I know this happens all the time but I'm still shocked

[Primer]

I don't think I've ever had a customer who couldn't work out the total of their shopping. Heaps have the exact change ready.

Yes, but is their total the same as what comes up on the register? Or is it markedly less? "Whaddya mean it's $xx.xx??!!?? I KNOW it's only $y.yy!!!!!"

[PepperElf]

maybe she was hoping you'd cave in and give her freebies

but seriously if you can only spend 10...then put the flipping beer back.

[Chromatix]

I have, occasionally, tried to buy more things than I had money for. But that's a rare occurrence.

I don't normally add prices up in my head - only when I'm *really* short of money and therefore every penny or cent counts. Instead, I have a vague notion of how much stuff costs, and simply get what I need and some of what I want, balanced by how much I can sanely use before it goes off. When I do need to do the sums, it's made easier on this side of the pond, because VAT is always included in the sticker price.

Fun fact: cans of soup, ramen noodles, pasta without sauce, and large budget-brand dry snacks can make for remarkably cheap meals which keep very well, though they aren't terribly healthy. Each of these is available for less than €1 per portion. But I spend about 5 times as much per meal normally, to get larger meals that are tastier.

As an aside, I once forgot my wallet on a shopping trip, and had to sprint 2 miles on my bike to fetch it after reaching the checkout. The supermarket offered to replace the perishables, but I knew I hadn't been *that* long, and it was my fault anyway... I suppose I must not be an SC. ;-)