To think you still need to carry cash?

[Happinessforever]

Another example of me feeling old and out of touch

More and more people don't seem to carry cash, especially young people in their twenties or under. Need to pay something at work? It's a PayPal transfer, same for splitting a meal. Travel all by app. Same with shopping.

But I can't not have money on me 'just incase'. Always have at least a fiver but usually about £40.

So, AIBU to think you always need cash? Or am I clinging onto an old outdated habit

@phoenixrosehere but what if not everyone in your group is tech-savvy?! I often go out with ex work colleagues of various ages, some won't even think to bring a mobile phone let alone download an app!

I live in Belgium (til next week), and in many ways it is still a cash economy. The gardener will ask for x by bank transfer for the books and the rest in cash. We got a fair whack off the price of my diamond earrings by paying cash. I use it for the cleaner, tipping the hairdresser, coffees out, the fritkot over the road, the local baker. The man who does clothes alterations is cash only as well.

When back in the UK, the shop in the village is cash or cheque only. The cattery is cash or cheque only. The car parks in the local towns are cash as well. The butcher does now take cards, but it's taken over 30 years since I first shopped there for them to do so.

I don't have a contact less debit card by choice, and I don't have a smartphone either. My watch is analogue. I don't plan to change any of that.

@Ijustwanttoretire how small are their cars?!

I do carry cash but also use my card/Apple Pay frequently. I like the choice. My partner is all about cash at 40. Had his card clones once and it put him off.

I used to use cash for everything, but the local branch of the bank closed taking it's ATM with it, then the post office, leaving one ATM, inside a shop, as the only access for cash - I didn't have a debit card at that time and used cash, PayPal or online transfer. So the retailers had to provide card payments because unless you caught the cash machine 5 minutes after it was filled, you were out of luck. I had a bit of a carry on getting a debit card, I'd had money problems a few years before and my bank didn't want to give me one. Quite why I'm not sure because it was only another way of accessing my own money and if there was none there the transaction would be declined. I pointed out that they were effectively stopping me spending my money (no overdraft or loan or anything) and that since they'd closed the bank and ATM it was virtually impossible to get hold of cash now. And therefore with no debit card my account was basically useless. I told them that there were a few other options that I'd explored and if they didn't want to give me access to my own money, I'd go elsewhere. I now have a debit card. I do feel it was pushed in this direction though without any thought for customers like me - and where I live there is probably a lot like that. If that hadn't happened I'd happily be still using cash, PayPal and transfers tbh but I don't really carry cash around now, get cashback if I need it.

Another valid point by a PP, what about haggling-power? My dad (v old-school!)often buys stuff with cash and does the Old "how much for cash?" Line! I cringe but he gets results!

@Ijustwanttoretire phone pay is safe they need your fingerprint as security so if you lose your phone they can't use it. I wouldn't store cards in a case with my phone tho.

I do still carry cash, loads of things it's handy for still. I browse the charity shops around my work at lunchtime. Would never put a 50p book on my card! Soneone at work yesterday came round selling cookies and cakes for charity, handy to have a few pounds for that! Bus fares for my kids to go to school. Get thirsty, pop out to the shop for a can of juice. Window cleaner.

I live in rural Ireland and never use cash. The kids school has an app for payments and everywhere I go regularly takes cards. The only time I use cash really is when I buy things second hand. I'm trying to think of the last time I took out cash but can't remember.

I live and work in a rural town. The barber only takes cash or cheques. The same for people like fencers, log suppliers, and the chimney sweep.
Buses are cash or season ticket only.
It’s not just you.

When I worked in a hotel every now and again some guests (usually the retired couples on the organised coach trips) would try and pay their 1.20 for their morning paper in cash. It's be the only cash we would take all day as everyone else was on card or company accounts. It got to the point where we would just write off the amount as a goodwill gesture as the whole process for banking 1.20 was absolutely not worth it.

I use a mix of both.
where I live many shops are either cash only or cashless.

I take out once a month and its to cover the childminder,window cleaner and toddlers

I keep a couple of notes in my phone case, for giving to the DC to pop to the shop for milk or papers. Never see any change though, so it’s an expensive way to spend! Also cash for office tea club.

Pocket money, bus fares are on standing orders to the DCs own accounts and they use contactless and Oyster most of the time.

School payments and clubs are online or standing order.
Parking via app or contactless. The card only payment machine never has a queue, and I am always baffled by the folk lining up patiently whilst scrabbling for change.

My hairdresser doesn’t mind taking a cheque if I forget to get cash.

DH always has cash for a night out, he’s old school!

I've lived in NZ for 3 years now and I reckon no more than $100 in cold hard real life cash has ever been in my possession. And that's because people have given it me when they've owed me.

I'd be one of those people having to scrutinise the tiny writing on coins to work out the value.

I’m entertained watching people in Tesco trying to pay more than £30 with their phones and having to put stuff back.

I rarely use cash. I live in a small city. I don't need it but also I am scared to have cash here as I have had some bad experiences walking home from evening shifts here and I would be worried about being mugged as well.

(Something I never worried about back in NY!)

shrunkenhead for splitting a restaurant bill, we work out what each of us needs to pay, and the waiting staff simply do a few separate transactions. Take a couple of minutes tops. And if anyone is paying cash we factor that in so the tip can be in cash. It probably helps that there’s often an accountant or two at our table!

I take out about £30 a week. I need 2.50 for the Big Issue Guy, a fiver for an exercise class and around £15 or so to put on my card at work for food. Will very occasionally need it for parking, and the Chinese only accepts cash. I live in Surrey and work in central London - everything else is Contactless/ Apple Pay.

DH has collected a stupid amount of copper coins in a box too heavy for me to lift so I am using cash a lot at the moment so I can use a few each time, mainly in self service machines in the supermarket. I also have cash to give to DD, and for coffee at the gym.

I pay for pretty much everything in cash apart from big things like the weekly food shop.

I have a cash stash at home because the corner shops near us all have a minimum £10 card spend - so if you've popped in for loo roll, or milk it's better to have cash than try to think of other things to bring it up to a tenner.

I work in a pub and probably 1 in every 100 people use cash to pay, and a lot of younger people have Monzo cards I've noticed.

I took £30 out yesterday so I could offer it to my dad when we went out to dinner. He said to just pay the tip, though, so I’ve still got most of it. I hardly ever carry cash, though. I usually only need it for buying a pint of milk at work (the canteen takes card payments over £2, and milk is only 70p). Sometimes the kids need cash for school but not very often. I have to get cash out specifically for work leaving collections because I’m never usually carrying it. Bus has a ticket app or contactless.

Apart from that it’s just for giving the kids bribes to do chores!

Bet people on the 3 network this morning are not too happy that their bus ticket app isn't working... hope they have a card or cash with them.

Trouble with all the systems requiring tech is that tech fails.

We have a £5 minimum spend for card use at work. We can no longer charge 50p to people who will pay by card anyhow, so have to decline the card. The number of people who have to leave it because they don't have a couple of quid on them is amazing.

I do get embarrassed sometimes going to the baker and spending £2 of my card for a roll.

Why? Genuinely wondering!

shrunkenhead we just split the bill and pay on separate cards. We do the maths so the server isn’t taken up trying to work out what everyone needs to pay, and then pay for our share on card. It’s no real difference to all handing over a bank note each. Less hassle overall for the restaurant as they don’t then have cash to handle and go pay into the bank (used to work in a restaurant). Or another option is one person will pay (you’d only offer if you had enough to do that) then everyone else sends you their share via mobile banking, which takes literally seconds once they’ve sent you their details.

I don’t ‘carry cash’ at all, that sounds like you make it a regular practice, but there are still times I have to get it out, they’re few and far between enough though that I just automatically plan to stop by a cashpoint on the way. Can only think of the car wash and my hairdresser (who do take card generally but only cash for this student trainee salon they run one day a week which I go to because it’s cheaper). Other than that I don’t ever use cash, I would only get an Uber if possible and on the one occasion I can recall where I couldn’t get an Uber I asked the cabbie to stop off at a cashpoint.

Just don’t see the need for cash, if I go somewhere and they don’t take card I’m far more likely to go somewhere else that does than to go find a cash machine, but it happens rarely enough I wouldn’t start carrying cash just to accommodate a small handful of businesses. We went to a craft fair recently and all but two or three stalls took card, I felt sorry for the stalls that only took cash as we saw people go look at them after us and then leave without buying anything when they tried to pay and couldn’t with card (there wasn’t a cash machine for a long distance away).

It’s inescapable that we’re moving towards a cashless society, we’re already 80% of the way there I think. It’s just much simpler and more convenient, easier to have a trail of what you’ve spent, all of your available cash is right there to be used rather than being reliant on bits of metal and paper representing a fraction of what you actually have available.

It’s a generational thing too and I think within the next few decades youngsters will find it very anachronistic that a few people still hold onto paying for a newspaper or bottle of water with cash!