Interest on checking hardly worth paying

Hooray and glory be! My bank of so very many years and untold numerous name changes, BMO Harris, just paid me 29 cents interest on a several thousand dollar checking account. I guess it is for only one month too. And you may wonder why they are throwing money around so carelessly like that. Is that really a safe place for your money?

Now my problem is where to spend that quarter and four pennies? All of which brings up another subject. Why do we have pennies anymore? What are they good for? Nine folks out of ten will not even bother to pick them up off the street, and the pure copper in the old pennies are worth a lot more than a penny.

Well, one use for pennies today is deception! You might think twice about spending $10 for some whimsy but $9.99 seems to be a lot less if you are not really thinking — and not too many people are anymore. Also, my bank can proudly claim that it pays interest on checking accounts while some other banks do not. Gee! That certainly narrows the choice.

My real complaint though is that that tiny interest payment actually irritates me. I am tired of looking for a magnifying glass every time my bank statement shows up.

Joseph Russel Vannier

Hoffman Estates