# Do I look rich enough to toss my money away for nothing? Of course I want my change back! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [October 23, 2016, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543 "2016-10-23T22:47:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/61 "2016-10-28T11:55:47Z")
The smallest coin in common use in Thailand is the baht, worth about 3 cents. There are also half-baht and quarter-baht coins but they’re almost never seen except at a few stores (e.g. 7-Eleven) which have a “…0.50” at the end of some prices. Thai post offices sell envelopes for 1.5 baht, but you’ll be cheated if you buy an odd number of envelopes: they don’t stock the half-baht coins and all round-offs are done _against_ the customer. (The 7-Elevens often run out of the half-baht coins; they will always shortchange you a half-baht in those cases.) Thailand is a poor country; the half-baht represents about 15 U.S. cents in wage equivalence, yet I’ve never seen a Thai mention this “cheating.” The ordinary markets quote most prices in multiples of 5 baht, and will often round to avoid single-baht coins — If you’re quoted “apples 7 baht each”, you can bet they’re sold three for 20 baht. (An exception is shirts, for which the quotes are often 99 baht, 199 baht or 299 baht. The vendor will take care to give you your 1 baht change.) ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ > [@wolfpup](#): > > Better not come to Canada, then – or Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Finland, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, or the UK, where equivalent amd even larger-value coins have been discontinued for years. [sarcasm] You’re not from around here, are you? The U.S.A. is exceptional in so many ways; we have large ethnic populations and bear the world’s burdens. The socialist solutions you find in Somalia, North Korea and Norway don’t work for us. > [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Just remember this. Without the cent, the price of everything will go up, not down. See? While it’s true that the rounding occurs after multiple items are totaled up, you can bet that legions of programmers will arrange to make the total end in 3 cents so they can round up. Instead of averaging zero through the give and take of rounding, you will consistently lose 2 cents on every cash transaction, whether it’s for breath mints or for a new Mercedes-Benz. (Yes, I know many write a check for their Mercedes, but the dealer will be hounding you for cash once they have the opportunity to cheat you out of an extra two cents.) At McDonald’s they will carefully calibrate the pice of a BigMac and Fries to total $4.43, not $4.42 — they want to round up. If you order for two (with the normal total $8.86) the clerk will hound you to buy the extra catsup for 22 cents — it will actually be 25 cents when the rounding is factored in! The average American family exchanges cash with a cashier 2.6 times per day. If two cents are stolen each time, this adds up to over 5 cents per day, or $18 over the course of a year. Do you think the owner will share this windfall with his employees, or spend it offering better service? No way! In fact, you can figure the government will find a way to get its grubby hands on it. Welcome to America, **wolfpup**. If you don’t like it, go back to your socialist dreamland where pampered welfare brats don’t care about their pennies. [/sarcasm] ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/62 "2016-10-28T14:00:08Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > for a while in the early 00’s KFC delivered here in so cal and once a month id have a 6 to 12 piece meal delivered depending on the coupon I had > > the meal dinner I bought came up to about 25 because I bought extra stuff I paid with 3 20s I turned around to set the food down (which was hot enough to start to melt the plastic bag it was in ) on the table in the living room and the delivery guy was gone …I called kfc and said what the hell … and he hadn’t made it back yet and cal back in 20 minutes … so mgmt. called me about an hour later and said delivery guy was on the way back to me apparently he thought the 35-40 in change was a tip… > > I got a certificate for a free meal and the cash back … I did give the guy the 5 I usually tip drivers … he was nice about it ( I think he was maybe 18 …) Why the hell would you give him three 20’s if you were going to give him a grand total of $30 ($25 for the food plus your normal $5 tip)? It makes no sense he disappear like Houdini but it makes less sense that you would hand him $60 and then ask for $30 back. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/63 "2016-10-28T14:21:23Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Why the hell would you give him three 20’s if you were going to give him a grand total of $30 ($25 for the food plus your normal $5 tip)? It makes no sense he disappear like Houdini but it makes less sense that you would hand him $60 and then ask for $30 back. :smack: I’ve done something similar at a sushi restaurant, where I wanted a bunch of change so I could tip the sushi chef as well as the waiter. But I specifically pointed this out to the waiter. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/64 "2016-10-28T14:56:27Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > I’ve done something similar at a sushi restaurant, where I wanted a bunch of change so I could tip the sushi chef as well as the waiter. But I specifically pointed this out to the waiter. But I bet they had an actual money till and not a delivery money bag. Delivery folks aren’t toting much money around. Also, I haven’t heard of tipping the KFC fryer operator. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![curlcoat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea5d25/32.png) [@curlcoat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/curlcoat)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/65 "2016-10-28T19:20:16Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Nobody in 2016 is in financial difficulty because of pennies. It isn’t just pennies people are talking about ignoring, and the financial difficulty reference was to the idea that if people are this cavalier about coins, maybe that is just a symptom of how they are about money overall. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2016, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/66 "2016-10-28T20:26:22Z")
It’s funny - I’ll pick up a penny off the ground, but if my change in a store is less than a nickel I always say “Drop it in your penny tray”. I never thought about that dichotomy until now… I’m going to rationalize it by thinking that a penny on the ground may go to waste, but one or two in the penny tray may keep someone from having to break another coin/bill. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/67 "2016-10-29T03:41:24Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > It would be even harder to manipulate the amount collected on taxed purchases in the USA. Sales taxes are calculated on the total and then rounded to the nearest cent, so you can have a situation where one item costs a total of $4.98 (rounds up) but if you buy two you pay $9.97 (rounds down). Dude, do you even math? $9.97 would be rounding up. 2 x $4.98 is $9.96. If you swapped your two parenthetical sit would make more sense. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/68 "2016-10-29T04:42:03Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > Dude, do you even math? $9.97 would be rounding up. Nope. Try mathing again. > [@eulalia](#): > > 2 x $4.98 is $9.96 Depends on whether the $4.98 was $4.9751, $4.98, or $4.9849. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/69 "2016-10-29T07:01:57Z")
It still amazes me people here on the boards defend the continued existence of a worthless and now largely irritatingly pointless item of currency (the 1c piece) but can’t get on board with the idea of having all-inclusive pricing (ie what you see is what you pay, tax and everything else included). ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/70 "2016-10-29T09:29:57Z")
> [@Doctor\_Jackson](#): > > It’s funny - I’ll pick up a penny off the ground, but if my change in a store is less than a nickel I always say “Drop it in your penny tray”. I never thought about that dichotomy until now… > > I’m going to rationalize it by thinking that a penny on the ground may go to waste, but one or two in the penny tray may keep someone from having to break another coin/bill. I rationalize it by saying that since it’s worth so little as to be just another hunk of metal on the ground, so I’m really picking up litter. ---
**Author:** ![Corry\_El](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ecae2f/32.png) [@Corry\_El](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corry_El)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/71 "2016-10-29T16:24:12Z")
I’ve never had that happen, definitely bad etiquette from the counter person. As long as the US maintains the absurdity of the penny, they should assume the customer wants even $.01, if due. I’ve had counter people tell me to forget the penny if it’s $8.01 or something. I manage change pretty closely, for the small % of transactions where I still use it\*, I don’t let it pile up. So I’m paying exact change more than half the time (including other family members’ excess change I gradually get rid of). \*mainly coffee/fast food places when I’m by myself, my wife swipes the card in those places if we’re together, in terms of anywhere I’d get pennies. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/72 "2016-10-29T22:06:59Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > It still amazes me people here on the boards defend the continued existence of a worthless and now largely irritatingly pointless item of currency (the 1c piece) but can’t get on board with the idea of having all-inclusive pricing (ie what you see is what you pay, tax and everything else included). I’m not opposed to the idea of stopping production of U.S. pennies, and I have thought the US should mandate all-inclusive pricing for years now. What I am opposed to is clerks assuming that they shouldn’t have to bother to hand me what is rightfully mine. So as long as the penny (or 1¢ coin, if you prefer) remains in circulation, then I want them back when they are due to me, and that should be the default assumption for all customers, unless the customer says differently. I have been in positions in my life where 1¢ could have been the difference between a check bouncing or not, so yes, I mind my pennies. I even pick them up off the ground when I find them (and don’t give a damn about “heads up” or not; free money is always lucky money). Those habits have not gone away just because I’m better off now than I was then. ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/73 "2016-10-29T22:13:35Z")
the atms here in cali refuse to give out anything smaller than a 20 which is why I had all 20s … (in my long ago visit Indiana I was amazed that the some atms there gave out 5 and 10s …) ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/74 "2016-10-29T22:29:06Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the atms here in cali refuse to give out anything smaller than a 20 which is why I had all 20s … (in my long ago visit Indiana I was amazed that the some atms there gave out 5 and 10s …) Why would give him **three** of them, though? If the bill comes out to $25, and all you have are $20’s, you would not need to hand over more than _two_. He probably really did think you were a generous tipper.😃 ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2016, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/75 "2016-10-29T22:53:04Z")
I save all my one cent piece (pennies to you Britfans). When I get about a gallon of them, I take them with me to the grocery store and feed them into the CoinStar thingy. It gives me an Amazon gift certificate code for the entire amount. This amuses me. A gallon of cents is worth around $52, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2016, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/76 "2016-10-30T06:25:31Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Nope. Try mathing again. > > Depends on whether the $4.98 was $4.9751, $4.98, or $4.9849. If you have to round up to get to $4.98, when you multiply by 2 it will be less than $9.96. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/77 "2016-10-31T00:37:33Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Large cents 1793 - 1857, Flying Eagle cents 1856-1858, “Indian Head” (Actually Liberty) Cents from 1859 - 1909, and Lincoln Head cents 1909-present all have the word “cent” on them. Not one has the word penny. A few early ones also use 1/100 to signify that fraction of a dollar. > > In the USA, penny is a slang term. > > Our Canadian friends, do (or did) have pennies. > > [Source](http://www.coincommunity.com/dictionary/coins_p.asp) I’m starting to wonder, were you even around in 1973? Anyway, I’m glad that you’ve retreated from “Pennies … have nothing whatsoever to do with US coinage.” to “In the USA, penny is a slang term”. so I’ll retreat from “that’s what Wikipedia and Cointracker call 'em” to “That’s what they were called in Arizona in 1968” ---
**Author:** ![eulalia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eulalia/32/457_2.png) [@eulalia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eulalia)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/78 "2016-10-31T02:49:57Z")
> [@BigAppleBucky](#): > > Large cents 1793 - 1857, Flying Eagle cents 1856-1858, “Indian Head” (Actually Liberty) Cents from 1859 - 1909, and Lincoln Head cents 1909-present all have the word “cent” on them. Not one has the word penny. A few early ones also use 1/100 to signify that fraction of a dollar. > > In the USA, penny is a slang term. > > Our Canadian friends, do (or did) have pennies. > > [Source](http://www.coincommunity.com/dictionary/coins_p.asp) The denomination is a cent, but the coin is a penny. I’ve called them that for over 55 years, as a U.S. Citizen. The song “Pennies from Heaven” was written in 1936. When do slang words that are very commonly used stop being slang? No one I know calls the coin a cent, though they may occasionally say “one-cent piece”. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/79 "2016-10-31T14:30:28Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > the atms here in cali refuse to give out anything smaller than a 20 which is why I had all 20s … (in my long ago visit Indiana I was amazed that the some atms there gave out 5 and 10s …) Yeah, that didn’t answer my question: You were going to give him a grand total of $30 ($25 for food and $5 tip) but you gave him three $20’s. You only needed to give him two. Are you really bad at math and hoped the 17 year old high school dropout giving you your bucket of chicken was better at math? Either he was just as bad at math as you or just smarter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BigAppleBucky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigapplebucky/32/178_2.png) [@BigAppleBucky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigAppleBucky)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2016, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543/80 "2016-10-31T15:08:20Z")
> [@eulalia](#): > > Dude, do you even math? $9.97 would be rounding up. 2 x $4.98 is $9.96. If you swapped your two parenthetical sit would make more sense. I don’t know about other states, but in NYS sales taxes are always rounded up, never down. So if the sales tax comes to $1.301, it is rounded to $1.31, not $1.30. If that was calculated on an even dollar amount item, the new total would be $1.35, costing almost a full nickel extra. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-i-look-rich-enough-to-toss-my-money-away-for-nothing-of-course-i-want-my-change-back/769543.md?page=5)