4 ms·

I'm curious why you don't carry cash?

cperciva 8y ago
I have friends who don't carry cash simply because they realized that it has been years since they spent any. I do carry cash, but the only time I recall spending any in Canada in the past couple of years was when I dropped some into a charity donation "hat" -- which I knew I would be doing, so I could easily have brought some along for that purpose rather than carrying cash around all the time.
techsupporter 8y ago
It's a fair question. I'm not the person to whom you replied but thought I'd contribute my view point. I don't carry cash because it feels more cumbersome and less speedy than paying with card. With cash, I either have to work out close to exact change or--when I'm out for a leisure day and going to several places--have a mass of coins jangling around at the end. I've noticed that I'm now irrationally irritated watching someone painstakingly count out $12.83 in exact change ahead of me at the till. It also makes it difficult for me to track where I'm spending. That $60 or $100 might have gone to eating out or a bookstore or some other random place. I'd rather have the card transaction to know and categorize for sure. Speaking of denominations, I'd rather not carry much money around on me yet ATMs around me only dispense in multiples of $20 and then you get into the fun dance of how to get smaller bills if needed. So many shops now say "no change made." Finally, I put all of the spending I can (basically everything except mortgage and student loan payments) on cards for the card benefits. Miles, automatic cash back, in-store discounts, etc. Those don't happen when paying by cash. (Yes, I know, the benefits are being paid out of the transaction fees that the merchant is charged plus interest that other people pay. I'm aware that I'm leveraging that and that prices would, possibly, be lower overall if we didn't use cards or didn't have the rewards. If that day comes, I will adapt.)
- Izkata 8y ago
  No comment on the rest of it, but on this: > I don't carry cash because it feels more cumbersome and less speedy than paying with card. With cash, I either have to work out close to exact change or--when I'm out for a leisure day and going to several places--have a mass of coins jangling around at the end. I've noticed that I'm now irrationally irritated watching someone painstakingly count out $12.83 in exact change ahead of me at the till. I've actually timed the people in front of me, and the vast majority of the time, cards take nearly twice as long as cash. No idea why, as I would also expect counting out the change to more than make up for that. (I'm in the US, maybe the systems are different enough to account for this?)
throwaway98121 8y ago
I don’t carry cash because it’s inconvenient. By using a credit card, I don’t need to manage individual dollar bills or change. My wallet is a small card holder that fits unobtrusively in my front pocket. I have a couple different cards. I use an AMEX cash back card for groceries and general shopping, Amazon, etc. I get 6% cash back up to $600 a year. For travel and hotels, I have a Chase card that gives me bonus miles, paid for my TSA pre, and some other perks. I pay off all cards in full each month. There’s never any interest. In return, I don’t have to manage cash and I get cash back and travel points. There’s literally no downside for me. Paying with cash for things I put on these cards means I’d be leaving money on the table. Also, I budget through mint. All my spending automatically appears and gets categorized since my cards are linked to my account. There’s never a question of where the money went.

I have friends who don't carry cash simply because they realized that it has been years since they spent any. I do carry cash, but the only time I recall spending any in Canada in the past couple of years was when I dropped some into a charity donation "hat" -- which I knew I would be doing, so I could easily have brought some along for that purpose rather than carrying cash around all the time.

techsupporter 8y ago

It's a fair question. I'm not the person to whom you replied but thought I'd contribute my view point. I don't carry cash because it feels more cumbersome and less speedy than paying with card. With cash, I either have to work out close to exact change or--when I'm out for a leisure day and going to several places--have a mass of coins jangling around at the end. I've noticed that I'm now irrationally irritated watching someone painstakingly count out $12.83 in exact change ahead of me at the till. It also makes it difficult for me to track where I'm spending. That $60 or $100 might have gone to eating out or a bookstore or some other random place. I'd rather have the card transaction to know and categorize for sure. Speaking of denominations, I'd rather not carry much money around on me yet ATMs around me only dispense in multiples of $20 and then you get into the fun dance of how to get smaller bills if needed. So many shops now say "no change made." Finally, I put all of the spending I can (basically everything except mortgage and student loan payments) on cards for the card benefits. Miles, automatic cash back, in-store discounts, etc. Those don't happen when paying by cash. (Yes, I know, the benefits are being paid out of the transaction fees that the merchant is charged plus interest that other people pay. I'm aware that I'm leveraging that and that prices would, possibly, be lower overall if we didn't use cards or didn't have the rewards. If that day comes, I will adapt.)

Izkata 8y ago
No comment on the rest of it, but on this: > I don't carry cash because it feels more cumbersome and less speedy than paying with card. With cash, I either have to work out close to exact change or--when I'm out for a leisure day and going to several places--have a mass of coins jangling around at the end. I've noticed that I'm now irrationally irritated watching someone painstakingly count out $12.83 in exact change ahead of me at the till. I've actually timed the people in front of me, and the vast majority of the time, cards take nearly twice as long as cash. No idea why, as I would also expect counting out the change to more than make up for that. (I'm in the US, maybe the systems are different enough to account for this?)

throwaway98121 8y ago

I don’t carry cash because it’s inconvenient. By using a credit card, I don’t need to manage individual dollar bills or change. My wallet is a small card holder that fits unobtrusively in my front pocket. I have a couple different cards. I use an AMEX cash back card for groceries and general shopping, Amazon, etc. I get 6% cash back up to $600 a year. For travel and hotels, I have a Chase card that gives me bonus miles, paid for my TSA pre, and some other perks. I pay off all cards in full each month. There’s never any interest. In return, I don’t have to manage cash and I get cash back and travel points. There’s literally no downside for me. Paying with cash for things I put on these cards means I’d be leaving money on the table. Also, I budget through mint. All my spending automatically appears and gets categorized since my cards are linked to my account. There’s never a question of where the money went.