Minor things that bother you

[1995hoo]

Regarding money:

• Why do we still use pennies?

Because not all prices end in 5 or 0.

Canada rounds all purchases to the nearest 5 cents if using cash, as does Australia.

Finland as well, though 1¢ coins from other countries that use the euro are still valid in Finland. I recall we had a discussion here on the forum about Canada phasing out the penny because I recall Oscar talking about his strategy for paying with cash when the rounding favored him and paying with plastic when the rounding would favor the merchant. That's more dedication than I think I could be bothered to display.

I can't say I recall how often I used cash versus plastic on our trip to Kingston and Toronto last June.

[kphoger]

For what it's worth, in Mexico...

The smallest denomination in circulation is $0.10, which is currently worth about half a US cent;  there's also a $0.20 coin, which is currently worth about one US cent.  However, I don't think I've actually seen anything smaller than a $0.50 coin (currently worth about 2½ cents) in any of the last probably five or six trips I've taken to Mexico.  I've hardly even seen any $0.50 coins either.

Gas station attendants generally just round to the nearest whole peso (currently worth about one US nickel).  At the grocery store, cashiers generally ask if you'd like to round up to the nearest peso and donate the extra little bit to charity;  I think most people say yes.  Most items in stores are priced in increments of $5 (currently equivalent to the US quarter).

Summary:  even in a country where wages are roughly one-tenth that in the US, coins smaller than the US nickel have become all but obsolete.

[wxfree]

Continuing on the penny topic, I usually don't like change (pun almost not noticed), but one day I realized that I'd seen a penny on the ground and left it there.  We have money so worthless we treat it like garbage.  Even if we stop making pennies tomorrow, they'd still be around for decades; they last a long time.  I don't think banks should actively recall them, sending them to be recycled as they come in, but just continue what they've always done, removing coins from circulation when they're no longer serviceable.  I suspect that if a production cessation were announced, people might hoard them, thinking that they'll suddenly become rare, but there are so many out there that it will be a long time before they're rare.  I've already got a couple thousand hoarded just because I separated them from larger coins.  They're not really worth carrying except by the pound to the bank.  And even without pennies, card transactions could still be denominated in cents.

A minor thing that bothers me is how Americans won't accept a dollar coin.  They buy so little now that they belong in the pocket with quarters and dimes, not folded up with money that's worth something.  Vending machines, at least those with products that cost a dollar or more, should take them, too.

[hotdogPi]

There's no way that the penny will become rare any time soon. Even a penny from the late 1940s is worth less than our second lowest coin (if it's worn, which they almost all are): 3¢ vs. 5¢.

We're 10 years into a new design and nobody is taking the copper (pre-1982) pennies out of circulation.

Something to keep in mind, though: 2009 nickels (both P and D) are semi-key dates.

[SSOWorld]

Clerks who give change by placing the coins on top of the bills instead of handing me the coins first, and then the bills.

I'll snatch the bills before they have a chance to drop the coins on them. 😈

[Beltway]

Gas is priced in tenths of a penny, but we all get along perfectly well without that type of coin.

Motor fuel is a bulk product that is metered according the price per unit, and the total cost is rounded to whatever the system is set to.

[I am one of those people who thinks that it is a dumb gimmick to have the 0.9 cents tacked on to the cost per gallon.]

[texaskdog]

so inflation is about 10x what it was in the 60s.  we could easily get rid of nickels too.  I don't think if we rounded to the nearest dime anyone would ever even notice.

[1995hoo]

I pick up pennies (and any other coins) from the sidewalk. I throw them, and any other loose change, in a large jar we keep on the counter. Eventually we take it to the Coinstar machine and redeem it all for an Amazon or iTunes gift card (this because they don't take a cut of the money if you redeem for a gift card, whereas if you want a cash voucher they take some percentage). No reason not to pick up pennies. They add up along with all the rest.

[Max Rockatansky]

Usually the only coin I regularly keep is quarters.  I can still use the air compressor and buy snacks with quarters, the rest of my change goes into my Wife's piggy bank.

[hotdogPi]

so inflation is about 10x what it was in the 60s.  we could easily get rid of nickels too.  I don't think if we rounded to the nearest dime anyone would ever even notice.

I would agree, except if everything is rounded to the nearest 10¢, what would happen to quarters?

[texaskdog]

so inflation is about 10x what it was in the 60s.  we could easily get rid of nickels too.  I don't think if we rounded to the nearest dime anyone would ever even notice.

I would agree, except if everything is rounded to the nearest 10¢, what would happen to quarters?

hmm ya got me there

[wxfree]

so inflation is about 10x what it was in the 60s.  we could easily get rid of nickels too.  I don't think if we rounded to the nearest dime anyone would ever even notice.

I would agree, except if everything is rounded to the nearest 10¢, what would happen to quarters?

Quarters would change to three-tenths.

[mgk920]

Regarding money:

• Why do we still use pennies?

Because not all prices end in 5 or 0.

So what?  Gas is priced in tenths of a penny, but we all get along perfectly well without that type of coin.

When the half-penny was taken out of circulation, it was basically what our dime is today.  So, basically, it was like if we had no pennies or nickels, then dimes were discontinued.  Life went on.  Rounding happens.

The old half-cent was about 40¢ in today's money.  'Official' government figures on inflation since the end of the gold standard in 1933 are waaaaaaay too low - I figure that the closest to correct number is about 80:1 overall inflation over that time.  That is the level at which prices on comparable things between then and now most closely match.



And YES, I fully agree - the USA needs higher value coins (up to $10?) and to drop all denominations of coins below quarters, they are only useful for fine-parsing of state and local sales taxes and no longer useful for legitimate commerce, and quarters only barely so.

Mike

[DaBigE]

I can live with dollar coins, but moving anything higher to coins? I refuse to carry a coin purse. Fives (and up) don't wear nearly as fast as the one dollar bill.

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

[DaBigE]

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

Simple answer, *DON'T BE SO F***ING CHEAP!*  Use $5s - you'll be amazed at how fast and much the quality of the shows improve.



Mike

Like I said (see bolded text above). The quality of the shows at home are much better, cheaper, and much more personal. 

There are benefits to being married to someone who went to massage school. 

[mgk920]

I can live with dollar coins, but moving anything higher to coins? I refuse to carry a coin purse. Fives (and up) don't wear nearly as fast as the one dollar bill.

My personal standard on 'coins v. banknotes' for a denomination is "Can I use one of them to buy a decent lunch and get change back?".  If the answer is 'yes', then it should be a banknote.  If it is 'no', then it should be a coin.

Right now, that balance is use coins for up to $5 and banknotes for $10 on up.

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

Simple answer, *DON'T BE SO F***ING CHEAP!*  Use $5s - you'll be amazed at how fast and much the quality of the shows improve.



Mike

[mgk920]

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

Simple answer, *DON'T BE SO F***ING CHEAP!*  Use $5s - you'll be amazed at how fast and much the quality of the shows improve.



Mike

Like I said (see bolded text above). The quality of the shows at home are much better, cheaper, and much more personal. 

There are benefits to being married to someone who went to massage school. 

Mike

[MNHighwayMan]

When people glare at me for trying to pay for items less than ten dollars with two-dollar bills.

I purposely request them from my bank to pay for small cost items. I like to think I amuse more people than I annoy, but who knows, really.

[mgk920]

When people glare at me for trying to pay for items less than ten dollars with two-dollar bills.

I purposely request them from my bank to pay for small cost items. I like to think I amuse more people than I annoy, but who knows, really.

I did a stint working as a cashier at a C-store back in the mid-1990s and if anyone would use deuces as part of a payment for something, I'd set them aside and in turn use them to make change whenever a child would buy something.  It made their days.



I also note that the Canadians dropped their C$2 banknotes in 1996 in a 'flash' cutover to coins, their 'Twonies'.  A very, VERY interesting thing then happened there as a consequence of that - demand on the Royal Canadian Mint for new quarters dropped to zero.  They did not strike a new C$0.25 coin for circulation until they released a special commemorative series several years later.

Why did that happen?  It was a 'recirculation' effect because of the new higher value coins.  Whereas before that people tended to accumulate coins in change, after that they tended to spend smaller coins UP to whatever the price of the small-time purchase (ie, lunch) was, placing the smaller coins back into circulation instead of bringing them home and throwing them into jars - and resulting in that much less demand on the RCM for new coins.

Thus higher value coins tend to result in LESS overall metal piling up in ones' pockets and purses.  I see zero reason why that would not also happen here in the USA.

Mike

[MNHighwayMan]

When people glare at me for trying to pay for items less than ten dollars with two-dollar bills.

I purposely request them from my bank to pay for small cost items. I like to think I amuse more people than I annoy, but who knows, really.

I did a stint working as a cashier at a C-store back in the mid-1990s and if anyone would use deuces as part of a payment for something, I'd set them aside and in turn use them to make change whenever a child would buy something.  It made their days.

That is exactly the kind of thing I am going for! My whole point is to get them to circulate some more, but I think too many cashiers just bury them in their drawer and leave them in with the night deposit, or whatever.

[webny99]

2.  My wife is married.  She shouldn't be "Miss" anything.

It is certainly unfortunate that Ms. (which, let's be honest, has basically replaced Mrs.) and Miss sound the same when spoken.

[MNHighwayMan]

2.  My wife is married.  She shouldn't be "Miss" anything.

It is certainly unfortunate that Ms. (which, let's be honest, has basically replaced Mrs.) and Miss sound the same when spoken.

Around here (and back home), "Mrs." (missus) is pronounced differently from "Ms." (miz), which is yet still different from "miss" (although basically never used.)

[CNGL-Leudimin]

About small coins, here in Spain the €0.01 and €0.02 coins are still used, but I refuse to carry them on my wallet as I've deemed them worthless. So if I receive one I just set them aside and either give them for charity, or if I get enough coins change them for €0.05 ones, which is currently the smallest coin I'll carry in my wallet.

[texaskdog]

I can live with dollar coins, but moving anything higher to coins? I refuse to carry a coin purse. Fives (and up) don't wear nearly as fast as the one dollar bill.

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

I'm sure the titty bars in Winnipeg are doing fine.

[1995hoo]

I can live with dollar coins, but moving anything higher to coins? I refuse to carry a coin purse. Fives (and up) don't wear nearly as fast as the one dollar bill.

I get the whole wear and tear on the dollar bill, but how would the stripper industry handle it? I'm sure the dancers would love the inflation, but will the patrons? It's been a while...are ones not used anymore, or do they strut around with their square enabled smartphones while they dance?

I'm sure the titty bars in Winnipeg are doing fine.

Maybe the patrons use the, um, coin slot.