Of course there is a catch! It can only be done a penny at a time, so you’ll never get rich. And you have to be in Canada. Most Canadians know by now that the government has stopped producing pennies. They remain legal tender however and can be spent and redeemed at the bank. In the meantime if you make a purchase, the vendor will round the cost up or down to the nearest five cents.
In principle this seems fair, but of course some bright young corporate accountant with the big chain coffee and burger joints came up with idea of pricing things so that they almost always get rounded up. Check it out the next time your order a Double-Double or burger with fries. (To be fair not all the chains do it, but the biggest ones do).
If this sounds penny ante you have to realize that the extra profit results in tens of millions of dollars in the tills of these big companies, at the expense of the consumer.
I have developed an elegant and profitable solution to this rip off. Every time you order your coffee or fast food, just add a penny to the total amount. As far as I know they can’t refuse to ring in the total amount tendered though I have had clerks try to push the penny back to me. The extra penny results in five cents extra change back to you (rather than five cents extra for the big corporation).
It may take a heck of a long while but that $100 in pennies you have tucked away can be turned into $500 with perseverance.
Good luck…and a penny for your thoughts! (comment below)
Photo Credit
Bank of Upper Canada 1857 penny token – Wikimedia Creative Commons
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