Today, new federal guidelines for phasing out the penny came into effect; pennies are no longer going to be in circulation, with retailers being encouraged to round all prices to the nearest nickel for the time being. Strauss, Jang, and Taber at The Globe and Mail say that this newly implemented system gives incentives to consumers to use cash when the price is rounded down and use debit/credit to avoid the price being rounded up. They anticipate a number of strategic responses, for example, making a small purchase a number of times as opposed to being multiple units of that item in a single transaction to maximize savings. Personally, I don’t know if I would be particularly compelled to consciously change my spending patterns in order to save a couple cents.

Whether or not I choose to use cash or plastic to pay for a purchase depends on a matter of convenience and the price of the item, and  it appears that the strategies being employed that are differentiating between the two on the basis of ‘penny’ pinching do not have particularly viable effect on the overall population regardless. According to a report published by the Senate finance committee, rounding to the nearest denomination tends to even out any potential wins and losses incurred by the elimination of single-unit coins (i.e. in Australia, New Zealand, etc.). Will you be ‘seeking savings in a penny-less age’?