Instructions

Writing about Dollars and Cents

1

Use the dollar sign before the amount you are writing about; never write out the word "dollars" after any amount.

$5

$500

$5,000

$50,000

$500,000
2

Round amounts up or down when an exact figure is not essential to the story.

Over $200,000 (not $203,052)

Over $575,000 (not $579,001)

or

Almost $800,000 (not $797,964)

Almost $450,000 (not $446,389)
3

Write out the words with the dollar sign for amounts of $1 million and higher.

$72 million

$6 billion

$2.7 trillion
4

Write a number followed by the word "cents" for amounts of money less than $1.

10 cents

22 cents

50 cents

99 cents

Combining Dollars and Cents

1

Use a dollar sign and a decimal point when writing an amount that combines dollars and cents.

$62.50

$459.03

$5,698.22
2

Add dollars and cents in writing by combining the forms from Section 1, Steps 1 and 4; and Section 2, Step 1.

"The boy bought a piece of candy for 25 cents and a cake for $3, bringing his total to $3.25."

"John spent a total of $56.23 on a present, $22.05 at one store and $34.18 at another."
3

Add large dollar amounts to each other in writing by combining the forms from from Section 1, Steps 1 and 3.

"The CEO earned $6.5 million and spent $3 million on a private plane, leaving him with $3.5 million."

"Lisa spent $1.8 million last month, $1.5 million on a house and $300,000 on a yacht."