I keep mine, too, and do the same as you-save the coins. We put ours into savings. Sometimes, if one of our small shops has a dish with pennies (give one, take one type thing) I will leave them because sometimes when I need one or two, the owner will grab them from the dish for me. Seems only fair to contribute at other times.

Not only do I take my own pennies, I pick them up when I find them on the street.

Not only do I take my own pennies, I pick them up when I find them on the street.

Me too! I always remember "find a penny, pick it up, all day long you'll have good luck"

Canada recently eliminated the penny, so that solved THAT problem.... :)

They're still legal tender & people use them a bit (I don't think stores can refuse any amount below 25), but as the banks get them back they are being taken out of circulation & destroyed. It's been a fair bit since I've gotten a penny back in my change at a store. When they're gone, they're gone.

I take mine and I use them when I pay for something in cash.

It's money! Of course I take them. I take any money that is handed to me.

There are plenty of them in bags around the house but no longer bend down and pick up anything less than a nickel!

We keep them and I also pick them up when I see them anywhere. The only time I don't carry change is on my bike tours. It is too heavy LOL ! You would be surprised how much I get back in a day. So we are always paying for our meals in all change and then getting it turned into bills. In Canada last year I was having to carry a lot due to the cost of showers and laundry..I was always on the look out of loonies and toonies !! c

Nope, never, always leave pennies, dimes and nickels in the change dish by the cash register. I live in a rural area and our supermarket, dairy store, drug store, dollar store and hardware store all have change dishes, so I just leave the non quarter change. However, I rarely use cash, so I'm not all that generous, no change with a debit card.

sandyponder

I almost never pay with cash, (I use a credit card or AmEx for the rewards.) so it's not an issue for me. I've never thought about pennies. When I do pay cash for something, I take whatever they give me and throw it in my wallet. I don't pick up change off the ground when I see it, but my boys are young enough that they're thrilled, so I always point it out. DH and I regularly put our change in their piggy banks. They don't even know we do it! My parents recently gave them a 2 quart plastic pitcher filled to the brim with pennies, and they were so excited. One if these days we're going to have to count and roll them.

Back to the question at hand. I wouldn't refuse them for fear of making the cashier's drawer be out of balance. If there was a change dish, I'd drop them there. If not, I'd just throw them in a jar at home. It all adds up!

Money is money, so yes, I take my pennies although I rarely pay with cash. I leave them in the "need a penny..." dishes sometimes though.

Yep. I spend 'em too. I like to give the exact change amount when paying in cash. We do save them at home, it seems the floors grow them...I have a 5 gallon bucket that I throw them into.

For many, many years my dad would put all his change from the day into banks, and when he and mom had a waterbed, he made a slot in the frame so he could put it in there. When they drained the bed, there was a couple thousand dollars worth of coins in that frame!

Don't roll the coins-banks don't take rolled coins anymore. Shoot-30+ years ago when I worked in a bank, we HATED rolled coins because we had to open them, count all the coins, then rewrap them. I think banks all have coin counting machines now.

The saying I grew up with was, "find a penny, put it in your shoe, and it will bring good luck to you." So I always pick up pennies and put them in my shoe, at least for a little while until I've forgotten about it and become annoyed that something is bugging my foot. (Maybe you're only supposed to put them in penny loafers)? One day last week, I found THREE pennies in one day. I shoulda bought a lotto ticket, I guess.

My husband and I always tossed our pennies in jars. He died in 1995 and I've kept saving them and some smaller change, too. The container kept growing in size until I finally couldn't lift or move them. So after the first of the year I decided to take on the task of taking them to the CU and cash them in. It took me a long time to get them into manageable containers to carry (gallon zip lock bags) and filled the trunk of my car with them. After the coin counter finished, I had $870, 3 screws and 5 paperclips.

I always try to pay cash at small businesses to keep them from having to pay the bank charges for credit and debit card usage. If a cashier offers me a penny from the penny pot but they find it's depleted, I'll leave my pennies. Otherwise I take them. Believe it or not, my town has 15 minute parking meters that take only one penny. So I need mine.

Yes, we keep them. We don't save them though as we use them. We have this thing about making change easier so when I can pay $1.02 and get a dime or a quarter back instead of more pennies, I do.

If I find a penny in the street, I pick it up and give it to DH for good luck.

Dad had a big tin full of pennies for penny ante poker. So he always had pennies lying around. After he died, my mother kept finding pennies...even after she moved. She said they were gifts from Dad, telling her he was still watching out for her.

I do leave my pennies when there is a "need a penny bowl" but otherwise I keep them. I empty my wallet of change into a big jar pretty regularly then when it's pretty full I give all of it to DS. Once he said it came out to $80. He appreciates it and I don't have to mess with it.

I have a plastic pitcher filled with pennies, but I have a sneaky feeling there is a big bill in there somewhere. In fact, I also have coffee mug with change, too. Just remembered that. Every once in awhile my bag gets to heavy so I dump the change, then scoop it into a cup. A nearby bank has a coin machine. I should take it there. The grocery has a coinstar machine, but that is a ripoff. The machine keeps a percentage and you get a store gift card instead of your money. You can cash in the card at the office.

I try to spend my coins, even though it makes me feel very old-ladyish to be standing there counting out coins. I always make sure there is no one in line behind me.

Yes, and we put any heavy change in a jar. Then I cash it in when it's full and can even get enough for groceries for a week.

yes, i almost always take the pennies... once in a blue moon, i'll take a penny from the 'take a penny' dish, and then i usually add to one the next time, but that is rare. i also rarely pay with cash.

i've noticed my kids are more generous with their pennies than i am...

i only pick up pennies when they are heads up--- i thought they were only lucky that way??!! :)

Right now their is no interest rate at all so that woman lost 4% on a dollar by not taking her pennies.

I may leave a single penny but if there is more than that I will take it.

I like getting change so I can save it in a large jar. It really does add up.

It's curious why someone would have a practice of not taking their change?

I guess snookums2's post is directed at me, so I'll answer. First, as I said, I rarely use cash, but when I do, it's usually for something quick like half and half or a newspaper, and I don't carry a purse into a store cuz I hate carrying one, but I also don't want my pockets junked up with change, there is enough stuff in there already with keys, hanky, chapstick, debit card, etc., (why they don't make women's professional clothes with bigger pockets is a topic for another post). Also, I live in a rural area with fairly high unemployment and I figure if my few dimes and nickels a week will help someone to be able to buy something they want, I don't care if it's a pack of smokes, a lottery ticket or something virtuous, why not? Even if I added up all my change from the entire year I bet it would not be more than $100, and that's not going to make a difference in my lifestyle, but it might help someone to buy themselves or their kid a treat.

sandyponder

I read this yesterday and just remember someone saying they never keep any of it, not just pennies, and probably others that don't take the pennies. But pennies too, why leave behind. I understand if there's a charity jar at a store.

Thanks for your response. I must have missed or forgotten that you don't use cash much. I don't either anymore but used to save the coins. Unfortunately, I need them, lol.

Me and my DH save all our change. We spend a dollar and get change back it goes in a big jar we have. We never spend change.
We let it build up. We were going on a cruise one year. So took all our change to the bank and put it in their change machine. We had $500. We got so excited. Came in handy for our gambling money on the cruise. :)