th of a dollar, $0.05.
Dime = 10 cents, 1/10th of a dollar, $0.10.
Quarter = 25 cents, 1/4th of a dollar, $0.25.
Most valuable coin

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Values of Dollar Bills


Least Valuable Bill
1 dollar bill = $1
5 dollar bill = $5
10 dollar bill = $10
20 dollar bill = $20
50 dollar bill = $50
100 dollar bill = $100
Most valuable bill

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How to Count Money

Once the foundational math skills of addition, skip counting and the value of dollars and cents are mastered, we can move forward with counting money.

Counting Coins

Money is counted in dollars and cents. Start by understanding how to count coins. When counting coins, remember that every 100 cents is equal to one dollar. One hundred cents can be broken down in many ways depending on what coins you have in front of you. One hundred cents can be made up of:

  • 4 quarters
  • 10 dimes
  • 20 nickels
  • 100 pennies

To break things down even further, more valuable coins can be broken up into coins of smaller value:

  • A quarter can be broken up into 2 dimes and 1 nickel, 5 nickels, or 25 pennies
  • A dime can be broken up into 2 nickels or 10 pennies
  • A nickel can be broken up into 5 pennies


Once you understand how change can be broken down, practice adding different coins together.

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Coin Counting Tip

Always start with the coins of greatest value and work your way down. For example, if you have 3 nickels, 1 dime, 2 quarters, and 5 pennies, count the quarters first! After the quarters, the second most valuable coin is the dime. Then comes the nickel. The penny comes last.

2 quarters = 25 cents + 25 cents = 50 cents
1 dime = 10 cents
3 nickels = 5 cents + 5 cents + 5 cents = 15 cents
5 pennies = 1 cent + 1 cent + 1 cent + 1 cent + 1 cent = 5 cents

50+10+15+5 = 80

You’d have 80 cents!

Finally, work on converting cents to dollars. When coin counting, converting cents to dollars is easy — just move the decimal point over to the left by two space:

  • 1034 cents becomes $10.34
  • 506 cents becomes $5.06

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Counting Bills

Money counting with bills is very similar to counting with coins. However, this time you’re only working with dollars — no cents.

The smallest bill, the $1 bill, is the only bill that cannot be broken down into smaller bills.

  • The $5 bill can be broken up into five $1 bills.
  • The $10 bill can be broken up into two $5 bills, or ten $1 bills.
  • The $20 bill can be broken up into two $10 bills, four $5 bills, or twenty $1 bills.
  • The $50 bill can be broken up into two $20 bills and one $10 bill, five $10 bills, ten $5 bills, or fifty $1 bills.
  • The $100 bill can be broken up into two $50 bills, five $20 bills, ten $10 bills, twenty $5 bills, one-hundred $1 bills, or a number of other bill combinations!

Knowing how money can be broken up comes in handy when making purchases and counting change. But you aren’t always going to be counting coins and bills separately. Sometimes, you’ll have to count them at the same time!

Let’s take a look at how that works.

Adding Coins and Bills

To add both coins and bill, follow these steps:

    1. Count coins first
    2. Convert the coin total into dollars
    3. Add up the bills
    4. Add the two values together

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Filled with fun, interactive questions aligned to state standards, Doodle creates a unique work program tailored to each child’s needs, boosting their confidence and skills in math. Try it freetoday!

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Techniques for Counting Money

To make counting money easier, there are two additional techniques you might want to give a try: “counting on” and “grouping”.

Counting "On"

Start with the largest values first and progressively count the smaller ones. Let’s say you have one $20 bill, one $5 bill, and three $1 bills. This should be your counting process: $20 + $5 + $3 = $28.

"Grouping"

The “grouping” technique is best for larger amounts of money.

With the “grouping” technique, you group like coins and bills together. Do your best to group the coins together in groups of 100 cents. Add up the coins and the bills separately, then add the two values together to get your total value.

Parent Guide

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Add the coins and bills separately, then add them together. Three quarters = $0.75, two nickels = $0.10, one penny = $0.01. The coins are worth $0.86. With the $5 bill, that’s $5.86.

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To calculate the money you will have left over, do $20-$14 to get $6. Next, find the ways $6 can be broken up using bills. $6 can be broken up into a $5 bill and a $1 bill because 5+1=6. $6 can also be broken up into 6 $1 bills because 1+1+1+1+1+1=6.

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Add up all the coin values. The one equal to 100 cents is the correct answer.

FAQs about Money Counting

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Start with the largest values first and gradually work your way down to the smallest values.

Practice skip-counting using the values of common coins and bills. Grab a handful of coins and bills and use skip-counting to determine their total value.

If you need extra practice learning how to count money playing board games like Monopoly or Life are great ways to engage your child. You can also try online math games or math apps that build counting and addition skills for additional support.

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Lesson credits

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Tess Loucka

Tess Loucka discovered her passion for writing in high school and has not stopped writing since. Combined with her love of numbers, she became a math and English tutor, focusing on middle- and high-school-level topics. Since graduating from Hunter College, her goal has been to use her writing to spread knowledge and the joy of learning to readers of all ages.

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Tess Loucka

Tess Loucka discovered her passion for writing in high school and has not stopped writing since. Combined with her love of numbers, she became a math and English tutor, focusing on middle- and high-school-level topics. Since graduating from Hunter College, her goal has been to use her writing to spread knowledge and the joy of learning to readers of all ages.

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Parents, sign up for a DoodleMath subscription and see your child become a math wizard!

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FAQs

How do you count money easily? ›

To count paper bills successfully, start with the highest denomination and work your way down to the lowest, always counting bills in a consistent order, such as from highest to lowest value. This approach ensures accuracy and efficiency.

How do I count money? ›

Start with the largest values first and progressively count the smaller ones. Let's say you have one $20 bill, one $5 bill, and three $1 bills. This should be your counting process: $20 + $5 + $3 = $28.

How to be good in counting money? ›

Best Way to Count Money

The best way to count notes is to organise each note into a pile, all organised so they are facing the right way round. Hold the notes in one hand and lay one note at a time on the table or counter one at a time. Count up the value until you reach a reasonable number.

What skill is counting money? ›

Counting money requires understanding the base ten math system and strong skip counting skills. Activities with a hundred chart will help build these skills. The hundred chart can also be used to help teach counting money as well. Money should begin with a single denomination, ideally pennies.

How do you count easily? ›

Start by counting things arranged in a straight line. If children count from one end to the other, it's easy to keep track of what's already been counted and what to count next. Then, arrange things so they're not in a straight line but still easy to keep track of, such as in a square or zigzag formation.

How to teach counting money? ›

Create a chart that has 100 squares, labeling each square in sequence with the numbers one through 100. Give your child a handful of different coins and tell them to place each one on the square representing the total value, having them begin with the highest-value coin and working their way down.

Why do I get nervous when counting money? ›

Chrometophobia can show up in different ways for different people. While one person might repeatedly count their money for reassurance, another might be too afraid to touch it, manage it, talk about it, or even think about it.

What is the best way to count a lot of money? ›

You should start by separating the different types of currency. Separate the bills into different denominations (e.g. ones, fives, tens, etc.), and sort the coins by denomination as well. Then, stack each type of currency neatly so that it is easier to count. Next, you should count the money in batches.

What is the psychology of counting money? ›

Additionally, the participants who had counted money also reported greater feelings of inner strength and self-sufficiency. In another experiment the recruits dipped their fingers into very hot water – about 122 degrees Fahrenheit. Those who counted money reported less pain than those given paper.

Why is it so hard for me to count money? ›

Why working with money is hard. Counting change involves doing a lot of adding and subtracting in your head. This is called mental math, and it can be tough for kids to master. But when kids are working with coins, there's an extra step to these mental math problems: remembering how much each coin is worth.

How can a cashier avoid mistakes? ›

It's good practice for cashiers to say a bill's denomination out loud when a customer hands it to them. (“Out of twenty?”) This helps avoid honest mistakes and fraud. (“Wait, I gave you a fifty!”) Similarly, if it's not too busy, it's a good idea for cashiers to count change back to customers.

What is the quick change cashier trick? ›

Quick change scam is when an individual target inexperienced cashiers by paying for small priced items with a large bill ($50). Before the cashier could give back the change the suspect would engage the cashier in a speedy series of money exchanges thereby confusing the cashier.

How do you count cash with your hand? ›

Pick up one stack and hold it in your non-dominant hand. Grab the top bill with your dominant thumb and pointer finger to make sure it's only a single bill and not 2 bills stacked together. Then, use your dominant hand to grab each bill from the pile one at a time and count the denomination out loud.

How do you teach a child to count money? ›

Create a chart that has 100 squares, labeling each square in sequence with the numbers one through 100. Give your child a handful of different coins and tell them to place each one on the square representing the total value, having them begin with the highest-value coin and working their way down.

How do money counters count? ›

By counting the number of times a beam of light is interrupted, the machine can count the notes. By comparing an image of each denomination to pattern recognition criteria, the machine can ascertain denominations and identify counterfeits.

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