Unless the practice was automated. Many cashiers can no longer calculate the correct change in a transaction. This has been evident for a long time now. So do not complicate it for them. Unless they are old enough to know what they are doing.

I cannot think of how you can get by really lacking simple math skills. Yet apparently many do. From a hindsight perspective.It was perhaps right for schools of my era to discourage the general use of calculators. In most classes. I think the first one I purchased and it was not a scientific version as they did not exist yet. Was pretty expensive.

I was not a large fan of the slide rule either. Yet we were well versed in it. . You get a little rusty in more complex math as the years go by. Yet it remains of some value. It is not just math though.

Apparently many get through the school system with very limited reading skills. I personally enjoyed reading and used it to gain knowledge. Today I go to the net for various information.

I resist throwing all my reference books out. Yet they are so seldom if ever used now. I have no ideal of why I keep them.

I was well versed in the metric system when there was no need for average use. It turned out to have some value when Canada went to the metric system. SAE tools have little demand now unless something pretty old is involved. Although common SAE replacement fastenings are still fairly easily available.

The mind on average is very similar to other parts of the body. Use it or lose it is just not an expression.

How many cases occur where the answers of machines are totally trusted? If the user has no mental estimate of whatever it is indicating is accurate? I know I automatically develop a prior mental estimate of approximately what or about where it should be. So when I am mislead by the results I am aware of it.

I have two friends who have severe "math anxiety." One is "salt of the earth" with just a high school diploma. In her case, it's more of a general "school anxiety." She was an aerobics instructor and lifeguard. The state tightened up the education and testing requirements for those jobs (first aid, etc.), and it just about killed her.

My other friend is a retired Air Force officer. He was formerly enlisted, got a BS, a commission, and then an MS in Industrial Education. But, he zones out at the first hint of math. His wife has an AS in Accounting. So, she manages all the money and does all the spreadsheets. He's 70 years old, and still works part time because it's fun. He makes $40/hour as a technical illustrator and writer He sends me some of his work from time to time. My favorite so far was a data collection device testing air-dropped bombs, mounted in the bomb's tailfin. The device had to withstand the bomb hitting the ground and still work. So, it was called the... Super High Impact Tail Recorder. Yep, the ****eR.

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Math is strange. I was good in math, but did not like it much. Other members of my family saw math in completely different ways and could envision things mathematically in very advanced ways. I met an acquaintance of mine at a college visit, so we went around together. We were both on the academic track at high school and took what was called ‘12th grade math’, but not in the same class. So I knew what was taught.

The school did a math placement test, and I qualified for Math 1. (Admitted students who did not qualify took an easier Math 64, but had to pass Math 1 to graduate.). Half of M1 was what I took in HS, but I knew many students did not take that.

My now friend qualified for Math 3, which was a requirement for engineers and architects, which was where he was going. Since I knew what was taught in HS, I knew for sure we only got half of 1 and none of 2, “so how did you qualify for 3?” He taught himself calculus.

Boggled my mind. We had a very good library in the neighborhood, his math teacher told him which books to start with, and he taught himself calculus.

The range of people’s math abilities is great indeed. Some can’t get simple algebra, others invent, or discover, The Calculus.

I try to teach my Foster boys to always count their pocket money and know *exactly* how much they have to avoid embarrassment , they fight it because maths are difficult .

I have problems with anything over basic math my own self .

Some years ago I was dating a really sharp Ghetto girl and she pointed out that most cashiers in he Ghetto tried to short change her ~ never over change, only short change .

I notice that few cashiers anywhere these days bother to count out the change they hand me.....

Trust NO ONE when it comes to money .

I too use the credit card often, it allows me to budget .

I've always wondered about that 'cash back' jazz, I don't understand it and so have never tried to use it .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

Simple. Use particular credit cards, and you get a percentage back. I have 2% of all purchases credited to my account each month on one card. On another card, I get 1% credited when I charge, and the other 1% credited when I pay.

I try to charge a lot. Two percent cash back on $50,000 in spending is $1,000. I never carry a balance over. Do that, and you lose.

If you have the discipline to pay your credit card off every month, it's a fantastic way to manage your budget. And the reward points are helpful. But I used to have customers who were totally unaware that their card paid points, or how to redeem them. Sometimes I could get them hundreds of dollars that had accrued over many months. Some great no-fee cash back cards out there, look into it.

I have one card that puts 2% back in my brokerage account, and another two percenter for my bank account. I have a card with no international exchange fees for when I travel.

We pay off every card in full every month.

You might not be surprised at the number of self taught data scientists then. It is fairly common for DSs and other highly technical (i.e. code-centric) folks to be self taught.

__________________
TC
Current stable:
- 2004 Mazda RALLYWANKEL
- 2007 Saturn sky redline
- 2004 Explorer...under surgery.

Past: 135i, GTI, 300E, 300SD, 300SD, Stealth

Not surprised at all. As I was writing a (self taught) VBA application, I marveled at the minds who produced the tools I was so hard at work trying to grasp and use.

I'm a "rebate ranger." In 2019, I received $1443 in credit card rebates, and that's after deducting annual fees on two of my eight credit cards, and not including the $500 I earned toward my next GM car. One of those card with fees, BMW FS, and now eliminated their annual fee.

I have a lot of cards with elevated rebate rates on certain purchases, and a paltry 1% on everything else. So, I only charge things on those cards that get me the elevated rebates, and charge everything else to a card that pays me 1.5% on everything.

My FICO 9 score fluctuates between about 830 and 845. I gamed it one month and got a perfect 850. It seems to drive credit card issuers crazy when their low-risk customers don't use their cards. So, they send those customers promotional rebate offers. BMW FS Visa once gave me 10% on everything, but only for six days. I managed to charge $6k in those six days. Citi runs the Sears MasterCard. I only keep a Sears card for a $3/month life insurance polity and Craftsman tools. But, the local Sears store was destroyed by the hurricane. Citi started sending me crazy offers, up to a 15% rebate. I figured out the exact meaning of their offers, and hit them as hard as I could, and got $375 in rebates from them.

I see ;

$50,000.00 in spending ? .

I don't make that much in a year and never have .

Yes, I pay every bill in full the moment it arrives, part and parcel of living within one's means and enjoying the good life (to me, anyway) in spite of being more or less broke .

This is why I'm not "poor" : poor is a state of mind I choose not to have .

As always, you alls teach me more here for free than I ever learned at any school .

THANX ! .

__________________
-Nate
1982 240D 408,XXX miles
Ignorance is the mother of suspicion and fear is the father

I did then what I knew how to do ~ now that I know better I do better

It still pays to have a cashback card. Even if you spend just $5000 annually and get $75 back, it's found money: your cash reward for being responsible with your card. They're available from all the major banks. Just be careful about fees. There are plenty of free cards, but the benefit has to make economic sense if there's an annual fee.

Also, you should check into your present cards. A lot of people sign up for a CC without knowing it rebates cash points. If your statement shows a points balance, call the card company and find out how to redeem it. Another thing you want to do regularly is to log onto their website: many companys have special short term offers, but you have to go their site and opt-in.

$42,353.97 in 2019. That was a little more than half of our spending.

My favorite metric is "spending / earned income." Before marriage, I was at about 50%. Frau Putzer was at about 100%. It took a few knock down, drag out fights after our marriage to get it to 80%.

We're both retired now, and our pensions don't cover our living expenses. But, we have enough to get us through until we're about 120 years old. But, spending more than I make still gives me a knot in my stomach.

We are retired too. We don’t save anymore. Yes, we accumulate monies separately, but that is for the travel account. All travel is paid for in advance, except what we spend during the trip.

I think our older generation has an advantage in that the only time we could use credit in our formative years was for a car loan or a mortgage. We would get paid every Friday (later, every other Friday), walk the check to the bank, X amount to checking for rent, etc., Y amount to the passbook savings account, and the rest in pocket. Could I afford to do this? Lemmee see, reach into the pocket for a yes or no. One rule we had was Friday night after work at the bar, we could only spend left over money from the previous week, not new money for the upcoming week.

By the time credit cards were generally available and in use, we had our spending practices established, plus we had more income. It is easier to live within your means when your means are higher.

I think the biggest advantage our generation had was depression era parents...