What’s a penny worth to you? (letter to the editor)

Food prices are thru the roof. Many shoppers count their pennies.

And yet, here is what I encounter at some supermarkets, small grocery stores and convenience markets. When I purchase an item and am due back one penny in change, I get this from the cashier clerk. “Do you want your change back?” They look at me expecting a “no” answer.

Of course I want my change back, if only a penny. A penny combined with four other pennies makes a nickel. Sometimes I get a smirk when wanting back my penny change, as if I’m an Uncle Scrooge. I get this from younger cashiers. Not the older ones, who know the value of money.

One time, I was due two cents back in change. The cashier asked if I wanted the change. I then asked her to give me three cents so I could make a nickel.

She got the message.

Whatever happened to the old axiom “a penny saved is a penny earned?”

The younger generation should take heed.

(Joseph Valente is a South Beach resident.)