12 October, 2011

Is a penny saved a penny earned?


Did you know that it costs more than a penny to make a penny? Yes, it does! And we, the American tax-payers, pay the US Mint, one of the only profitable areas of government, an average of 1.2 cents to make those pennies.

So, let’s reduce the need for new expensive pennies by getting all the pennies we have been hoarding back in circulation. Yes, I did just accuse you of being a coin hoarder. Don’t bother to deny it, I know that somewhere in your house, office, or car, you have pennies. There is a cup, a jar, a basket, or a drawer full of loose change. You might call it your vacation fund. You might have all those coins laying around because they make your pants sag or your purse too heavy to carry. I don’t care why you have them, get them out.  Take them to the bank and change them to bills. Take them to the store and run them through the CoinStar machine (but we aware, those machines charge!) Start paying for your small purchases with coins.
If we all got those coins back into circulation, maybe we could reduce the need for the Mint to print as many new ones. Coins last a while, the ones you’ve been holding on to since 1982 spend just as well as the ones they are going to make next week.
And from now on, don’t bother offering me a penny for my thoughts. They cost at least 1.2 cents!

1 comment:

  1. Meanwhile the govt has been trying for years to get us to use dollar coins because it's cheaper than printing dollar bills. Go figure.

    ReplyDelete