"I don't carry cash"

[Hereward]

If I didn't have a £100 or £200 in my wallet, I'd feel like I was a vagrant. Anything but groceries and online purchases gets paid for with cash. It helps me keep spending under control as I really feel the wallet emptying.

I'm so old.

[Jaxom 1974]

Very rarely use cash. Sweden might not be a cashless society, but it's pretty darn close.

I wish to apologize to you for reading your post as calling Sweden "classless"...I assure you, I read it correctly the second time... :P

[Stalker]

What say you? Do you carry cash still? Use a card for everything? Live in Japan and pay for all your stuff using your Iphone?

I only carry cash in order to not be that sort of person. But I only use cash once or twice a month, so I understand why many simply don't bother.

[Starkess]

I almost never have cash on me. Usually if I am going somewhere that I will need it, I will know ahead of time. I rarely, rarely take cabs, and most cabs these days take cards. The rare case when I do get cash, I often forget in my wallet for weeks, because most days I only have my license, military ID, and card in my pocket.

The other day I was taking a shuttle service from the airport, and I didn't even think to get cash for it, and boy did I feel awkward when the driver came through and asked us, jammed in like sardines, for our $25 each. Thank god one of the guys had enough to cover for me--I hit up an ATM the next day to pay him back. I loathe owing people money.

So now I have some extra cash in my wallet, and I will have to make a conscious effort to spend it. I honestly can't think of anywhere I go that it makes more sense to use cash.

[Swordfish]

What I'd like to see happen in the US: Get rid of the penny and round it all up to .05 And the only way we are going to get people to use the $1 coin is to stop making them. Based on my cash handling experience the most popular bill is the $20 and least popular bill is the $10... That could have been because the drinks were so damn expensive at the Douche Bar I worked in.

I actually love the ten, but it seems like there aren;t very many of them in circulation anymore?

It seems like I'm constantly getting two fives instead.

[Tempra]

I keep $20 or $40 on me in case of an emergency.

I hate hate hate hate when people (cabbies) try to to sucker you into using cash instead of credit. Deal.

[Lightning Lord]

I almost always have cash. I hate having to bum money from friends because I don't have the cash on me. I typically go to the ATM and take out my estimated monthly spending after I get paid (between US$500-US$800). I walk away with a small brick of money and put it in my desk drawer, withdrawing as needed.

I enjoy being able to spot people a dinner or coffee if we meet up and they've got nothing. It means I'm purchasing them by very small increments. Soon, I'll own most of my friends. :smug:

[Altherion]

What I'd like to see happen in the US: Get rid of the penny and round it all up to .05

Interestingly enough, this doesn't help as much as you'd think. Switzerland does it, but all it appears to accomplish is making the 0.05 the new pariah among coins (e.g. machines that sell bus tickets won't take them).

[Liadin]

I carry some cash, but it's mostly for those days when I'm an idiot and manage to leave my debit card behind. Currently I have a bunch because I made a large return at Home Depot and they insisted on giving me all my money in cash (fives and tens, no less). And I'm usually too lazy to deposit it when I get it.

[Balefont]

I rely heavily on my check card but I also try to plan ahead and have cash on me for times I may potentially need it. :)

The thing is, I can't tolerate carrying a bag/purse/wallet 98% of the time. I rely heavily on pockets. So the less stuff that can fill 'em or fall out of them, the better. Especially when it's something irreplaceable like cash.

But that's just how I roll. YMMV

[The Progressive]

I carry cash because the Arco gas stations do not accept credit cards and they have the lowest gasoline prices.

[kairparavel]

I never every carry cash. My impression is that Canada is more of a cashless society than the US. I'm always surprised when I go to the states and places wont take debits cards. Someone stated a while back on the board that they were paying with a cheque at the grocery store, and I was very surprised, cause you haven't been able to do that at chain stores here in 10 years at least.

I use my debit card for everything I can, and even vending machines and parking areas are swapping to allow debit or credit card use.

This.

Before I moved to the US in 2002, I think I saw the inside of a bank maybe once a year. Between direct deposit and debit, I never had to go to the bank and I almost never had cash in my wallet. It was an adjustment when I moved here, and needed to carry cash again. I've never really managed to get into the habit of it.

Just yesterday, the post office computer system was down, taking no credit or debit card transactions, nor any international shipping. (WTF?) Cash or cheque only. Cheques. Good lord. Naturally, I had no cash to pay for my $3.78 transaction. Luckily the post office lobby had an independent ATM that charged me $2.50 to get my 20 dollars. Just a reminder, I guess, that computers are fallible fuckers. I still hate carrying cash.

[MercenaryChef]

This.

Before I moved to the US in 2002, I think I saw the inside of a bank maybe once a year. Between direct deposit and debit, I never had to go to the bank and I almost never had cash in my wallet. It was an adjustment when I moved here, and needed to carry cash again. I've never really managed to get into the habit of it.

Just yesterday, the post office computer system was down, taking no credit or debit card transactions, nor any international shipping. (WTF?) Cash or cheque only. Cheques. Good lord. Naturally, I had no cash to pay for my $3.78 transaction. Luckily the post office lobby had an independent ATM that charged me $2.50 to get my 20 dollars. Just a reminder, I guess, that computers are fallible fuckers. I still hate carrying cash.

but would they take a check?

[Liadin]

but would they take a check?

Doesn't use the same machine.

I did a retail stint a few years ago, and occasionally people would pay with cash or, yes, checks. Cash was kind of a pain; it was rare enough that I never got really fast about making change. Checks were only slightly less common.

Once somebody paid with a money order, and I had no idea what to do. I had to call a manager. Who carries money orders around?

[mcbigski]

I almost always have cash. Cash in my pocket means I'm charging less and also somehow being more frugal with cash in hand than a charge I'd pay off in a few weeks. Plus, cash is so much easier at restaurants etc.

[Crazydog7]

Ztemhead.

You're being a sucker and your work companions are moochers.

[mashiara]

I always have cash with me, sometimes a lot of it depending on what bills I'm planning on paying or what I'm thinking of buying. Like dalThor said, this is basically a cash economy. I carry my credit cards around and I'll use them for a big purchase but mostly I pay everything with cash. It makes it easier to keep track of what you're spending, actually. I do carry a lot of coins with me and use them often.

[Tyrellius]

Cheques? Hahaha, thats positively medieval.

I havent carried cash for about 2 years now.

[lordofavalon]

i buy almost everything with credit cards. makes more sense to me, especially considering I pay off my credit card every month. i just end up getting free points that I use to pay off my credit card.

so i'm basically given free money.

[ThinkerX]

Many years of pizza delivery got me used to the notion of having some greenbacks in my wallet nearly all of the time. Not too many, though, because I'd be too tempted to spend them - and because I'd always have more after each shift. I developed a sort of personal rule : the $120 / 20 rule:

Whenever the greenbacks in my wallet hit $120, and I had no immediate significant 'cash' type expense looming, $100 of that went in the bank - leaving me with $20 to play around with.

I usually kept (and still keep) a check or two on me in case something came up (but an increasing number of places no longer take checks). I also have a credit card...for emergency use only. I have, but do not use a debit card, because I have grave doubts about just how secure they really are.

With the pizza thing pretty much behind me, I've taken to taking a relatively small slice of my paycheck in cash.