If you’re looking for a lucky penny, an estimated 240 billion* of them are sitting in jars and under sofa cushions across the U.S. — and never spent.

With fewer pennies coming back into circulation, more are minted to replace them. This has created a currency dilemma: A single penny costs 3 cents to produce, and the U.S. Mint loses about $90 million a year on the coin.

Is it time to draw the line at not a penny more? As it turns out, Americans carry 6,600 (i.e., $66) in cash, on average, according to Empower research.

— The Editors 

☔ For a rainy day: The median household income rose 4% last year to $80,610,* according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. The increase is credited to a jump in workers’ earnings. Money is the number one driver of job satisfaction (67%), according to Empower research. Though many are saving their pennies for the future: More Americans plan to increase their contributions to their retirement savings this year (34%) than ask for a promotion (23%) or quit to find a higher paying job (14%).

👝 Pocket change: Find a penny, pick it up. A 1944 “Steel Wheat Penny” is worth a pretty $408,000.* Or try scouting coins minted before 1982: A brief change in the copper alloy used in some lucky pennies pushed the value up to $18,800* and a rare bronze Lincoln cent, one of only about 15 – 20 discovered, sold for $1.7 million.*

💵 10,000 pennies: The $100 bill* is the most widely circulated denomination of U.S. currency since 2017 (with the number doubling from 2012 – 2022), yet some 60%* of all payments are made with debit or credit cards, according to the Federal Reserve. Empower research shows the method is particularly popular among younger users: 41% of Gen Zers use digital payment platforms more often than cash, compared to 27% overall.

👛 A penny saved: Trips abroad are 11%* more expensive this year and some Americans may be staying closer to home. AAA estimated a 9% year-over-year increase in domestic travel over Labor Day weekend. Along with opting for less expensive lodging and packing food to reduce eating out, people are finding other ways to balance wanderlust with their wallets: 1 in 5 Millennials plan to postpone major purchases like buying a home to fund travel.

⛲ Coin toss: The practice of throwing coins in a fountain for good luck has a long history, and the hopeful tosses can add up: Rome’s famous Trevi Fountain accumulated $1.52 million* in change in 2022, which was distributed to charities.

Some private fountains are in for a penny, too, including several across Disney Parks, Las Vegas casinos, and the Mall of America in Minneapolis, where the shopping center fountains amass about $25,000* annually.

Worth every penny

Dress it up with phrases like vintage or preloved, but thrifting is in: The used apparel market reached $43 billion* in the U.S. in 2023, and is expected to hit $69 billion by 2027.

Second-hand sales in the luxury sector alone have increased by 125%* from 2017 – 2023, while new luxury sales rose just 43%. Recently launched “gently used” furniture marketplace IKEA Preowned offers discounted prices to buyers and incents sellers with cash or in-store vouchers that include a 15% bonus.

More than 40% of Gen Zers and Millennials buy a second-hand product every few months. 

Tipping the career scales

More Gen Zers may be swapping a four-year degree for a skills-based career.

Skilled trade hires of professions like electricians, plumbers, and mechanics ages 18 – 25 are moving up, representing 31%* of people joining the fields from 2019 to 2024, while hires for workers ages 25 – 54 are trending downward.

The cost of higher education may be one factor: A one-year associate degree program in automotive technology can run about $33,000, compared with up to $95,000* for tuition and room and board at some private universities. The average automotive technician earns about $57,000 a year, and more experienced techs can make as much as $100,000. The average U.S. salary is $65,470, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Spending habits

A majority of online shopping (52.3%*) still happens on desktop computers, but people are spending their hard-earned pennies while on-the-go, too: Mobile sales grew 10.2% year-over-year in 2023, and they’re poised to outpace desktop shoppers by 2025.

While mobile purchases lag in areas like home improvements (33.3%) and electronics (21.3%), phones are the online shopping device of choice in other categories:

💇 Personal care: 77.0%
🥫 Groceries: 68.2%
👕 Apparel: 60.8%

This holiday season, mobile add-to-carts may get a boost. Empower research shows 11% of people set aside more than $1,000 for gift shopping. Online purchases by phone overtook desktop sales during the holidays for the first time last year (51%), and that lead is expected to stretch to 54% in the upcoming season.