Expert: Josh - 1/16/2009

Question
Hello:

Would it be logical to pay for something that costs $0.41 with the amount of $1.06, $1.00 plus five cents and one cent? The change would be $0.65.

Would the consumer get his five cents back that he used as a portion of his payment as part of his change?

If he paid with $1.01 (this amount would be more logical), his change would be $0.60.

I thank you for your reply.


Answer
Hi Kenneth

I cannot answer this, does this not come down to personal preference?
I guess it also depends on a number of things:
- the country that you live in and the coins currently in circulation
 (for example, in Australia, the copper 1c and 2c coins were decommissioned long ago, all prices get rounded to the nearest 5c).
- whether a nickel ($0.05) is likely to be used in your next purchase (for example, if a newspaper or ticket cost $2.05, it may come in handy).