# When did you last pay with cash since this began? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 23, 2020, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408 "2020-04-23T05:04:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/41 "2020-04-23T19:34:57Z")
Couple days ago - used a $20 to get a couple bucks gas for my mower. Managed not to lick the change before washing my hands. Now those disease vectors are festering in my wallet. Damn - I want to rub them in my eyes! ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/42 "2020-04-23T19:46:23Z")
Normally I rarely use cash. But since mid March I’ve had many instances where they say my card doesn’t work, they can’t run it, they say it’s declined. This happened yesterday, when they tried to run it as credit twice then tried it as debit twice, declined all four times. Meanwhile I get a cell call from Potential Spam, which I don’t answer. Later I learned Potential Spam was actually my bank’s fraud detection subcontractor calling to see if this attempt was really me. For some reason I have had a great deal of trouble keeping debit cards working, for years. They keep triggering fraud alerts, or actually being compromised. There’s plenty of money in the account that was declined yesterday, over $16,000. ---
**Author:** ![FastDan1](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fastdan1/32/427_2.png) [@FastDan1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FastDan1)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/43 "2020-04-23T20:04:46Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Revelation 13.17 on facebook there was this post I couldn’t copy which said Gates got a patent for his currency and the patent number was 060606. Maybe someone can find that, thought it was odd [Cite](https://www.wthr.com/article/verify-microsoft-patent-refers-devices-smart-watches-not-microchips) > [@](#): > > The patent being referred to is WO2020060606A1 and can be found on the Google Patents database. It was filed in 2019 and published this March. > > Its description refers to a cryptocurrency system where human body activity is used to mine the currency. Cryptocurrency mining refers to a process that ultimately rewards the user in whatever cryptocurrency they’re mining. Not really that odd. ---
**Author:** ![SmartAleq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smartaleq/32/163_2.png) [@SmartAleq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmartAleq)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/44 "2020-04-23T20:21:03Z")
I pretty much always use cash and go to the self checkouts by preference so I’m using the bill accepters mostly. I’m not really stressing it too hard. I only go out maybe once a week or less and any change I get is gonna be sitting in my wallet for days so it’s unlikely to be a problem. I wipe down my steering wheel/gear lever/locks/window buttons in my car when I get home, then wash my hands real good when I get into the house and wipe down the doorknobs and switch plates. I’m not overly stressing over it. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/45 "2020-04-23T21:42:27Z")
I used cash two days ago to buy a bottle of bourbon. My shopping technique has to put everything I might need in a baggie. This may include cash, a credit card and shopping list. That baggie stays in a jacket or sweater pocket while shopping. If paying cash, I have the clerk drop any change back into the baggie which is then dropped into the larger bag with my purchases. Hand sanitizer is applied when I return to my car. When I get home, if the baggie has cash, I just leave it for a few days. If I’d used a card, I sanitize it before it goes back into the wallet. The idea is to not be digging around in my pants pockets where my wallet, phone and keys are. Those items need to stay safe & clean. A keyless entry vehicle helps. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/46 "2020-04-23T22:12:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > “And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.” > Doesn’t say jack about a cashless society. Clearly as long as one has the mark, checks and credit cards(all major brands) are accepted. ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/47 "2020-04-23T22:18:29Z")
Masked and gloved, I paid cash at a Walmart a few days ago. I knew prices ahead of time, handed the masked clerk a $20, told her to keep the 22 cents change for some customer a few pennies short. I pulled the plastic sack from my back pocket and bagged the items myself. Minimal contact, and everything rubbed down with Lysol wipes before depositing in backseat and disposing of gloves. Why cash and not a card? Because I didn’t want those items showing in my files. Gotta have _some_ semblance of privacy even in these trying times. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/48 "2020-04-23T22:23:20Z")
Hug. Weird that the patent is pretty much 2020666. Facebook people are very excitable ---
**Author:** ![SuntanLotion](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/suntanlotion/32/16165_2.png) [@SuntanLotion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuntanLotion)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/49 "2020-04-23T22:27:52Z")
Huh weird that the patent is 2020666. Facebook people are very excitable ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/50 "2020-04-23T23:12:28Z")
> [@SuntanLotion](#): > > Huh weird that the patent is 2020666. Facebook people are very excitable It’s not, it’s WO2020060606A1 ---
**Author:** ![Grim\_Render](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a87d85/32.png) [@Grim\_Render](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grim_Render)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/51 "2020-04-23T23:25:14Z")
Late October 2019 in Germany. I haven’t paid in cash in Norway for a number of years, nor had any. I remember paying a cashier in a grocery shop in cash in 2017 or 16, and the kid, who was very young, clearly had not had this happen to him before. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/52 "2020-04-24T00:55:36Z")
I haven’t paid cash for anything for months, ever since the lunchroom at work replaced their vending machines with a card-based system where you grab things off a shelf and scan them to pay. This was well before any hint of virus was in the news. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/53 "2020-04-24T11:05:09Z")
Used cash yesterday afternoon at the dispensary. They’re servicing one patient at a time, so there was a line going down the street with sidewalk markers to help people maintain distance. It was an odd assembly of people, some strange masks and even stranger outfits. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/54 "2020-04-24T12:17:55Z")
$50 for a taxi in in CA mid-March. Nothing since I’ve returned home. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/55 "2020-04-24T12:38:43Z")
I think I paid cash for something back in the third week of March. Since then, strictly credit. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/56 "2020-04-24T13:08:40Z")
Yesterday at a Burger King drive-thru. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/57 "2020-04-25T02:27:45Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > Clearly as long as one has the mark, checks and credit cards(all major brands) are accepted. Yeah, I’m still going to refuse to pay for weed with anything but cash. Even where it’s legal and/or Beast council approved. Gotta keep some traditions. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/58 "2020-04-25T03:14:21Z")
Today for lunch at the office; we all decided to order takeout. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/59 "2020-04-25T05:27:07Z")
I almost always pay cash and have done so five times today alone. Once at the grocery store across the street today after they got a new shipment of toilet paper. Then the $12.09 co-pay at my arthritis doctor’s. Then at Walmart. Then for a couple of calzones to take home from a local pizza place. Then back across the street for a six-pack. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408/60 "2020-04-25T16:00:41Z")
The only thing I was regularly using cash for before this was the parking garage nearest our office, which only took cash, and the occasional tip for food delivery. I haven’t been near my office or that parking garage since the middle of March, so the last money I got out of the ATM to use for it is still sitting. I’ve had deliveries several times since, but now arrange for the tips to be charged along with the order in advance so I’m not handing anything back and forth with the delivery people; they just leave the bags at the door and knock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-did-you-last-pay-with-cash-since-this-began/852408.md?page=4)