Investing

[oblong]

BTW tomorrow when I am behind a desk again and on a laptop I will start an AI thread here.  I will keep it in this forum for reasons similar to this thread… it might beer into that territory from time to time. 

[Screwball]

After quizzing my Aussie buddy about rounding the penny, I thought, wait a minute... First, I believed him. Do I really want to do that? Especially without thinking about it? Besides, I was in the great state of Michigan today to visit the pot Mecca known as Monroe. 

But, my Aussie buddy makes sense. I will look at this again tomorrow.

Quote

🧠 Strategic Pricing to Exploit Cash Rounding
If a business knows that cash totals will be rounded to the nearest nickel, they can tweak prices so that the final total consistently rounds in their favor. This is especially effective in high-volume, low-margin environments like convenience stores or fast food.
🔍 Example: Favorable Rounding
Let’s say a store wants the final cash total to round up to the nearest nickel (so they gain 1–2 cents per transaction). They might:
•     Price an item at $0.98 → total rounds up to $1.00
•     Price an item at $1.03 → total rounds up to $1.05
If they sell thousands of these items per day, that rounding adds up.
🧮 Combo Pricing
Retailers can also bundle items so the combined total lands just above a rounding threshold. For example:
•     Two items priced at $1.52 and $1.53 → total is $3.05, no rounding
•     But if they price them at $1.51 and $1.52 → total is $3.03 → rounds up to $3.05
That’s a 2-cent gain per cash transaction.

 

[Screwball]

We have now agreed I will give him a new name. Thinking... I'm kinda partial to Hal.

New sport, **** with AI.

[Screwball]

I'm glad my name ain't Dave. I wonder if he gets the connection.

I haven't told him yet. 🙂

[oblong]

Yet still the second best “Dave” moment in pop culture. 
 

 

[Deleterious]

Just what you want to hear when your niece is graduating from law school in the spring.

 

[chasfh]

17 hours ago, Deleterious said:

We are losing the penny tomorrow. We are going to start rounding all cash orders down to the nearest nickel. We figure if we went both ways someone would eventually have a fit and we don't want our employees to have to deal with that. Only about 12% of our transactions are cash, so not a huge deal. 

We are also about to get a group of employees together to study the idea of including sales tax on our menu prices. So if you order three things that are $25, $10, and $5 your final total is $40 instead of $42.40.

We're not actually losing the penny—it will still be legal tender—but rounding cash transactions anyway is probably as good an approach as any at this point.

Two questions for you:

• Why are you choosing to round all transactions down instead of to the nearest? Why round $45.59 down to $45.55 instead of up to $45.60?
• If you start including the sales tax in the menu prices, will you be raising prices six-plus percent to cover it, or will you be mostly absorbing the difference?

[Deleterious]

17 minutes ago, chasfh said:

We're not actually losing the penny—it will still be legal tender—but rounding cash transactions anyway is probably as good an approach as any at this point.

Two questions for you:

• Why are you choosing to round all transactions down instead of to the nearest? Why round $45.59 down to $45.55 instead of up to $45.60?
• If you start including the sales tax in the menu prices, will you be raising prices six-plus percent to cover it, or will you be mostly absorbing the difference?

We in this case meant our restaurants.  Poorly worded.

We are rounding down because we picture a customer getting upset when we round up.  We don't want our employees to have to deal with upset customers.

The 6% will be baked into the menu price.  If something costs $23.48 now, it will cost $24.89 which will be rounded up and show as $24.90 on the menu.  

[Screwball]

13 hours ago, oblong said:

Yet still the second best “Dave” moment in pop culture. 
 

 

One New Years Eve we decide we would stay home and watch movies instead of going out. We made a list and Up in Smoke was one of them. Couldn't find it at any video store in town (small town). The only copy we could find was at the public library - wild - but thanks. I would have never thought that.

[Screwball]

This might be paywalled but everyone will get the gist;

Wall Street Blows Past Bubble Worries to Supercharge AI Spending Frenzy - from the WSJ

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Screwball said:

This might be paywalled but everyone will get the gist;

Wall Street Blows Past Bubble Worries to Supercharge AI Spending Frenzy - from the WSJ

you've probably figured over the years that I'm not too much a doomsayer - but I have to agree this is getting really nuts.

[Deleterious]

 

[Screwball]

Looking at the chart porn, the S&P is back down into the long sell-off candle from 10/10/2025. 9 month chart by day shortened from April 2025 when the last run-up began.

[Screwball]

1 minute ago, Deleterious said:

 

Just what we need, especially with that jackass involved.

[gehringer_2]

1 hour ago, Deleterious said:

 

Already bored with the new wife?

[chasfh]

4 hours ago, Deleterious said:

We in this case meant our restaurants.  Poorly worded.

We are rounding down because we picture a customer getting upset when we round up.  We don't want our employees to have to deal with upset customers.

The 6% will be baked into the menu price.  If something costs $23.48 now, it will cost $24.89 which will be rounded up and show as $24.90 on the menu.  

So you're going to raise prices to include taxes, meaning the number on the menu is going to be higher. Bold move. I honestly hope it works well for you because I'm a big fan of that idea.

[Deleterious]

42 minutes ago, chasfh said:

So you're going to raise prices to include taxes, meaning the number on the menu is going to be higher. Bold move. I honestly hope it works well for you because I'm a big fan of that idea.

We know our customers.  A little blurb on the menu about tax being included in the price, and it won't be an issue at all.

Plus, no idea if we ever do it or not.  My partner and I almost always go with what the group we put together recommends.  We are also actively trying to sell each location, so we might not even own the places before a decision is made.  

[Screwball]

I spent years in retail. Gas stations, bartending/bowling alley before I moved on. Sometimes the pubic were not easy to get along with - especially a drunken idiot - or someone who thinks the bigger scene they cause will get the job done. I don't do it anymore, but I have to believe it is much more difficult today.

Everyone should be a bartender for a couple of years. Nothing like dealing with drunks.

[CMRivdogs]

I spent several years in customer service, from information desks to call centers to loading limos and cabs.  The number of folks who have no clue or who are self obsessed doesn't surprise me any more.

 

[oblong]

A friend and I would go to a dive bar every Monday night when our kids were small. The old neighborhood “house” bar types. We always said that whichever barmaid was around at that time would make a good wife. Not because they cook great burgers or drinks but just watching them handle everything. It was impressive.  I think those types can step in and do any job that’s doesn’t require technical training upfront. And if you give them time they could do those jobs too. 

[Screwball]

The little dive bar I go to has 2 bartenders that could make a sailor blush (when needed) and aren't scared of anyone. I don't know how they do it, and I did it for 13 years. I appreciate them, tip them well, and try to be a sounding block when times are tough. 

I can't imagine what it might be like at midnight. No way I would even do it.

Watching the potential idiots and how they deal with them is the best entertainment going these days. We had a live one the other day. Some lady showed up nobody ever saw before. Next thing you know, she was showing everyone her tongue could go below her chin. No teeth either. Let your imagination run wild how that turned out.

I respect the **** out of these girls.

[Screwball]

Adding; rule number one in a bar is don't piss off your bartender.

Rule number 2 is don't forget to piss before you leave.

[oblong]

1 hour ago, Screwball said:

Adding; rule number one in a bar is don't piss off your bartender.

Rule number 2 is don't forget to piss before you leave.

My tip is riding a bike is no substitute for walking when you’ve had too many. One week we thought “let’s ride our bikes.”   I couldn’t ride a bike kind of drunk.   I miss that place.  Closed during covid. Never reopened.  Owner lived down the street from me and retired and moved up north. Whoever bought the building gutted it. It’s been empty since.  The burgers were great. Nothing special about them except fresh but with soft sesame buns with crinkle fries.  

[Screwball]

7 minutes ago, oblong said:

My tip is riding a bike is no substitute for walking when you’ve had too many. One week we thought “let’s ride our bikes.”   I couldn’t ride a bike kind of drunk.   I miss that place.  Closed during covid. Never reopened.  Owner lived down the street from me and retired and moved up north. Whoever bought the building gutted it. It’s been empty since.  The burgers were great. Nothing special about them except fresh but with soft sesame buns with crinkle fries.  

True story. About 15 years ago a guy I knew was at a neighbors house about a quarter of a mile away from where he lived. He rode his bike home. It was a slight grade downhill - easy - didn't even have to petal much. He was gassed. Turned into his driveway and crashed. There was a cop somewhere and swooped in. Busted him for a dui. I heard it on the police radio.

He was close to home and riding a bike because he was due in court a few weeks later for a pending dui. Good guy, good job, just like to drink a few beers and talk to people. He lived alone, around 60. The next day he did the books at the place he worked, went home, got a gun, walked to the end of his street by the river, called the cops and told them where to find him, and put a bullet through his head.

[Screwball]

I thought this was funny.  Might also be partially true.

https://x.com/CramerTracker/status/1990823529839788217

Won't link for some reason. The Tweet is from Inverse Jim Cramer and it a parody account. It says;

Not to be overdramatic but if Nvidia misses earnings tomorrow we’re going extinct btw

Edited Tuesday at 04:56 PM by Screwball