I have some handy for emergency situations and such but in my line of work I loathe it when people pay for weddings, quinceaneras and other services in cash… now have to find a way hang on to the paperwork about it and make sure the accountant knows the extra 30 grand in the deposit is transferred to the right house accounts for the different events And god help us if there’s multiple different families that have the same name and they are all back to back events…
Yeah, it’s common here in California, too. I usually decline.
It happens like clockwork every however many years: at the convenience store their “Internet was out”. No debit or credit. Good thing I had a little cash…
I had almost stopped using cash pre-Covid, but when many places started to refuse (possibly contaminated) cash and made a deliberate effort to avoid handling my plastic, I gave it up altogether.
I am sure that there are places that don’t accept plastic, but I don’t use them - they are probably avoiding tax anyway.
Many people seem to think that using debit cards is the way to go, but credit cards(so long as you clear the account every month) are far safer and more efficient.
I have noticed that I will buy stuff, pay for it with tap-and-go, without actually registering how much I have spent. I check my account daily and am sometimes shocked to see how much we spent on something like afternoon tea at that nice cafe.
That happens from time to time. Also, sometimes on my roadtrips, gassing up on our way to LA (from near San Francisco) occasionally triggers a fraud alert and my plastic won’t work. It’s times like that when it’s good to have a little cash…
Yeah. There are many more fraud protections for credit cards than debit cards. I don’t use it for anything.
Then there’s all the cash back I get on my Amazon card. It really turns out to be quite substantial.
I try to always carry cash on my person just in case. Which comes in handy. I ate at a restaurant the other day and they charged an additional 6% for credit card payments. So we just used cash. But I didn’t feel encouraged to go back there.
Sure. “I don’t use cash” doesn’t mean “I don’t carry cash.” I keep a few 20s in my wallet in case I’m somewhere cards aren’t accepted or won’t work, but I can go for a year or more without visiting an ATM to get more cash.
I’m used to carrying some cash for the same reason. Currently I only have $10 in my wallet. Even though I don’t have any plans to go anywhere for the next few weeks I keep thinking that I really should hit an ATM and pick up some cash just to have it.
Having some small bills or even coins is also useful for adding something to the tip jar or giving to beggars.
I hate using anything other than cash for purchases under $20. I use my DC for anything else. My CC is really just for big purchases or automatic scheduled payments.
Does that include gas? If I fill my car’s tank it’s almost always over $50, but if I’m filling my motorcycle, it’s almost always under $20. Compared to credit/debit, paying cash in either case is a major pain in the ass.
I use the DC for gas because the system is so awkward for cash. And since it’s always over $20 for a tank of gas for my car…
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This does not compute for me. I just finished a very rare three consecutive weekends at home; of those six days, all of them I was out by 7am & four of the six were well before sunrise. Three of those days I ended up in another state (at least 50 mins of driving each way) & my next weekend at home is looking to be mid-to-late July. Tonight is my one & only night at home this week.
This weekend will be 300 miles of driving, next weekend will be 600 (in ≈ 26 hrs), & the following weekend will 800-1000
Most gas stations around here have a discount for cash over card, usually 8-10¢ but I’ve seen as much as 16¢/gal difference
I try to use cash for local businesses. I don’t know any who don’t takes cards at all, but I also know that cards punish them with fees. I pay my barber in cash, my tailor in cash, the small used book store in cash. Local services that I don’t see face to face, like the lawn mowers or the snow plowers, I pay with a check. Same deal.
Sure, I have an Amazon CC. That gives me 5% off various items. How can they afford to do that when I pay the card off at the end of every month? They increase the fees on the small businesses that are their competition.
People always say they want local and small businesses to survive. Then support them. Throwing a fit that you have to do something as trivial as pay cash is not helpful.
I’m retired, and outside of grocery shopping and doctor appointments my primary out-of-home activity is attending science fiction conventions, which I do four or five times a year. My next trip is going to be the Glasgow WorldCon in early August, which will be coupled with a three-day stopover in Iceland.
You pay your card off at the end of every month - so do I - but an awful lot of people don’t:
The majority of revenue for mass-market credit card issuers comes from interest payments, according to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Yep. We tip and tip well for good service. But if I order at the counter, pay at the counter and pick up at the counter- I put a buck or two in the tip jar. None of that 20% crap for that.
It depends- small orders I pay with cash.
In America you put $5 or less under the pillow first day. Long stays more tipping.
I carry about half that.
My wife who works at a large chain grocery store -0 will NOT accept cash if the customer licks their fingers when counting it. ecch.
Too many Gas stations around here add a two large surcharge for CC, so I pay cash. Yesh, they have to pay 2%, but they want to charge at least double that.
For purchases under say- $40 that’s’ fine. But the 2% surcharge is offset by the about 1% that cash costs, not to mention the extra business cards bring in. But yeah- since the small the average purchase the larger the surcharge, I make all my small purchases with cash.
Right. It’s just a small courtesy to small businesses. Forty years ago recycling and using a cloth bag was an outlier in mainstream America, but it was a thing that did good and felt good. Doing so didn’t change the world. So what. Do it anyway. A million small things add up.
Why??