This isn't financial advice, I don't do that. It's about the stuff you carry in your pocket.
Notes
US notes are all the same size. This means that when you get to the till (which is called the register), and have to pay, you will find yourself extracting one note at a time, inspecting it, and replacing it. The solution is to put your notes in order. Big ones on one side, small ones on the other.
Coins
In the UK, we are spoiled for choice when it comes to coins - what with having 1p, 2p, 5p, 10p, 20p, 50p, £1, £2, and the odd £5. In the US, there are 4 - 1 (penny) 5 (nickel) 10 (dime) 25 (quarter), and there has been talk of getting rid of the pennies. (Interesting fact: no US coin has a number on it, telling you what it's worth). This means that if you want to buy stuff from vending machines, you need a lot of coins - the worst is coin operated launderettes: to pay for washing and drying you need sacks of quarters. You'll also need them for parking meters (often in large quantities) and vending machines. When you have driven through the desert, and find a vending machine outside a closed tourist information centre (as we did in Palm Springs) you'll be pleased you had a sackful of quarters in your car for parking.
There's a movement to get rid of the 1 cent coin (penny), on the grounds that it's not worth anything (and it costs more to produce than it's worth). Shops and cafes often have a little bowl of pennies by the till, if your bill comes to (say) $8.01, you can take a penny. If it comes to $7.99, you can drop the penny in the bowl.
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