Your grocery bill may be about to increase
When the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury announced the end of pennies, many people didn't even blink an eye. It's just pennies, who cares, right? Well, shoppers are about to learn how this may potentially impact them and how they may end up paying more. With many already feeling the pinch of the rising cost of living, this is the last thing they want to hear.
Retailers won't be able to make exact change
How many times have you paid your grocery bill with cash, only to get a handful of change that you stash in your pocket or purse? Yes, change can be really annoying, but it's your money, and it's owed to you.
Here’s where the math gets messy for your wallet, because without pennies, exact change may not be possible. Retailers will be forced to round off the bill and your change. It's also highly likely they will round up, meaning you're going to be paying more.
New rules are being looked at
It won't take long for shoppers to realize just how much of an impact this will have. Just imagine your items get rung up, you see the total on the screen and yet the employee rounds up the price! Who is in the right here?
Consumer advocacy groups have been sounding the alarm, and they have now caught the attention of Congress. Congress is looking into "rounding rules" that retailers will have to stick to.
If the bipartisan bill passes, it means retailers will need to round up or down to the nearest five cents. So yeah, sometimes you may save a few pennies, but it also means there will be times you have to pay more.
Cash may not be your best option
If you don't like the idea of paying more at the store, then it may be time to stop using cash. Considering there are a lot of venues and attractions that are cashless, maybe this is the way of the future.
