How would you manage shopping if only cash could be used?

[NotPerfectlyAdverage]

Cash preps AI / cyber threats in the news. I always have cash in the house but very rarely use cash.

The news on AI taking over the Internet has got me thinking again about the cash aspect. Say you can only use cash and that becomes a reality ( so leaving aside the but / what ifs... shops can't buy stock, doors don't open etc)

Not many people have have cash. So how would you navigate going to shops? Hypothetically?

First few hours or day going with a wod of cash would be fine, but if it lasted a week you want to not draw attention to the fact you still had £50 cash to hand. My cash prep is mainly for cash in hand work for sons very informal tutor and the various takeaways so it's not going to last long. But I'm fairly close to the coast so I change up the odd £20 to coins at the arcades every time I go. I get £1 coins and 10ps.

Of all the preps I do, this is the one thar I have never really needed. Sainsbury's regularly lose visa and Mastercard capability but it lasts a day and I only ever have £20 cash on me. Rarely £50. When this happens the cash machines run dry. I just avoid it.

This is a musing really. I think having £10 cash at least on your person if you can spare it is handy. £20 including various coins at home. I try to keep a note in my phone case but invariably spend it then don't replace it. Has saved me before when my phone died on me for Google pay

Well if AI takes over then me having £100 at home isn’t going do much good. Shops aren’t going to have enough of a float for everyone to use cash. I will probably just stealing 🤷🏻‍♀️

It is a temporary measure only. Banking system goes down, independent corner shops will still take cash as will takeaways.

Make sure you have coins as well as change will quickly run out.

Long term, everyone used to use cash but shop systems would have to be converted.

@OneLilacHedgehogbut they don’t use cash now, floats don’t allow for it & systems have changed, which was my point…

Know which shops take cash without running through till.

Keep small denominations at home.

Live off what I've got here until something else is set up/repaired.

If the banking systems are down to that level though, other problems would be more than a small "what if", society would completely collapse. The shop wouldn't have any stock, and who would be working there as they wouldn't be getting paid. Blatent theft from supermarkets is common now, let alone is there was a lack of food and no way to buy any. Obviously everyone is not going to be starving in the street while the prepper skips along with a £50 note to pick up groceries as normal.

Not society collapse level. There's not point of any prepping for that because unless your rural with a small holding you own outright your going to have to totally re think everything about your life. Even if your prep was to loot, Tesco isn't going to refurbish to loot again next week.

I'm not interested in prepping for that level.

I don't know an independent local corner shop or take away that does not accept cash. They all do where I live. They don't carry loads of change, so having coins so you can give exact change will help.

@OneLilacHedgehogyes but you understand a corner shop would have a slight uptick in shoppers if something like this happens?

Exact change will help obviously

@FruitFlyPie it only works as a temporary measure. So banking systems down for 48 hours. Loads of independent corner shops and take aways only employ family. My local one is run by two brothers.

@matrixes yes of course. Milk and bread would quickly run out. Takeaways and independent pubs would run for longer.
Actually there is an independent pub near me where they provide some decent food. I would just go there for my dinner.
Any longer than 48 hours and we are into bigger issues anyway.

I have a £1k cash in my fire safe and a couple thousand € too. I have a bit of loose change but not that much.

@OneLilacHedgehogthats the only point I was making. If only cash was available I think things would descend quite quickly into chaos.

I think it would take a while to descend into chaos. Most people have enough food in the house for a few days anyway. People who were due to be paid would be very worried about mortgages and bills. Everyone else if reassured it was temporary, would just carry on.

I think people would be queuing up to take money out of banks, trying to get them out of investments etc even if the government said it’s temporary, don’t panic etc

Getting change is a real pita. Santander are always in a huff when I request change. They never have any it seems. Hence the change machines at arcades are a go to for me. I must have over £100 in various bags that i have changed up there.

Normally I'd say get a money tin from pound land and pop your change in their to build some up. But that's not possible when you don't use cash much. Maybe only psy the takeaway in notes and put the coins in a tin?

@matrixes the banks would suspend people taking out more than a small amount to prevent a run on the bank and it's collapse.

Which I don’t think is going to lessen any panic 😆😆

But ideally we dont need to rush to the cash point as we have some cash somewhere.

I think this is hardest prep if your skint. One extra pack of pasta a week is 50p. Maybe draw out £10 cash a week for any top shop where you spend a few quid and get a money box from pound land and put in some coins every week? So if you pop to shop to buy milk, round the change up to £1 and put it in a jar? I might do this too. See how it works out. I pop into Waitrose for my top up ( only high street shop where dd club is) but not sure I'd self scan takes cash there? I'm sure I can find one shop I could I do with cash each week that's low spend?

i always have a few grand in my safe at home I think at the moment it’s around 5k in cash
was a bit more but I took out 1k for a holiday spending in a few weeks

and I’ve nearly always got around 200 cash in my purse and around 100 in my car

Ive got about 50 quid in small change as well in the house

most of my friends and family have similar amounts and always have done

we all try to pay for most stuff in cash wherever possible

Son has £35 cash hidden in his old school trainers I would borrow. DH and I are meant to have emergency £20 each in back of phone but we keep spending it. We did want to get £300 out to just keep in the back of the sock drawer for emergencies, but other emergencies kept happening and stealing that buffer before we got the cash out.

So essentially, our survival in the face of economic collapse hangs on our 14 year old stashing his pocket money from grandma in his trainers……

With difficulty, as the two cash machines (both outside supermarkets) in the nearest town never seem to work when you need them to!

This to me is a huuuuuuge amount of money. But presumably the cost of everything would soar