Being asked to keep cash?

[SpringDreams26]

AIBU to be a bit annoyed the UK Goverment is now asking us to keep cash, where it’s otherwise been effectively eradicated.

I never carry cash and numerous places don’t accept it anylonger!

You don’t have to. If you don’t want to, then just don’t, no reason to get worked up about it.

Old farts like me who had Saturday jobs in the late 60s/early 70s will be in great demand! It was essential when I had a Saturday job in BHS in 1970.

I'm still quick and accurate at mental arithmetic. I could work out 17.5% VAT in my head in less time than it took the late Mr L to find a calculator.

Ok - you made a condescending, passive-aggressive insult aimed at my intelligence and reasoning.

This isn't the gotcha you think it is.

No, I didn't. I said the premise of your AIBU was that you were annoyed at being asked to keep cash and that you have changed your AIBU now.

How is that insulting your intelligence?

I’ve made sure to keep cash on me since the time my ex and I were getting short on petrol in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere and the petrol station we found didn’t take cards. Thankfully I had some cash but that was actually leftover birthday money from my mum, not planned emergency money. I have since lifted about 200 to keep at home just in case. The local shop loses their internet occasionally, imagine that on a larger scale.

and what purpose do you think your contribution offered? 🙄

This...they are suggestions, not requirements. Some people will not have spare cash to keep around, some people do it already. You do you.

PS YABU

Seems a bit silly to be annoyed about it. If you don't think it is necessary or helpful then don't do it.

The government can't win. If they say get £50 people will say what good is £50. If they say £200 or £500 people will say they can't afford it.

Are you too young to remember the financial crisis of 20 years ago? We were ok here but in Greece (and possibly other places) people were unable to get cash from banks/cash machines. Not sure if electronic payments worked or if the banks just shut everything down. Also can't recall how long it lasted.

My thought is that I will try to keep £100 available. I usually withdraw £100 every now and again and then let it trickly down. Sometimes this takes a week or two, sometimes several weeks. Sometimes I let it run right down so I am going to try not to do this going forward. Seems sensible to me.

Why on earth did you withdraw £10K in Covid?!

I'm going, personally, with what I keep saying on these threads. Do it, don't do it, be a grown up and make your own decisions. Analysing it to death? What a waste of time.

Why hang around on discussion boards if you don’t enjoy discussing things?

I think posters are looking for a reaction of "OMG you are right, I too must run around like a chicken with its head cut off instead of considering the advice and deciding what is right for my circumstances"

No. Independent shops are always a rip off

Mm. So, firstly, that's a very weird thing to say. Most of us mortals pop onto MN, see a thread we might have a view/opinion on, and we post it.
Of course, some posters don't like it when someone tries to throw a bit of common sense their way, then they get defensive or tell us...wait! We shouldn't be on here!

My Saturday job was in Greggs with a manual till so we had to add up the prices of everything ourselves and just type the total into the till, then work out the change. I still a whiz at the 32 times table and can add up quickly many combinations of 32, 18 and 34, which were the prices of Cornish pasties, sausage rolls and Corned beef pasties respectively.

When Aldi first opened, cashiers had to memorise the prices of everything in the store (granted their range was a lot smaller then) and input prices themselves.

If you told today's 16 YOs any of this, they wouldn't believe you....

Strong possibility.

Costa and Specsavers aren't cashless

You think an independent corner shop or a butcher is a rip off ?

They’re franchises - it’s entirely possible the ones I have visited have different payment terms than the ones you last visited.

No you’re most welcome, just not sure why you felt the need to announce your departure.

My thought is that I will try to keep £100 available. I usually withdraw £100 every now and again and then let it trickly down. Sometimes this takes a week or two, sometimes several weeks. Sometimes I let it run right down so I am going to try not to do this going forward. Seems sensible to me

I agree. Keep £100 on you and when it gets down to £20/30, get another £100 out. Then you'll almost always have a decent chunk of cash on you without much inconvenience.

That saddened me. No wonder they struggle to stay in business. I like to use local when I can.

Absolutely. A UK business traveller in Spain when their IT systems went down found out why his wife was right to insist that he took a couple of hundred euro with him. If he hadn’t he would have gone hungry for two days.

The cineworld near us lost its IT system a few years ago. Those of us with some cash got tickets and snacks. Others had to rush out and find the cash point. I always have cash on me. It just seems sensible.

I wonder if other countries which have issued similar advice for much longer(not just the cash but food and so on),have had so many people trying to find fault with the advice on various online forums? Or have they just taken note of the advice and adjusted it to their own circumstances?

I don’t see the issue. I’d rather the government warned us this might be necessary than kept it a secret.