CityVille Cheats and Tips: Collections are useful beyond the cash in

Collections are awesome
You all likely know that CityVille Collections offer lots of Energy, coins and other rewards when turned in, which is great. However, Collections are far more important than that in this game, as forum contributor mws_1984 says. There are several items in Collections that are needed for Goals to complete them. So, one could just go cold turkey on Collections in fear of sacrificing an important Goal requirement, or they could be smart about it.

For instance, it's easy to take a look at your current Goals and then what completed Collections you currently have to avoid spending that precious item. Furthermore, this is why it's beneficial to vary your businesses and residencies, though it is obviously not 100 percent necessary. New Goals generally involve requirements that call for new Collection items. So, it would be a good idea to avoid turning those Collections in until after a Goal pops up requiring said items.

For new players, there will plenty of the game's core Goals that require Collection items. Here are the Goals and Collection items to watch out for:

Get Charlie Breakfast
- Have 1 Danish Collection Item

Restaurant Food
- Collect 1 Carrot Soup Collectable
- Collect 1 Pie Collectable
- Collect 1 Coffee Collectable
- Build Restaurant

State Fair Snacks
- Have 1 Strawberry Jam
- Have 1 Corn on Cob
- Have 1 Baby Carrots

Feed The Fans
- Collect 2 Hot Dogs
- Collect 2 Sodas

[Sources: CityVille Goals]

What methods do you use to avoid wasting Collection items on cash-ins? Do you care to finish Goals in CityVille at all or are you just focused on big business?