Do you still use cash?

[BitchesBeSniffin]

Just had a discussion with my DH about this and am wondering which of us is in the minority in the world of Mumsnet.

YABU: I still use cash and make sure I always have some on me

YANBU: I barely ever / never use cash

Where in the country are you, I've never ever seen notes in the street but if you're nearby it might be worth me popping over

On the other hand I've never lost any money when getting it out of my purse so I can't say I'm surprised not to have found any

It's quite dangerous to have a cashless society and it disadvantages the poorest. Don't give up on cash!

Sorry I'm not in the UK 😂It's not something that happens a lot, but I have found money on the street, or at an event. Probably not so much now that so few people use cash - but I did find a coin on the street yesterday!!

Incidentally, we have a new library and they no longer take cash (for fines, copying etc.).

I use cash regularly

I generally use my card now, but always have a £10 in the back of my phone for emergencies. I also keep £10 in the car plus a few coins for parking (as so many machines now either take cash or cards and I don't want to faff around with an app).

My mum likes cash as she finds it easier to budget.

I think it needs to remain easily available to all that want it. It's still a very important part of our economy and I do try and use it where I can.
There are increasingly few places to get cash, which is very frustrating. My mum is very fond of it. For example she doesn't want to go out the house with a bank card with thousands on it (she's been robbed several times) and would rather just carry the cash she needs. She's not smartphone savvy and barely uses a regular mobile. I know that's a minority but it should still be catered for.

And I noticed that if I used cash in a Sainsburys self serve till it always gave me small change. So for example if I spent £3.70 and put £5 in the machine it would give me a £1 coin but the rest of the change would come in small denominations like 5p and 2p coins, rather than a 20p and 10p. Much easier to use a card as a consequence, and now lots of the machines won't take cash anyway.

I only found a note in the street in 2020. I think other people were just too scared to touch it 😆.

I suppose I mostly use my card but I do also use cash.

i take £50 and put it in my purse for emergencies or if cards crash for the day or for the times I use cash. when it gets down to the last note I top it back up again. Sometimes it gets used quickly but other times it goes down quicker.

off the top of my head I always use cash to do the following.

i tip in restaurants with cash so I know it’s actually going to the person who is coming to the table.
i tip at the door in cash if I get a takeaway on a Saturday night.

I take a taxi a few times a year (if that) that I normally pay in cash

I put money in some of the birthday cards I send to nieces and nephews.

dp very rarely uses cash or carries it which is annoying if he finds himself needing some and I’m with him. although he pays his hairdresser in cash and mostly remembers to take it out the machine or get it out to pay me back if he’s forgotten

I use cash wherever possible. I have changed my weekly shop to a supermarket that has staffed checkouts and accepts cash. I actively avoid card only places.

I have twice been in situations recently where it was cash only (wifi issues and a local power cut) and couldn't believe the amount of people who didn't have an emergency tenner on them.

Interestingly, a local pub that's been card only since lockdown has a new landlord who now also accepts cash.

I find it alarming how reliant people are on their phones, given we've had high profile cyber attacks this week, and the ongoing Post Office enquiry in which the stubborn insistence that technology couldn't be wrong resulted in massive injustice.

I never carry cash in the UK and only draw money out if I need it and rarely more than £20

However when Im on holiday I always carry cash so it’s probably a strsnge contradiction. I’ve just always used cash abroad

I have lost a new bouncy fiver bouncing out of my bag on a windy high street
and surely cannot be the only one. The streets here are paved in platinum so
no one bothered.

Maybe but I've never been to a restaurant that don't take cards and they're not all chains.

In some cases you'd needs hundreds in cash. And you'd have to be checking all the time you have enough cash to cover your meal.

Never carry cash and never had an issue where they could only accept cash.

I use my contactless on phone only.

Yes, definitely. I always have around £50 - 100.00 in cash in the house or on my person and pay often pay cash, especially on market stalls and small shops (lots where I live - middle England market town). That said, I do use a credit card or my phone to pay as needed.

What's your backup plan for if your phone is lost, stolen, stops working?

Maybe the nation is split into those who have a Plan B mentality and those who
assume everything will always be ok. I know who I'd rather have in charge.

@Beowulfa not got one and at 59 never had a issue!

I suppose if the unlikely event one shop went down I'd go to the next.

No big deal.

@Beowulfa what's your back up plan do you have if you lose your purse?

Or it's stolen

Or jammed shut?

My MIL gives me cash (for gifts, or paying me back if I buy bits and pieces to do DIY for her etc). It just ends up sitting in my wallet, unspent - partly because I usually leave it at home and just pay for things with my phone. I realised recently that I had almost £400 in there, so I finally banked it.

I can't remember the last time I went anywhere that required payment in cash only. I regularly buy from places that only accept card payments, though. I don't have a payment 'back up plan' from day to day. If travelling a long way from home I do make sure I take a few different cards though, in case one bank or payment network has an issue.

I've a number of cards on my phone.

Are you afraid of a zombie apocalypse or something? There are thousands of things we need to rely on in modern society. And if card network went down, where are you getting your cash from? So unless you're keeping thousands under your bed, just in case, you'll be at the mercy of the flesh eating zombies like the rest of us.

@Jc2001 card network did go down in my local high street for an afternoon. Chains could not sell anything. Independents still accepted cash. It meant I could get milk and some salad for tea.

Good point, so have I. The device itself is still a single point of potential failure though, so I'd take at least one physical card if travelling far away from home.

You do not need much cash in case of network failure. A £20 note will get you through the few hours/half a day if the network goes down. But it is sensible to keep some cash.