# How much cash do you typically carry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 1, 2025, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656 "2025-09-01T16:10:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/61 "2025-09-02T00:36:35Z")
$80-90 I carry it folded as three twenties plus some number of smaller bills in the center pocket of a [mini wallet](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01H19JINC?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title) with three cards and my license. I reload whenever I use some of the cash, which seems to be every couple of months. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/62 "2025-09-02T00:38:24Z")
I occasionally get paid in cash but I rarely spend any. Unless I’m on my way to the ATM to deposit the cash I’ve most recently been paid, I don’t have any on me. Currently I have $270 in my bag waiting to be deposited and I keep between $500 and $1000 in a box at home for flexibility. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/63 "2025-09-02T00:44:16Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > Which is why I like $50 bills. Carrying a few hundred dollars in $20 bills makes for a fat wallet, but 4 $50 bills is hardly noticeable and can really save your bacon. I think a lot of stores don’t accept $100 or $50 bills so I prefer $20 bills. ---
**Author:** ![FinsToTheLeft](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finstotheleft/32/2930_2.png) [@FinsToTheLeft](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinsToTheLeft)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/64 "2025-09-02T02:09:10Z")
My last two wallets are credit card only, so $0. My current one also has an AirTag in case I drop it. I do keep an emergency stash of cash at home but never touch it aside from the fancy gelato place near me that is cash only. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/65 "2025-09-02T02:32:36Z")
I almost never have any cash on me. I do happen to have $6 in one dollar bills on me now because I had to make a rare run to the ATM to visit a cash-only business, but if you picked a random day in the last ten years, there’s at least a 75% chance I will have had no cash on me. I usually keep $1k-$3k at home, but that just ran out and I haven’t had a chance to refill the envelope. ---
**Author:** ![HoneyBadgerDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/honeybadgerdc/32/1033_2.png) [@HoneyBadgerDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HoneyBadgerDC)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/66 "2025-09-02T02:37:00Z")
I usually get $40.00 cash back at the grocery store once a week and I seldom spend it all. . ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/67 "2025-09-02T03:28:43Z")
We keep a few hundred at home, and run through it as we usually pay the cleaning lady in cash. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/68 "2025-09-02T03:30:21Z")
> [@Lancia](#): > > I teach a financial literacy class to high school age kids. I tell them that one should always carry enough cash on them to buy, at minimum, a couple meals and pay for a couple day’s worth of reliable transportation I think this advice is out of date. There are more and more places around me that aren’t set up to take cash. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/69 "2025-09-02T03:37:37Z")
I usually have a $20, though I’d rather have a $10 and two $5s to make life easier, should I need a smaller amount. When I’m traveling, the equivalent of $100-$200 in € or £ or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/70 "2025-09-02T04:18:25Z")
$1,000 for emergencies, which I rarely use, and $100 in smaller bills for tips and my monthly haircut which is $35 with tip. I use CC for 99% of my expenditures. ---
**Author:** ![Bookkeeper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bookkeeper/32/281_2.png) [@Bookkeeper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bookkeeper)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/71 "2025-09-02T04:32:44Z")
I still carry $200 in $50 and $20 bills in my wallet as emergency cash, which I don’t think I’ve touched more than once or twice in the last couple of years, mostly for buying games from private sellers. They would accept e-transfers, but I don’t have a smartphone, so can’t do those unless I’m at home at my computer. I also have a few $1 and $2 coins in my coin pocket, which I last used buying a single item at a dollar store a couple of months ago. Most other payments while I’m out are debit card. I use my credit card for payments over $200, such as for car service, and for parking meters, which are pretty much all credit card only. Bills and house/garden maintenance work are all online e-transfers. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 7:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/72 "2025-09-02T07:22:19Z")
Between ¥3,000 to ¥20,000, so $20 to $135. When it gets below about $50, I usually get some more. We keep extra cash in the car and some at home so my wallet isn’t the only option. When I first lived in Japan, cash was king and very few places took credit cards. Gradually, more and more places take credit cards or other forms of e-money. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/73 "2025-09-02T09:12:03Z")
I just checked my pocket and I have $41.15 in there. Last time I remember getting money out of an ATM was in December - my barber likes to be paid in cash. I can’t recall what else I have paid cash for since. In Australia most people, particularly younger ones, pay for everything with cards or their phones. The group I work with go out for lunch together nearly every time we go to the office. Years ago someone would pay with their card (debit card, no-one would use a credit card here) and everyone else would pay their share to them in cash. Now we just use [PayID](https://www.auspayplus.com.au/solutions/payid) and instantly transfer the money via their mobile phone number or their email straight to their account. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/74 "2025-09-02T10:22:24Z")
I try to keep ~ $100. Assorted bills. I’m in the middle of a move. Solar installers, movers. Generally a shit ton of stuff going on. I like to give these hard working folks lunch money at least for a tip. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/75 "2025-09-02T10:56:30Z")
I don’t know what happened in Japan, but my first visit in 1999 they seemed to be the leading adopters of mobile payments. I was amazed that you could buy stuff from a vending machine using a mobile phone. 20 years later, I went back and everyone was paying cash for everything, ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 11:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/76 "2025-09-02T11:28:28Z")
In 1999, mobile payments wasn’t that common and now it’s much more widespread. ISTM that cash is still used more in Japan than in the West, but I disagree that “everyone pays cash for everything”. Looking online, Japan has dropped considerably in rankings on use of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/77 "2025-09-02T12:04:42Z")
My last visit was six years ago. Maybe cash use has declined since then. In 1999 the idea that you’d call a number on your cellphone and a soda or snack would pop out of a vending machine seemed like science fiction to me. At the time I was a grad student in Computer Science and working at a telecom firm, and I was certainly impressed. In each case I had just come from a longer stay in China. In 1999 China was all cash. In 2019 almost no one took cash in Beijing and Shanghai. Probably my impressions were colored by the contrast. ---
**Author:** ![Kron](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kron/32/12444_2.png) [@Kron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kron)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/78 "2025-09-02T12:09:23Z")
Another in the $0 club. All transactions are either card or phone. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/79 "2025-09-02T12:39:54Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > In 1999 the idea that you’d call a number on your cellphone and a soda or snack would pop out of a vending machine seemed like science fiction to me. Those vending machines were not widespread at all, and not commonly used by people. At best it was a novelty. The first commonly used, rechargeable IC chip card was Suica, and it wasn’t introduced until after 2000. It was introduced by Japan Railways, the former national railway, and you could use it for your monthly train pass, or for individual train rides. The amount of cash transactions has dramatically fallen in the last few years. I’m on my phone so I’m not going to post any links, but googling does confirm that. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [September 2, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656/80 "2025-09-02T13:06:37Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > $1,000 for emergencies That’s what you carry in your wallet or pocket? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-much-cash-do-you-typically-carry/1022656.md?page=5)