Sainsburys checkout lady said that “lots of people are switching back to cash just now”

[Harpings]

I know it’s just one checkout person. But is this something others have noticed/ are doing? Just wondering if so and why it would be ?

I can’t say I’ve noticed. But possibly due to budgeting, easier to set cash aside than leave in bank account untouched.

It's a social media conspiracy thing. If you use cash then it means you're not controlled by the government who is on a mission to make a cashless society (sounds like a load of rubbish to me but who knows).

People switch to cash when they have tight budgets.

People switch to cash when they're not declaring their earnings properly too.

I spend less if I use cash and it's much more obvious if you hand over a note and get a few coins back than just tap. I spent about £6-7 quid in 3 different shops yesterday on stuff I didn't really need. I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have if I was handing over a dwindling supply of notes. However so much is done online and by DD/SO now that I'm wary of taking out wads of cash and then not leaving enough in the account.

I've seen fb posts about supporting local businesses by using cash

Budgeting. I always use cash for food shops because it’s two easy to go over with tapping for small top ups.
larger purchases I use credit cards.

Easier to keep track of spends?using cash might make people more mindful of what they are spending and on what items?

Because its savings from under the mattress

There was also the daft thing that was circulating on Facebook last year about how if you paid cash for a service banks weren't getting a cut...

I did wonder if it was budgeting . Makes sense.

That's a really good point. Using physical cash is often recommended for budgeting.

Yes I’ve noticed it. When I was cashing up at work a couple of weeks ago, 40% was cash, it’s usually more like 20-30%.

I try to use cash, it's just too easy with Contactless payments. Tap Tap Tap and you've overspent your weekly budget.

Easier to budget with cash. Tapping your card doesn't always feel like real money. Having said that, I rarely, if ever use cash now. I did sell some stuff on marketplace a couple of months ago and had £150 cash in my purse for weeks. I had to make myself use it as I just keep forgetting it was there.

Yes contactless is just way too easy ! I am sure switching back to cash is probably not what banks want us to do really. But just shows it’s what people actually prefer sometimes

It’s an actual fact (as said by experts , lol ) that you are more frivolous with a card . You don’t feel the pinch when using it and tend to overspend.

Good. We all need to keep using cash and refuse to give in and give it up. Ever. Nothing good can come from a cashless society. The only positives are for the government. No one can change my mind on that.

Can't say I've noticed anyone moving back to cash myself. In my immediate peer group it's regarded as an out-of-date novelty. I find it an enormous pain, because if I take cash out to buy something I'm invariably left with a pile of coins that sit around for weeks. Far easier just to card everything.

It's not that we're trendy millennials or something, we're all 40's and 50's.

I can understand using cash if you want to limit and prevent impulse spending, but even in terms of budgeting due to poverty I don't really see the benefit. If you have £6.57 in your account you can't take that out of an ATM, but you can still spend every penny of that with a card transaction.

I'd gladly move to a cashless society tomorrow. The last few hold-out businesses that demand cash only are a complete pain in the backside.

I had to use cash in Waitrose the other day to get change for the school non uniform day and the till operator said the exact same thing - I was surprised too.

This is interesting- hardly any local businesses where I am take cash now

Yes I've noticed this,I try and support small businesses with cash.

This , the card readers cost them to use so using cash helps although I can't see that being an issue for a supermarket.

I like using money sometimes I always have cash on me if I've got a few shops to go to I feel weird using my card for a small amount.

My hairdresser only takes cash or a balance transfer they don't have a card machine.

I try to use cash when I'm buying from small local businesses. A local soft play had to switch to cash only as the card charges were making too much of a debt in their already small margins. Certainly made me think. I wouldn't want my local shops to end up nothing but chain stores.