Comments on: Do You Save Your Pennies? Do You Even Use Them?

By: miranda

miranda — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:05:05 +0000

Perhaps you are right :0)

By: Miki

Miki — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:02:20 +0000

Pricing is interesting. Round numbers are considered ‘quality pricing’, whereas .95 is ‘value pricing’.

But no matter, no merchant is going to round DOWN!

By: miranda

miranda — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:46:59 +0000

: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.

By: Miki

Miki — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:40:42 +0000

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.

By: miranda

miranda — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:15:30 +0000

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.

By: Miki

Miki — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 19:06:02 +0000

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.

By: miranda

miranda — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 18:34:37 +0000

So true, Eliza. But I’m not sure I want to carry that much change around. Gets kind of heavy…

By: Eliza

Eliza — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 17:22:37 +0000

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.

By: miranda

miranda — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 14:24:06 +0000

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…

By: Mary Emma Allen

Mary Emma Allen — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 12:34:32 +0000

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!