I just realized while going through my online bank statement that yesterday was the first time in nearly four months that I made a cash withdraw from the ATM. Which is as far as I can recall, was the last time I actually had cash money in my hands. I’ve been living completely on my bank card.
It’s weird, it almost seems like paper money is becoming obsolete.
Any others gone that long or longer?
Paper money is handier for going out drinking.
It’s a little too dangerous to rely on credit/debit card in a bar…
This thread tweaks my Conspiracy Theory bone. When I was a kid, I remember scary interpretations (misinterpretations, I’m certain) about how the mark of the beast would be needed one day to buy anything at all, and the first signs would be that we used a card for everything, and eventually, that card would be implanted, or something like that.
At the time, (about 30 years ago) I don’t think my family used credit cards at all. My mom and dad definitely had paper checks that they cashed for cash, and we used cash for everything. So, it seems really eerie when I think about the fact that at the time when those wild stories were being told in my youth, I simply couldn’t fathom a time when money would become obsolete.
Not since about 1988 (Aussie money has been plastic since then)
I cannot recall the last time I used cash. I do not even an ATM card. My paychecks are direct deposited into a financial institution that is far from where I live so I do everything with plastic and/or online.
Heh, it’s funny you mention this. I was going to state in my OP that I’m ready for my implant chip. I didn’t do it because I figured nobody would get the obligatory reference.
I use my card out drinking all the time. Why is it dangerous?
I guess I am an old fogey. I use cash for all purchases under $20 (except for refilling my fare card where using cash is a pain) for taxis, at the post office and occasionally otherwise. I guess I get $200 from the ATM about every two weeks.
For the next three weeks I will be in Barbados, where cash generally is used for everything except high priced restaurants.
I always keep five singles in my wallet “just in case,” but outside of an occasional lottery ticket I never use cash.
I use cash all the time… but then I spend a lot of time in countries where there are no ATMs or credit cards are useless (e.g. Sudan).
I currently have 17 different currencies on the table next to me:
USD, CAD, AED, BHD, OMR, QAR, SDG (not a typo, this is Sudan, not Singapore), CHF, CZK, GBP, EUR, AUS, NZD, JPY, KRW, RMB, INR
I use my credit card for things when I can, but mostly use cash.
I use my debit and credit cards a lot, but I still like to keep some cash on me. I’d say I use some amount of cash almost daily.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.
I am not the target market for the OP’s informal poll, because I am a bartender–ergo I handle money every single day–but DAMN it annoys me when I have to run a credit card for a single drink. Even more annoying is the customer who doesn’t want to open a tab, so he keeps buying a single beer with his credit card every half hour or so. I’ve gone so far as to tell these people–which has happened, albeit not as frequently as I claim to them–that if I keep running their card over and over, their card company will suspect fraud and eventually deny the charges.
Yes that does happen. No, not often as I claim.
But you know what? If you’re buying a beer and/or a round every half hour or so, and you insist on closing out your tab every single time, you’re gonna wish you’d brought cash by the end of the night. Cuz I’m gonna ignore you in favor of people with good ol’ cash in their hands. Quicker, easier, in-and-out, and no wondering if you’re gonna tip me. The proof is in my tip jar.
I can’t stand people who make tiny purchases with credit cards.
And yes, this applies even when I’m not working. I’m behind somebody who ordered a latte at a coffee shop–or bought a cheap paperback at a bookstore–and I have to wait while the card is run, validated, and the receipt signed…
We’re talking about a purchase of less than 7 bucks here.
WHAT’S WRONG WITH CASH?
Sorry. Don’t wanna derail the thread. It just drives me nuts…
I suppose there was a period when I was very sick when I didn’t have any money. That would have lasted 4 or 5 months. But other than that, I use money most weeks.
Use cash all the time. Love cash. Feels great. Use plastic for gas and groceries. Cash for books, incidentals, small stuff. Always have at least $100 on me.
I physically carry my pay check to the credit union every week, deposit most in checking, and get a pile of bills to split between my wife, my daughter and I for use during the next seven days.
Most of our weekly purchases are made with cash–groceries, gas, various household odds and ends.
And our daughter gets her small allowance in dollar bills each week. She saves them up in her pocketbook until there’s enough for a trip to the book store or toy store. She also takes a bit of cash to school every two weeks so she can made a deposit in her savings account when the credit union visits the school.
Do you cashless folks have kids who want to visit the candy store? Do you give a nine-year-old a debit card?
I still use cash for the vending machines at work. If it not for that, I think I could do without it almost entirely.
Once in a long while I need to take a taxi. Then it’s cash for that as well.
Probably about six months. It would have been longer, but last week I picked up a dollar bill I saw fall out of someone’s pocket and gave it back to them.
4-5 days. I have a remote camp in Maine and do not usually have an opportunity to spend cash when there. When at home or traveling to more civilized places, I use cash almost exclusively. I don’t believe in debit cards and only use credit cards for big purchases (pay off the balance each month).
I use cash all the time. You know those Visa commercials where everything is running like clockwork at the checkout counter until some yahoo gums up the works by paying cash? Well, when I go out to lunch with co-workers, I’m usually the only one who pays in cash, everyone else uses plastic, and my transactions take far less time to complete than theirs do.