Change for a zillion?

I'm American, so let's talk money. Or rather, let's talk currency, which is like talking money, but with more expensive booze. Hungarians use the Forint (pronounced 'FOR rent', as in, "This flat is FOR rent for only 6.02 * 10²³ Forint!"). Now, in the US, where money is normal, most people use bills in denominations like $1, $20, $50, $100, or maybe $1000 if you're wearing 5 gold chains and delivering a special package from "Birdie." Forint bills come in denominations of 1000, 5000, 10000, 10⁹⁰ and 1000000weranoutofrooomformorezeroesbutyougettheidea. Moreover, 1 Forint is worth about $.004, LESS THAN HALF A DAMN PENNY. That's like, enough to buy a fingernail (off-brand). For a jetlagged American like me, this makes it incredibly easy to overpay (you may insert your math major joke....now).
Case in point:
My first lunch in Budapest came to 1350 Forint. Seasoned traveler that my sister is, I had plenty of Hungarian cash on me as I went to the counter. I handed over what I thought was 1500 Ft (Forint, not feet, though the latter would have made a much more interesting story). The cashier, who spoke English better than I do, took a look at the bills and then kindly informed me that I was the biggest idiot on earth. Refocusing my sleep-deprived gaze, I realized that I had given him 6000 Ft (the cost of an entire grocery store here). Feeling sheepish (baaa....), I returned with what I thought was 2000 Ft. The cashier took a look at the bills and then kindly told me that he was mistaken earlier, and that I was actually the biggest idiot in the entire galaxy. Once again, those pesky zeroes had gotten the better of me, and I had given the cashier 11000 Ft. I could have bought the entire city for that! Ok, that's an exaggeration, I'd probably have to pay an extra 1000 Ft. (the cost of an American amoeba) for some of the nicer sidewalks. Fortunately, the cashier was a decent guy and helped me navigate my way into the correct amount, even helping me, a junior 4.0 math student, count my change. I should have lied and said I was a visiting art major, damn it.
At the end of the day, prices here are pretty damn good, so what's a few million Ft. here or there? After an epic grocery shopping trip (do you know how to say 'pasta' in Hungarian? Neither do I), I still had over 20,000 Ft. in my wallet. That's enough to buy about five Hungarian hotels (the nice ones), or one American bottle of shampoo (travel size).