Anybody else here who doesn't carry cash?

[CTyankee]

I put everything I can on my bank's debit card. Cash money is very dirty and I dislike coins, but I put all my change into those little paper sleeves and redeem them asap at the bank. It's a little time consuming but I do it while watching TV in the morning after my 15 minutes on the exercise bike.

I wish there was a way we could all go without cash but I don't see it in the near future...

[tritsofme]

1. For the first time in years I'm using cash on a regular basis.

Damn marijuana stores don’t take plastic!

[CTyankee]

2. why not?

[tritsofme]

4. Since marijuana is still illegal under federal law, dispensaries are largely locked out

of the banking system.

[CTyankee]

7. Oh, of course! I hadn't thought of that...

[Ohio Joe]

33. They do here in Colorado...

They pretty well have their shit together for selling/buying weed here.

[tritsofme]

69. Debit cards maybe? But if they're accepting Visa/Mastercard, they likely shouldn't be.

[Ohio Joe]

79. Yeah, they take cards as debit...

I have a mastercard that can act as both credit and debit depending on which I select. I always use debit though. My credit limit I keep at $500 (which is a pain as they try to raise it every few months... Pain in the ass).

[FakeNoose]

3. One good thing about debit cards

... the bank always remembers how I spent my money, even if I can't!

[Bev54]

72. I always keep cash in my wallet but it stays there for months on end

it is only for case of emergency.

[True Dough]

5. Almost exclusively credit card for my wife and I

We get cash back so we use it as often as possible. Normally, we carry a little bit of cash but not much.

I often wonder about people begging in the streets. They must pull in a lot less money than years ago when people more commonly had small bills and coins in their pockets.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. I prefer to do most of my day to day transactions in cash.

Last edited Thu Jun 3, 2021, 10:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Something else to consider. If you only want to purchase, say a package of gum, it won't begin to approach whatever minimum dollar amount a store requires to use plastic. So you do without, or spend extra money needlessly. Carrying some cash would eliminate that.

It's been my observation that people who only pay with a debit card, tend to overspend and have trouble saving money. Perhaps this doesn't apply to you, but I've seen it over and over.

Another good reason to carry cash. Several years ago I was on a road trip and got stranded because of weather in a town that was without power. I found myself begging the manager of one of the two motels in town to rent me a room, and offered to pay cash. I saw the light go off in his eyes. He let me have a room at about half the going rate. Shortly after that negotiation, the power came back on, so I had heat in the room overnight. Without cash, I might have wound up sleeping in my car.

I've never understood the "cash money is very dirty" mindset. It's probably no dirtier than a door handle in a public place. Honestly, people don't get terrible diseases from handling cash, or touching door handles.

I meant to say "I saw the light go on in his eyes" and got it wrong. Dang!

[CTyankee]

11. I'll take your word for it but if it's not necessary to carry/handle dirty money, why do it?

We do keep some cash stored away in our house for emergencies like what you went through. But as we get older we don't go far these days. Alas, at our advanced age...

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

55. I'm going to push back at the "dirty" money meme.

I have found that handling actual cash for my day-to-day transactions helps keep me on a budget. At the beginning of every week I take out a specific sum of money from my checking account and divide it up thusly: cat, health and well being, entertainment, clothing, miscellaneous, and Christmas account. The rest of it stays in my wallet and is mostly used for groceries.

About two years ago I looked at my finances and thought I could start putting all those day-to-day expenses on my credit card, and make use of the points I'd accumulate that way. Without the limit of the money in the envelope, I quickly found myself spending more than I really could afford. After two months I went back to the envelope system.

The amount I allocate for each category is more than adequate. But sometimes I have to delay certain purchases until there's enough money in that envelope.

I also have a "Super Miscellaneous" envelope, which is money left over, if any, at the end of the week from my wallet. Ever since the pandemic and subsequent shut down, I often have leftover money to put there. It's nice. I like having excess cash to spend as I want.

[MyOwnPeace]

12. Well, to be 'accurate'.........

I think you "saw the light go ON in his eyes!" (the old comic strip thing - a GREAT IDEA!)

I've experienced 'the light go off' too many times trying to explain ANYTHING to a Trumpster!

But, YEAH, you made a good move!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

58. Made an edit.

Thank you for pointing out my error.

[Haggard Celine]

8. I usually keep a few ones on my wallet,

but I rarely spend one of them. I save my change and put it in one of the cup holders in my car. When I'm buying something that costs a dollar or so, I grab some change to pay for it. But I'd say about 90% of my purchases are with my debit card.

[MyOwnPeace]

9. Never carry coins leaving home in the morning.......

3 jars at home to empty my pockets (dimes, pennies, quarters & nickels) - they 'fund' things throughout the year when the 'rolls' add up!
I DO carry cash but only use it when necessary.
MOST purchases go on the 'card' - credit card with 'bonus' returns. Knowing that the 'store' pays a percentage (sometimes as much as 3% of the sale) for my using the card I try to make any purchase add up to at least $10 just so they don't lose money on the sale.
I find the cards a great way to really keep track of my spending.
All of that being said, I was shocked when a couple of years ago (pre-COVID!) I ordered a coffee at a coffee shop in Chicago and could not pay cash for it! I also found myself ordering 'drive-through' food for the past year and managed to pay with credit or enough cash to NOT need any change!
Interesting how this whole "COVID" thing has changed so many of our daily routines................

[CTyankee]

18. Yeah, I get "stuff" when I use my LLBean Mastercard. I like the company and can buy hubby an Xmas

present from the store using my points on the card. I have our heating oil bill on automatic pay using the card. I figure it's a plus if you can use the points. LL Bean carries a ton of stuff, not just clothes, so I figure why not? Since I never carry a balance I don't incur that charge.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

57. I toss coins into a jar, and when it gets full I take it

to my bank for real money.

My son's birthday is in December, and I send him a one hundred dollar bill in his birthday card. It's a bit of a family tradition, in that his paternal grandparents always did that, and I've been carrying it on since they passed. He's an adult now, does not need the money, but I know how fun it is to get extra money like that. Paying for it through the excess change means it feels free to me. I'm on a somewhat limited budget at this point in my life, and so it's great doing it this way.

[Sympthsical]

10. Contactless phone whenever possible

One debit card in my wallet in case that's not an option. The debit card has its own account, unattached to my main checking account. I tend to keep about $200 on it for the day to day. If I need more, I can instantly transfer more onto it using my bank's phone app. I know if I lose my wallet, I can instantly lock the card using the app. However, if I somehow lose both my wallet and phone, at least my bank and credit accounts won't be a train wreck.

All my other cards and things are in a desk drawer at home. If I somehow need cash for whatever reason, that's what ATMs are for. But I can't even remember any recent event where that happened. Actually, I honestly cannot remember the last time I had to use cash for something. It's been months.

I just loathe having cash and change. Don't want to count it. Don't want it rattling around anywhere. Don't want to find it in odd places. (I found a quarter in the shower the other day. I have zero idea how it got there. The mystery is gnawing at me).

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

60. Clearly some evil alien dropped it there to

mess with you!

Honestly, I have many stories of things showing up mysteriously, like your quarter in the shower. There needs to be a place to collect these tales.

[Delphinus]

77. Hmm ...

I learning some things in how you do this.

My debit card was hacked twice within a month - turns out it WASN'T me, it was my bank that got hacked, but still I had to suffer through that locking of the card, paying with cash, etc.

I really should do more with the contactless phone - something for me to look into.

[moonscape]

13. I tend to carry a lot of cash but

rarely use it. My local veggie/fruit stand is about the only place, plus a few bucks here and there for homeless or parking meters. I have about 500 stashed in a wallet compartment tjough ‘just in case.’ Yeah, I’m a ‘just in case’ kinda person....

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

61. Just in case. I'm likewise that sort of person.

I have more than one "just in case" stash of cash.

[Ocelot II]

14. I rarely carry cash, not because it's "dirty" - somehow I've managed not to get cooties

from it ever in my life; I do wash my hands, covid or no covid - but because I have to go out of my way to get it. I either have to go to an ATM, some of which charge a fee, or get cash back at a store. It's a lot easier to do all my live transactions with a debit card.

[zipplewrath]

15. Hundreds of dollars

I tend to get uncomfortable if I don't have something like $100 or so on me. I carry a coin purse. I often provide some variation of "exact change". I don't use debit cards at all, too insecure. I do use credit cards (well, charge cards) extensively, they have vastly more protections. Of course, I'm a "tipper" it's a bit of a "progressive stimulus plan" for me. I have wealth and it's a way to distribute it to the "bottom" of the economic chain.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

62. I always tip in cash, even if I'm paying the check

with a credit card. I've heard too many stories of restaurants keeping the tip on a credit card not to do so.

[zipplewrath]

68. 15%

When on business, I'd put the tip on the company card, at 15%. Then I'd leave cash with the check to plus it up to whatever I wanted to leave.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

70. That's nice.

I am never on business, but your story is wonderful.

[mwooldri]

16. The pandemic changed me.

Not the germs... Just the shortage of coins. Things ran to a head when I wanted to do laundry - no quarters, cannot wash clothes. Laundry area at truck stop had credit card machine but it was broken. Had to go down the road to a different truck stop where the credit card machines on the laundry machines worked properly. Since then I'm told that the credit card machines got upgraded... And an app on the phone too... So really no more need for coins at the laundry.

[csziggy]

17. I don't carry much

Every month or two I'll get $20 above my grocery purchase. I did that the first time I went shopping this year back in January. I had to break it to pay back a friend who'd picked up some needlework threads for me. That's all I've spent in cash this year. I need to meet up with a friend who special ordered some threads and get those from me. That will use up most of the rest of that $20.

Mostly I use my debit card, but I like to have just a little bit of cash for small purchases.

My husband gets all the change. He collects coins and every so often he finds something worth keeping.

[OAITW r.2.0]

19. Typically, I carry 30-40 bucks in cash.

Seldom use it, when I do, I will pull a little cash when I grocery shop. Whatever change I have accummulated, is available to the young ones when they visit.

[gay texan]

20. I'll never have a debit or credit card ever again.

I use cash everywhere, debit and credit cards took me to financial ruin.

As a person with really bad ADHD, using cash works perfectly for me. I don't have to worry about dumb charges showing up that I forgot about.

[CTyankee]

21. That can be a problem. Best you stay away from the cards and use cash.

[JHB]

22. I feel kinda naked if I don't carry some cash

Particularly of the "enough to get home" variety. Yes, I do most things with cards, but then, I've always preferred having a hardcopy backup for essentials.

[CTyankee]

25. Some places want you to use cash. They don't like incurring a fee when something is charged at

their store.

[JHB]

35. Yeah, if I'm going to the bodega across the street for a bottle of fresh milk or a sandwich...

...or loaf of bread or some such, then like hell I'm going to bother with a card.

[CentralMass]

23. I rarely if ever carry or use cash.

[Tree Lady]

24. I used to until covid most places ether wouldn't take it

Or requested to use credit. I only go to bank for few people we use around house that take forever to cash check and give them cash and get receipt.

[underpants]

26. I actually carry it more than I used to. It's a spending control measure.

I can see as it goes away. The purpose of debit cards was to get people to spend more. It works.

[CTyankee]

28. well, not me. I guess it's because I'm old and don't need lots of things I used to.

And we have simple needs now. It's sad in a way. But we sure don't do all the things we used to do.

[mnhtnbb]

27. I had no problem picking up a wet $100. bill

I found in the street in front of my house early one morning last winter before I'd moved in. I suspect whomever lost it was sorry to be carrying cash that day, but it was my good luck that (s)he was.

[MerryBlooms]

29. Cash is filthy, but I run mine through the washer/dryer in my pants' pocket.

I don't carry much, I use my debit card. But, I always leave my paper cash in my back pocket and just run it through the laundry. I have a friend who was a cashier for a local grocery, she developed a fungus on her hands and wrists that she couldn't get ride of, and it was from handling paper money. I've run my paper money through the laundry ever since.

[PortTack]

30. I like cash..it's easy. Yes, it's dirty, so are grocery carts, public door handles, gas nozzles

Can’t get away from it. I just wash my hands a lot

[CTyankee]

34. Early in the pandemic I remember washing down groceries from the store. And shopping with gloves.

And keeping hand sanitizer in every room. It got oppressive. Now I just listen to Fauci. Whatever he says is fine with me.

[Binkie The Clown]

31. I may carry $20 - $30 for emergencies, but normally, everything goes on the debit card.

Plus, I just hate to drive through McDs and put a Big Mac on my card.
I save my change for Friday night poker.

I would hate to live in a society where cash cannot be used. One good solar flare like the Carrington event, a electronic funds transfer becomes impossible, maybe for weeks or months while the infrastructure is rebuilt. I keep a couple hundred in a non-electronic lock box just in case.

[bahboo]

32. I will only say...

this has been a fascinating thread....

[Beacool]

36. I carry cash.

I'm not about to use my debit card to buy a bottle of water or something from a vending machine. Also, walking around NY you need cash if you want to buy something from the street vendors. I pay cash at the gas station too, it's cheaper using cash than a credit card. I use my debit card at the supermarket and for other purchases. I try not to charge much in any credit card.

[Generic Brad]

37. I use my credit cards as if they were debit cards

It gives me greater fraud protection. I get reward points for each purchase (essentially a discount on everything). And I pay off my balances at the end of every week.

I use ACH for recurring payments.

Cash? Never use it.

[miyazaki]

38. I'm always broke so I never have cash.

[llmart]

39. I usually carry about $20 with me.

I use a debit card for everything. It's the only card I have. A few years ago a friend and I went on a seniors trip where we were on our own for lunch. There was a particular restaurant where my friend wanted to eat. When we went in I saw the sign that said something to the affect that their "system" was down and they could only accept cash. When we went to pay our bills, she only had a credit card, but I had enough cash to pay for both of us. She said she did not see the sign at the entrance and I never thought to ask her if she had cash. I just figured everyone travels with some cash on them.

I live a fairly frugal life and as an older person have everything I need or want. I've always been good with money and am self-disciplined.

[SYFROYH]

40. I'm carry $5 bills for tips

Yep, I’m at the point in my life.

[GulfCoast66]

41. Mainly credit card because the rewards points pay our European flights.

But 3 exceptions.

Cigars
Alcohol
Fishing stuff

No need to create marital strife!

[Tracer]

42. Always have at least $20 in my wallet.

Feel a little nervous without some cash, even though I mostly use my debit card. I hate seeing that CC bill each month though, since it's packed with automatic charges hat I previously paid by check or debit.

[Ferrets are Cool]

43. Haven't for years.

[DetroitLegalBeagle]

44. I keep some on me for emergencies

Usually have around 300 in cash for emergencies or situations where the card processing systems are down. I use card's otherwise. Pretty certain 90% of the bills in my wallet have been there for over a year.

[FloridaBlues]

45. Like most of you i use debit and keep coins for when I get my car washed

[Victor_c3]

46. I just about never deal with cash

Debit card, cashapp/Venmo, and direct deposit allotments cover all of my transactions.

However, a few of my casual lady-friends like it when I pay them with cash

[rownesheck]

47. I hate cash.

Just use my card. Wallet is a lot easier to manage now. Plus, cash takes too long to use. Almost as bad as checks. I actually wish I could just get a chip implanted in my body with all my info on it. I could just wave my hand over a terminal to pay for things.

[rsdsharp]

48. I haven't been in a store in more than fifteen months,

but before that I almost always used a debit or credit card. I rarely carried cash, and when I did it was a minimal amount. I used to joke that I was married, so none of my bills had a crooked number.

[madville]

49. I like cash, just sold a motorcycle today for it

Instead of depositing it I’ll just use it over the next year, guy brought me $4200 in 20s lol, huge stack, I’m ballin’

[Blue Owl]

50. Just for the weed man

[alphafemale]

51. Hardly ever use cash. Hate. Hate Hate. Pocket rocks.

Debit card tracks all purchases and keeps me honest.

I do get some cash on hand at the house for a few things.

[GoCubsGo]

52. I carry a little, but mostly put things on the credit card,

which gets paid off at the end of the month. My card is the cash-back type, so everything goes on it. I only use my debit card at the ATM to get cash. I'm not about to expose my bank account to unauthorized charges.

[Progressive Jones]

53. I put a hundred bucks in my pocket on Monday. I usually still have $30-40 on Friday.

I mostly use a card, but I'm a little old school. I still like to use cashish.

When I was younger, and richer, I always had a few hundred on me, but cards weren't as prevalent then.
Nowadays, everyone takes plastic.

[LizBeth]

54. Been at least a year since I have had any cash, lol. I spend it if I have it. I put everything on cc

and know exactly what I spend monthly.

[Klaralven]

56. Rarely. Prefer to use cash-back credit cards for an effective 1 to 5% discount.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

59. Me, almost always.

I could honestly tell a panhandler that I have no money on me, the vast majority of the time.

[Iggo]

63. Cash is King, baby.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

64. Never having cash, or never having a credit card.

Either extreme is dumb. Even if you prefer to pay for almost everything with credit or debit card, you should have some cash with you. And even if you prefer to pay for almost everything with cash, you should have a credit card with you.

I've seen the consequences of either extreme all too often. I understand that my system of envelopes is not a good solution for everyone. But I've seen first hand the consequences of never having cash.

So please, have both. Use what you prefer, but have both available.

[Cartoonist]

65. What I see as a cashier

Many people like to carry $100 dollar bills. Sometimes they try to use them to buy a pack of gum. I tell them I can't make change on such a small purchase. No one learns.

[LanternWaste]

80. It's the same customers over and over again?

"No one learns..."

Then it's the same customers over and over again doing this?

[Cartoonist]

82. Perhaps

I can't say I recognize repeat users, but I see 5-10 people each day doing this.

[Shellback Squid]

66. maybe

[beaglelover]

67. Don't carry coins but I always have at least $200 in

Cash on me at all times in case of an emergency and keep $1000 in cash at home in case the big one hits.

[Marrah_Goodman]

71. I rarely carry cash

[Meowmee]

73. I always have a stash of cash at home

And a smaller amount in my bag and car for emergencies. During power failures and other emergencies you can often only use cash. I never carry too much on me, and mostly use plastic, due to having been mugged and pick pocketed several times over the years.

[DFW]

74. Interesting perspectives. Different strokes for different folks, as one might expect.

My wife and I are 69 this year, but we still are all over the map--she strictly for personal reasons, as she is retired, and me mostly for work, though some private travel, too. In the past 30 days, I have been in New York, Dallas, Frankfurt, München (Munich), Brussels, Paris, Utrecht and Barcelona, and that's a Corona-caused drastically reduced schedule.

We happen to HATE plastic payments. I order stuff for my wife online when she asks me to. I have online banking here in Germany, but not in the USA. When ordering stuff from US vendors, I use an American card, of course. I do have a company Master Card for expenses, but that's just for travel-related stuff: planes, trains, hotels. We use cash as much as we possibly can. We travel so much that it would be a royal pain in the ass to keep track of what payments were legit and which were not if the credit firm has a question.

As it is, I tried to arrange a rental car in Boston for our trip there next month, gave my American card number, and Master Card immediately blocked my card. I had to call over to the USA to ask why, and they said it was an unusual charge from Germany. After giving them information over the phone that included everything but a DNA sample, they accepted that it was really me, and let the charge go through. Even when I'm in the States, I get this regularly. "Sorry, sir, your card was declined." I get on the phone to the fraud division, set them straight, and I'm good for another 24 hours--until the next one. I do NOT have the time or the desire to do this every day or two. I live a mobile life. I have done so since I graduated from college, and that was 47 years ago. That's just the way it is. If I do not feel I owe the NSA, FBI, CIA or IRS an explanation for it every time I travel a few hundred KM, I sure as hell don't owe MasterCard an explanation.

We sometimes get odd looks when we pay cash for stuff when we're in the USA (or Sweden, which has gone practically cashless), but as long as it's legal tender, we use it. We do not need to leave an electronic trail of everything we do, buy, eat, or use. With cash, we know what we spend, and know how much of what we have left. We like it that way, and will continue to do it as long as we can. But that's just us. Like I said, chacun à son goût.

[panader0]

75. I use a debit card for purchases that I need to keep account of.

I use them for on line purchases. For everything else it's cash. Many vendors prefer cash
and add a fee for plastic, as they pay a fee on it too.
I also still collect coins and to a small extent, paper money too. I have coins from the Roman Empire.
My father was stationed overseas when I was young, and have cash from many countries. Also five
complete Lincoln head penny folders. I intend to sell it all and give the money to my grandkids.

[Bettie]

76. I have kids

so I never have cash...

[Hotler]

78. I use cash for 99% of my purchases.

About ten years ago the Wall St. CEO's were called to Washington to answer for the out of site fees and interest on credit cards. On CSPAN one of the CEO'S called the people that use their credit cards and pay off the balance every month deadbeats, actual words. Because they use the banks money for free for 30-days.

Right after that I had purchased some motorcycle parts out of Europe and there is a VAT tax. BOA charged me too much and I had a credit of $0.25 on my account. Since I wasn't using my card very much (months at a time) I would get a monthly statement that showed I had a credit of 25 cents. After about three months it went away. I called and ask why. they said they just made it go away. I called BS. I said if I owed you guys a quarter you would be all over me for it, charging interest, fees, etc., you could have mailed me a quarter. They didn't like that. I told them to shove their credit card up their ass (actual words). They hung up on me.

I went to the credit union and got a better card.

I have gotten some good discounts from businesses because I pay with cash.

P.S. The man can't track you if don't use you card.

[ripcord]

81. I always have a few hundred dollars on me

A lot of that has to do with the remote areas I travel in, sometimes the card reader doesn't work in the middle of nowhere.