Do You Save Your Pennies? Do You Even Use Them?
One of the big pieces of news right now in the finance world is the fact that many are calling for the demise of the penny. And why not? Do people even save their pennies anymore? My son does. (He really thinks it’s cool that there’s still actual “money” out there, and that you don’t have to use a boring piece of plastic for everything.) But I admit that sometimes I don’t feel it’s worth the trouble to pick up a penny.
And plenty of people are starting to think that it’s not worth footing the bill to make pennies, either. They’re even talking about getting rid of the penny in Canada. Even though the penny is no longer made entirely of copper, it still costs more to make than it is worth. And if most of us are using debit cards and combing credit card offers for the best possible deals in payment, why worry about cash anyway?
What do you think? Should we get rid of the penny?
image credit: U.S. government
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19 opinions for Do You Save Your Pennies? Do You Even Use Them?
Laura Spencer
Apr 7, 2008 at 11:52 am
Sure, keep the penny. Put them in a jar and then take them to the bank and turn them into dollars. :)
miranda
Apr 7, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Great point, Laura! We do have a change jar that serves double duty as my son’s “college fund.” Every so often we take it to the bank. And he does get his allowance in coins (easier to divide up for charity and savings). But no pennies. Strictly dimes and quarters.
Douglas Karr
Apr 7, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Sales just won’t be the same when they’re $9.90 instead of $9.99!
:)
miranda
Apr 7, 2008 at 12:50 pm
Perhaps they’ll do $9.95?
In any case, even if they stop minting pennies, you can still charge $9.99. After all, most of us are actually swiping a card anyway, and that penny doesn’t matter one way or another…
cj
Apr 7, 2008 at 1:06 pm
i had a snapple bottle i filled with pennies. i was careful, picked them up whenever i found them, and when i got them they all went into the jar. it took 2 years to fill and turned out to be around seven bucks. waste of time those pennies.
miranda
Apr 7, 2008 at 1:09 pm
LOL, CJ! Sometimes it really does feel like it is a waste. $7 is good for a bagel and hot chocolate in my neck of the woods.
Miki
Apr 7, 2008 at 1:59 pm
And what happens to the thousands who don’t have bank accounts because service fees are too high intentionally, since the banks don’t want them as customers. And they don’t carry plastic because the only rates they can get are usurious? Plus, plastic encourages people to over spend—after all, if people were paying them off immediately our debt load would be substantially less. Not only that, but when businesses start rounding numbers off after adding in sales tax in whose favor do you think they’ll round them? I’m not saying that pennies are the answer, but they work until a solution is found that takes the larger picture into account.
Finally, I’m with your son— Miranda, so please pass this old thought on. “Find a penny and pick it up and all the day you’ll have good luck.” So, yes, I pick pennies up and save them, too:)
Ren Garcia
Apr 7, 2008 at 8:12 pm
In the Philippines, the lowest coin denomination is 5 centavos (the 1-centavo was phased out years ago). The 5-centavo coin looks funny (with a hole in the middle) & reminds me of “a plugged nickel” –which is how the 5-centavo coin is used & valued today, i.e., not much.
What I do is collect the 5-centavo coins and give them away to street children & beggars (they abound in the streets of Manila).
miranda
Apr 7, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for sharing Ren! I like the idea of giving them out to children. Children are always thrilled with coins (my son loves them!).
Mary Emma Allen
Apr 8, 2008 at 8:34 am
We collect our pennies. Maybe they don’t seem like much, but do add up. What about that old adage of a penny doubled every day? Now if we could do that!
miranda
Apr 8, 2008 at 10:24 am
Indeed, MEA. It would be great if we could double our pennies each day! As it is, I just think of it as a little extra…
Eliza
Apr 11, 2008 at 1:22 pm
I agree with keeping the penny as all money adds up. You might not have a nickel on you but if you have 5 pennies you can still pay for the item you need/want.
miranda
Apr 11, 2008 at 2:34 pm
So true, Eliza. But I’m not sure I want to carry that much change around. Gets kind of heavy…
Miki
Apr 11, 2008 at 3:06 pm
You might if that’s all you had.
10% of the US population don’t have bank accounts, so no debit card and the rates they get for credit cards are horrible. Plastic leads to debt, no question; even the ads don’t present it as money. Swipe your card so the music keeps playing—phooey. Life takes cash management, not Visa.
miranda
Apr 11, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Interesting consideration, Miki. But even if they got rid of the penny, it would still be possible to pay in cash with out them. And most stores would probably round down to $1.95 instead of having the $1.99 price. Rounding up doesn’t work on the psychological level of getting something for “less than $2.00″).
And cash management is a very important skill. And I agree that credit card companies WANT you to be in debt — and STAY there. It is despicable that we’ve become a society in which “economic stimulus” really means that we need to have, as individuals, an “acceptable” level of debt.
That said, I love my credit cards. I pay them off every month (so, no interest charges), and each year I get a free airplane ticket, so we save money when we see my husband’s family. Plus, I’m using another card to help my son in the college department. He should have enough for housing books for a year when he’s ready for college.
Miki
Apr 11, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Hahaha, Miranda I do love you, but I’m not sure what planet you’re living on. Do you honestly believe that merchants will round DOWN and eat that four cents? Nah, they’ll round UP to an even .00 which might not mean much to the middle-and-up classes, but it would dent those below and on fixed income.
Those pennies do add up—whether real or eliminated.
miranda
Apr 11, 2008 at 3:46 pm
:0) I talked to a couple of buddies of mine in the retail biz, and that’s what they said. They said they were all for keeping the penny because then they’d have to round down. Psychologically, ppl don’t want to see those round numbers. The oddness of not having an even dollar amount makes them think they’re getting closer to the “real value.” And, of course, it associates paying $1.95 with one dollar rather than two.
Miki
Apr 11, 2008 at 4:02 pm
Pricing is interesting. Round numbers are considered ‘quality pricing’, whereas .95 is ‘value pricing’.
But no matter, no merchant is going to round DOWN!
miranda
Apr 11, 2008 at 4:05 pm
Perhaps you are right :0)
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