Anybody still use CASH?

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RustyIron
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#21

Post by RustyIron »

bearfacedkiller wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:27 pm
Yup, I love cash. Our card culture is just making the banks rich. Why should they be getting a 1-2% cut of all of our spending? Are we that lazy?
Ummm... c'mon, brah. I KNOW you're good at math. I use cards, and I automatically get 2% back. Sometimes it's 3%, and if the stars are aligned, I get 5%. And that's not to mention the additional month's float on every purchase. It's only a few cents here and there, but I'm the sort of guy who will pick up a penny in the parking lot. Tally it all up, and I'm up probably a couple thousand a year. It's not life changing, but it's better than a poke in the hand with a sharp Spydie.

The people who really take it in the shorts are the people who don't pay their bills monthly. What do credit card companies charge nowadays? 20%? Now THAT is just bad math.

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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#22

Post by kennethsime »

Nope; never.

I used to keep $20 in my wallet for the taco truck, but then I stopped going to the taco truck so often. I had $200 in my wallet from a friend paying back a loan for about a year before I decided I didn't need $200 in my wallet and spent it.

I started using Apple Pay when I got a new phone two years ago, and I try to use it pretty much everywhere. In Iceland, you can use it EVERYWHERE, even the little old ladies in the rural highlands take Apple Pay as I learned on a recent trip there.

Recently, I got a new debit card that also has a tap + pay function. I feel like I've been waiting for one of these for 10 years or more.

With COVID-19, I'm glad I can pay for stuff without handling cash. Would be even better if I didn't have to touch a pin pad half the time.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#23

Post by bearfacedkiller »

RustyIron wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 10:27 pm
bearfacedkiller wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:27 pm
Yup, I love cash. Our card culture is just making the banks rich. Why should they be getting a 1-2% cut of all of our spending? Are we that lazy?
Ummm... c'mon, brah. I KNOW you're good at math. I use cards, and I automatically get 2% back. Sometimes it's 3%, and if the stars are aligned, I get 5%. And that's not to mention the additional month's float on every purchase. It's only a few cents here and there, but I'm the sort of guy who will pick up a penny in the parking lot. Tally it all up, and I'm up probably a couple thousand a year. It's not life changing, but it's better than a poke in the hand with a sharp Spydie.

The people who really take it in the shorts are the people who don't pay their bills monthly. What do credit card companies charge nowadays? 20%? Now THAT is just bad math.

P.S.
Credit Cards will soon be a thing of the past. They're what your granddaddy uses. Apply Pay is the new thing. Look at the total, wave your watch over the display, you're done. And through the miracle of modern cryptography, the transaction is far more secure than cards or cash.
I understand why folks love rewards cards and when I do use a card I factor that in. I use a card for 3% on gas and I do use it for online shopping. Locally I do not and I try my best to shop locally. It isn’t easy being so rural but I try. I live in a part of the country where folks are obsessed with buying local and where big chain stores are not overly accepted. We had a Home Depot for about a year and folks protested out front until it got closed down. I shop at a small independent grocery store and not a chain store. I know the owner and she is a local farmer. When I use a rewards card there my 2% basically comes out of her bottom line. That is the math I did.

Someone once told me that a good deal is only a good deal if it is good for both parties involved so I support my local businesses with cash. I try to spend my money conscientiously and I do not feel the need to stretch every dollar as far as possible. That desire to stretch money as far as possible is very damaging to our country as well but that could be quite the tangent.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#24

Post by The Deacon »

Short simple answer would be rarely.

Longer answer would be that I carry a $20 bill in my wallet, just in case, but it's been there for a few years now. There are only a few cases where I actually pay for something with cash. I pay the gentleman who mows my lawn every couple weeks with cash, as that's what he prefers. I use cash in gun shops because, at least in my area, most of them charge a premium of anywhere from 3% to 5% if you use a card so it would be foolish not to pay cash. I use cash for private purchases because it's all most sellers will take. Finally, I do visit Aldi once every few months, so I keep the quarter I use for the cart deposit in my car.

Aside from that, it's debit card or credit card for everything local and either one of those or PayPal for everything online. Am pretty good about managing my money. Credit cards, when I use them, get paid off in full every month. I haven't paid one cent in credit card interest for at least 15 years and the small discount I get in places like Lowe's for using "their" card at least offsets most of the sales tax.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#25

Post by TomAiello »

bearfacedkiller wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 1:27 pm
Yup, I love cash. Our card culture is just making the banks rich. Why should they be getting a 1-2% cut of all of our spending? Are we that lazy?
I'm getting between 2% and 5% of the cost back when I use my cards (depending on the card). In some cases that's straight cash back to me, in some cases it's 'store credit' (Amazon, actually, which I know I'll spend) and in some cases it's airline miles (which I use all the time).

In most cases I'm getting a 'discount' by using a card. It takes quite a lot of figuring out to make it all happen (you have to use the ideal card for each type of spending to maximize the return), though. I definitely don't think I'm doing it out of laziness.

I always carry cash, though. I just find that occasionally you really _need_ to have cash. Like some other people though, I have the same $80 or so riding around in my wallet for months before I spend it.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#26

Post by soc_monki »

Nope, not usually. I may have 20 bucks on me, but other than that if I lose my wallet I lose my cash. Than ain't happening.

My bank does not charge me for checking or using my debit card. I have had my card information stolen a few times (twice in one year at 2 different gas stations lol) and I had to dispute the charges and cancel my card. I had to go into the bank to get cash to live on for a little while until I got a new card. No big deal. Recently had to do the same for my wife. Someone had paid spectrum in Texas $432. That's quite an internet bill! We got it back.

I just keep an eye on our bank account and dispute any charge I know we didn't make. Cash really means nothing now, it's just paper. If you want real value you buy precious metals, but no one is going to carry that around because no one deals in it. Cash is only good when networks go down, which isn't often and it's usually not for very long.

Debit card, phone... Doesn't matter, I can pay. No need to carry paper that can be lost, I can replace cards.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#27

Post by bearfacedkiller »

Sorry if lazy was not the correct word. I realize many are using their cards for rewards. My parents are brilliant at it. I guess I mistakingly assumed that convenience was the main reason for the majority of the population. On the other hand maybe y’all are just a thrifty bunch. :) We gotta pay for those Spydies somehow! :D
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#28

Post by rangefinder »

When a store accepts a CC, they are charged for each CC transaction. Determining the exact amount that gets paid is convoluted; it depends on the CC used, how it is processed (e.g., swiped/tapped vs. web site), what middleman system processes the CC transaction, and some other things. But all together, these charges typically work out to 2.5-4.5% of the purchase price.

Here's a page with the convoluted CC processing details: https://www.valuepenguin.com/what-credi ... fees-costs

It doesn't matter if you use a traditional CC (VISA, Mastercard, etc.), a debit card, or something like ApplePay. All of those charges get processed using the same systems on the backend, and the merchant pays something.

A previous post mentioned gun stores having a different cash vs. CC prices. I've seen that in my area as well. The "cash discount" price represents the real price of the item without the CC processing charges included. Most gun stores (excepting big national chains like Cabelas) are independent and operate on razor thin margins. So they aren't going to eat the CC processing charges, and the "regular" price has those charges included.

Keep those merchant-paid CC processing fees in mind when you use a CC at a small merchant. If you go to the farmer's market and buy $20 of strawberries and give the farmer a $20 bill, the farmer gets $20. If you use a CC and he uses his tablet with a Square dongle to process that CC, he's charged 0.62 (2.6% = 0.52, plus a 0.10 per transaction fee) by Square, so he's only getting $19.38 from that sale. (https://squareup.com/guides/credit-card ... -and-rates)

You may not care if Amazon or Wal-Mart or some big national retailer has to eat the CC processing fees. But those fees can make a difference to a small local store. And even though a product might cost slightly more at a local store, some of us prefer to shop locally because we don't want to see the retail landscape devolve to the point where the only choices are Amazon and Wal-Mart.

Could a small store pad the price of everything to include the CC processing fees? Sure. And without a "cash discount" price, that means when I pay cash I'm boosting their profit margin on those items. And I'm OK with that. I don't shop at small stores to get the lowest price -- I'd go to Amazon or Wal-Mart if price was my only concern.

So yes, I still use cash for many purchases. Partially because I'm trying to help merchants avoid the CC processing fees. But partially because cash is anonymous (and now that we're all wearing masks everywhere, cash purchases are REALLY anonymous!) and I don't care to let VISA or Mastercard know everything about my purchasing habits.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#29

Post by Doc Dan »

I rarely use cash. I won’t if I can help it. Some plumbers, the maid, etc. only take cash. Otherwise I never touch it. I carry a folded up $50 billion my wallet for emergencies but have not touched it.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#30

Post by James Y »

cbrstar wrote:
Tue Jun 30, 2020 4:54 pm
I use cash for many reasons.

1) Maybe 10 years or more when gas pumps started using debit cards. I had my debit card compromised at the gas station. Well the Bank froze my account for two weeks while they investigated!
That’s been my main concern as well, although it hasn’t happened to me (and hopefully never will). I’ve heard of that happening even at major stores, like Target.

Anyway, I’ll always prefer using cash in face-to-face purchases.

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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#31

Post by JRinFL »

It is all fiat currency these days anyway so it really matters little in what form you spend it. For privacy reasons cash is best, but your whole life needs to be below the radar for it to really matter.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#32

Post by Frozenspyder »

I live in a very rural area and work in retail. I'd guess about a third of the transactions I see are in cash. In fact, the local liquor store quit taking cards several years ago due to the fees. It's pretty humorous to watch people that aren't from the area trying to pay by waving their phones at random objects near the cash register.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#33

Post by abbazaba »

Sadly, I cannot buy a Spyderco locally, so this is way off topic for me :) :spyder:

I carry cash and use reward cards all the time, but really appreciate cash only business that have an ATM available for the unprepared... Choosing a bank that pays back 100% of my ATM fees means it's really just banks exchanging money rather than the owner (and me) paying fees for accepting plastic. The business might even get a kick back for having the ATM on the premise. Online sales are going to continue to grow, but liquor stores and lumber yards around here are good examples of small local businesses that are either still eating the fees in hopes of cash buyers, or marking up prices to accommodate card users. If you've sold more than a few things using Paypal you can probably relate to the extra overhead.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#34

Post by The Meat man »

Doc Dan wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:03 am
I rarely use cash. I won’t if I can help it. Some plumbers, the maid, etc. only take cash. Otherwise I never touch it. I carry a folded up $50 billion my wallet for emergencies but have not touched it.
$50 billion?!! :p :D

I'd love to see your wallet. :D
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#35

Post by ChrisinHove »

I carry both but use cash less and less. Mindful of charges, I always ask small retailers which they would prefer but nowadays I rarely hear a preference at all in reply.

Since Covid, passing currency from hand to hand just seems a bit reckless. Mind you, in some parts of the world it always has been, as paper notes can be filthy.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#36

Post by Doc Dan »

The Meat man wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 11:16 am
Doc Dan wrote:
Wed Jul 01, 2020 10:03 am
I rarely use cash. I won’t if I can help it. Some plumbers, the maid, etc. only take cash. Otherwise I never touch it. I carry a folded up $50 billion my wallet for emergencies but have not touched it.
$50 billion?!! :p :D

I'd love to see your wallet. :D
Hahahaha! The auto type got me.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#37

Post by Doc Dan »

ChrisinHove wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 2:52 pm
I carry both but use cash less and less. Mindful of charges, I always ask small retailers which they would prefer but nowadays I rarely hear a preference at all in reply.

Since Covid, passing currency from hand to hand just seems a bit reckless. Mind you, in some parts of the world it always has been, as paper notes can be filthy.
Cash is filthy. Since COVID 19 we disinfect our hands after touching cash.

One good thing about cashless businesses is that it will make armed robberies and resulting murders a thing of the past.
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#38

Post by PineyBoy »

I owe no one, nor any entity anything. In addition, I don't buy anything. My wife loves to buy stuff so I leave it all up to her. :rolleyes:
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Re: Anybody still use CASH?

#39

Post by James Y »

Doc Dan wrote:
Thu Jul 02, 2020 4:07 pm
Cash is filthy. Since COVID 19 we disinfect our hands after touching cash.

[/quote]

Cash has always been filthy, since way before Covid 19 ever existed. I remember hearing that something like 90% of all paper currency has trace amounts of cocaine on it, in addition to human pathogens. Even radioactive materials have been found on bills. Back when I was in elementary school in the early 1970s, one of my teachers told us how dirty cash (paper bills and coins) really are; that we should never put it in our mouths, and should always wash our hands after handling it. That one talk she gave has stuck in my head for almost 50 years now.

That said, any of the buttons you press while paying at the store or gas station with your credit card are also filthy with pathogens and other gunk. Or door handles. Heck, it’s said that people’s cell phones are filthier than the typical toilet seat.

I still prefer using cash during physical transactions. I’m just careful not to put my hands around my face, etc., until they’ve been washed after handling cash, or touching anything that other people touch. Covid hasn’t changed that for me, except that I wash my hands more often during the day.

Jim
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