Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or some remote part of the North West Territories, you’ve probably heard that the government is getting rid of the penny to save money. Okay, I understand that if it costs more than a penny to make a penny, then it might be worth getting rid of them, but what does this mean for us all exactly?

Well, it means that prices for everything will be rounded up or down if you are using cash. If you’re paying with credit or debit then prices won’t be affected (woohoo! I never have cash anyways). As for what is going to happen to all existing pennies, unfortunately the government isn’t going to round up all the pennies in Canada to build an awesome roller coaster for us all. Instead, as reported by the CBC, “in the fall, businesses will be asked to return pennies to financial institutions…[and the] coins will be melted and the metal content recycled”. Well, I guess they didn’t specify that the melted pennies wouldn’t be used for an awesome roller coaster, but I’m not holding my breath on that one.

Since the end of the penny is less than six months away, this summer might be a good time to take an afternoon off to roll all your pennies and cash them in before they become worthless. My BF has at least $20 worth of pennies that I’ve slowly been organizing for our big trip to the bank, but if you aren’t as anal organized as I am and just want to get rid of them, I found some very creative ways to put your pennies to good use.

Penny countertop anyone?

Or how about DIY-ing your own full-size horse statue?

Or you can make a beautiful necklace and a possibly tap into a very niche market on Etsy.

What will you do with all of your pennies?

-Mo’ Houses out!

(Image: miguelb/flickr)