Tuesday, April 17, 2012

So long to the Canadian Penny

There's an old adage that says:  "A penny saved is a penny earned."  Yet in today's marketplace, where it costs 2.5 cents to make a penny, that old adage should be changed to, "A penny saved is more debt."  Or, "A penny saved is like wasting your time."

While the American Treasury is going to continue to print pennies, ABC News reports, "US Penny to be kept as Canada bids farewell," (March 30, 2012).  It seems like Canada in this case knows when to call a penny a loss, and has decided to quit making pennies effective in 2013.

The article notes the following:  "Just last year, the U.S. mint made 4.9 billion pennies.  It doesn’t add up:  That’s $118 million to make just $49 million worth of pennies."

The article also notes the nickel costs 11.8 cents to make and the dime costs 5.65 cents to make.  So it appears the nickel is a waste of money too.  

My dad used to lecture me when I left a penny lying on the floor.  Now the only reason to pick a penny up is to clean up litter.  Sometimes I even find myself vacuuming pennies and nickels up without even batting an eyelash.  

Yes it's true:  a penny saved is no longer a penny earned.  

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