fathom

Hi, I'm new to this forum.
I am trying to set up a system to simulate falling money. lots of it. The thing is I am struggling to get adequate results in Maya. I need the individual instances to float/twirl correctly and I need them to have soft body/cloth properties. I am told Houdin has great particle tools. Can anybody give me more info? Is it worth starting the long road to learning a new package? ANd if so is Houdini the best for this kind of thing?
Thanks
B