This post is adapted from YNAB's twice-monthly newsletter, Loose Change .   “Thanks… grandpa.” The extended pause between those two words spoke volumes: I was totally stumped by my birthday gift. I carefully inspected my mint-condition set of U.S. states and territories quarters, flipping the tri-fold every which way to—I don’t know—see if a Tamagotchi pet fell out. I could tell by the twinkle in his ocean blue eyes and the weathered grin on Papa Bill’s face that he was antsy for a reaction. Unfortunately, my pre-teen puppy gaze and flash of shiny braces just broadcasted confusion. What’s a 12-year-old supposed to do with a bunch of quarters I couldn’t spend?  I didn’t understand the value of a dollar. Rewind to 1937, grandpa’s first paper route. His father had just walked out on his family, adding insult to the injury of the Great Depression. Ten years old, and little Billy got an unfathomably early taste of the daily grind with a paper route.…