Times I have needed cash this fortnight

[marymarkle]

I know there are some on here who say they never ever use cash. I don't know how they manage. Like most people I use a mixture of bards and cash.
So in the fortnight the times I have had to use cash are as follows.

Buying the Big Issue. I assume those who never use cash never buy the Big Issue.
Paying for drinks at a cash bar at a wedding. Very posh venue, but cash bar only, no cards.
Getting the bus into town. I live in a City where the buses only take cash or a bought bus card. I hardly ever use the bus, so no point buying a bus pass, so I used cash. You can not use a card.
Went to a local vintage fair today. This is a small fair and the best stalls are always some people who do this as a hobby/to make a bit of extra money, and none of them take cards. I assume because of the cost of taking cards.
Paid a tip by cash in a restaurant. I always pay tips in cash so servers get the whole amount. Even the best places take an admin fee.

By refusing to use cash I would have negatively affected my life this fortnight and not supported someone who is homeless.

Iruka I am not saying people should use more cash, you misunderstand me. I am saying I don't know how anyone manages without any cash. Unless they do nothing except pay for food shopping and bills. And yes frequently there are people on MN who claim to never use cash ever.

We always have cash for parking. Some take cards, but not not all. And the pay by phone choice I have never been able to get to work.

Yes I can imagine buskers at the Edinburgh Festival will take cards. That is because most are professionals who do what they do for a living. Different though with the buskers in some cities where for example, it is a couple of music students who go out for a few Saturdays to busk.

I think most people will rely on cards. But generally you need some cash. Although how anyone on a very very tight budget budgets by card I have no idea.

I'm on a tight (strict?) budget with a card. We have a joint account for all the bills and food/fuel and then anything else has to come out of our personal accounts (which are usually empty ). All the car parks here take cards as do the independent cafes/shops (that we rarely use). We're pretty rural too.

I live in London and for the past couple of weeks I’ve experimented with only taking my phone out with me and using it for contactless payments.
The only times I’ve needed cash have been at a community centre cafe that didn’t take cards, for tipping takeaway delivery drivers (though I could have added a tip via the app) and £1 for a supermarket trolley.
I feel so much freeer without lugging my purse with its twelfty million loyalty cards around.

I still use cash all the time. I keep track of my spending better when I use cash. I do have Apple Pay and contactless/online banking and use them but I also draw cash out and use it regularly too.
My partner rarely uses card at all, his card was cloned years ago and he dislikes using it so uses cash mostly unless a big purchase at a trusted place.

The costs of a card reader isn't the only issue. A small business that accepts cards takes on the risk of a criminal using a stolen card - they get a "charge back" from the card company, so they lose out. Same if some chancer later claims the money back saying the goods were faulty.

Bigger shops etc can absorb that, but a small trader may not wish to take that risk.

(Yes, I know there are appeal processes etc., but banks are very hard to deal with and small businesses can't afford solicitors to represent them).

I'd pay for parking by card if it didn't cost more. But the local council use a company that charges a fee, so it just pushes up the price of already exorbitant parking charges. Why pay more when it's so easy just to have some loose coins in your car??

I live in rural Shropshire with crappy internet.

I live on the Lancashire/Cumbria border with crappy internet. That's why we have to pay by cash on buses. It's why the local "craft" fairs and fetes etc in the local villages are cash only - they can't get a good enough mobile signal for the mobile card readers.

The only time I need cash is for the raffle at the 2 clubs I belong to in my village. £1 every 2 weeks. Everything else goes on the card. Window cleaner is paid by bank transfer.

I live on the Lancashire/Cumbria border with crappy internet. That's why we have to pay by cash on buses

That's bollocks. Bus contactless payment doesn't require any network connectivity.

I don't really understand why people get so oddly upset that some people don't use cash

Maybe because a lot of people get "put upon" to help out when a trendy "cashless" person suddenly finds out they need cash after all and expect others to help them out. (Those "others" being people who had the common sense to carry at least some emergency cash with them for unforeseen circumstances).

In Storm Desmond our entire area was without electricity for 3 days which also knocked out the mobile network and local telephone exchanges. There was no public transport. Those with cash could use taxis, buy stuff in the small independent shops that remained open, buy food from independent catering vans that started to appear around the town. Those without who relied on cards couldn't do anything but rely on charity.

I still use cash too. I find I budget better if I draw it out rather than just flash my contactless! Most things to do with my horse are paid in cash - hay, farrier, groom.

I don’t give to beggars anymore after seeing a load of them locally get into a merc and get out their posh phones. I give to shelter, streetpaws and cold nights instead so I know it’s going to people genuinely in need.

That's bollocks. Bus contactless payment doesn't require any network connectivity.

It's the official reason given by the bus company as to why they don't accept cards!

The only one of those I'd need cash for is the big issue, I live in London so the others all take cards.

I have been caught out though when travelling outside London! So I keep emergency cash always

We need £25 a week cash to pay the cleaner, that’s it. I don’t take the bus, I hate craft fairs and markets, don’t have any homeless people in the area and no I don’t buy the big issue. I’m on mat leave so most of my outings are baby classes which I’ve already paid for by direct debit. I keep a few coins in my purse in case I need them for parking but I rarely do, plus always £1 for the trolley at Aldi.

I need cash for parking, it woukd cost 40% more to pay by phone, the alternative option.

I also pay for cleaner, piano tutor, kids activities and massage by cash.

I don’t keep much cash - maybe £10 - £20?

The only times I use it are:

Taxis
Donations
School collections/special days
School fairs or similar
One local stately home and cafe that is cash only

Cutting down on cash useage would also go some way to eliminating benefit fraud and the NRPs who decide to go self-employed to avoid paying maintenance.

Forgot to add:

Mobile hairdresser

I use cash for baby group once a week - and only because they haven't linked up their card machine yet. Otherwise, I never use cash. I would also go out of my way to avoid places that only take cash.

It's the official reason given by the bus company as to why they don't accept cards!

There are ways to do it which require permanent connectivity. There are ways to do it that only require intermittent connectivity. There are ways to do it that only require connectivity at the garage. Even if you're paying with a phone, neither the phone nor the reader need an Internet connection at the point of payment. Think about it: you can open the gates on the London Underground with a phone without breaking step - how would they do that with an online authorisation every time?

I mostly use cards now, but always carry £20-30 in cash and it's taking longer and longer to spend it.

I usually use it for small purchases - I still feel a bit of a twat putting less than about a fiver on a card and you still see small shops who won't take cards under a fiver or charge extra. Also many parking meters charge a 'convenience fee' to pay by non cash methods, which I think is outrageous. How many people are blindly paying all those extra 25/50ps instead of carrying a bit of cash?

The people who 'never use cash' either probably rely on others in times of need, or don't do many outdoorsy things, where almost all parking meters and many cafes and shops are still cash only. I do these things every weekend so always need to have cash on me.

There's also the power cut/flood/bank system failure scenario, which I think is good to be prepared for.

Also live up North and whilst the buses don't have card machines, you just download their app and pay for tickets on there. Less paper too.

Are you trying to tell us that your way is best?

Reflectant They probably have more expensive and better technology on the underground than the bus company can afford to pay for. In rural areas many bus services make little money, whereas the London underground is heavily subsidised.

Some of my family live in a rural area with terrible connectivity. They all have landlines because even getting a signal long enough for a phone conversation on mobiles is difficult. I live in a City so do not have this issue. But no way could you rely on apps on phones in the rural area.

I paid with coins for a colleague's birthday.
i bought apples and oranges but because I only had one pound, I had to owe her, next week, the remaining £1.25

3luckystars Why would you think that when I have not said anything like that??
I have been very clear about why I posted this.
RTFT