topic Re: Credit cards vs Cash in SmorgasBoard

Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 12:40:03 GMT

I wonder how many of you still carry cash.

I know that almost all of us on this board use credit cards extensively.

I have about $40 in my wallet 'just in case,' but I never use it. I could probably get away without carrying it, but I have it "just in case."

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

fatcomic — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 12:49:19 GMT

Cash? Never heard of her.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

calyx — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 13:30:17 GMT

I usually keep $20-40 in a corner of my wallet in case I do need cash, but mostly it's me and my boss trading that $20 as we cover each other's lunches and what not.

I also keep a single check in my wallet for vendors that don't take cards.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Horseshoez — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 13:51:50 GMT

Pre-COVID I used to cycle through two to three hundred dollars of cash between ATM visits, mostly for food at the company cafeteria and/or tips to hotel employees when I was on the road. In the last 13 months I've visited my friendly neighborhood ATM exactly once (last summer I think), and I still have about $45 left.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

tcbofade — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 13:58:03 GMT

I'll carry cash when I travel, but otherwise I keep one $100 bill in my wallet that I have no intention of spending.

It's there if I need it, or if someone else does.

With so many credit cards paying me to use them, I use plastic everywhere that I can.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 16:29:48 GMT

Since COVID I havent carried cash or a debit card, the only time I ran into an issue was when I wanted to buy Girl Scout cookies other than that I'm good.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Aim_High — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 17:16:54 GMT

Over the years, I've used my credit cards more-and-more and cash less and less. I never used debit cards and always hated them. For a long time, credit cards were mainly for larger purchases and you would have gotten funny looks or a denial to use them for fast food or coffee. Many vendors had minimums to use credit such as $5 to $10. Now, it's no problem.

Of course, in my early days of credit, cash back was the exception. I did have a Discover card as the cash back pioneer, but it wasn't widely accepted yet. I mainly used it for gas purchases and sometimes dining, things I knew I would be able to pay off easily. Larger purchases went on VS/MC, but that was usually $25 or more per charge. My statements were much more simple then.

I still carry cash and do use it sometimes. But my visits to the ATM are much fewer and farther-between.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 18:44:52 GMT

When I have cash in my wallet, I'll spend it, so I try to stick to plastic only.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Horseshoez — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 18:53:44 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
When I have cash in my wallet, I'll spend it, so I try to stick to plastic only.

LOL, some folks say the opposite, having access to credit encourages overspending. I tend to think this varies on an individual to individual basis.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

PandaGirl77 — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 18:55:56 GMT

I don't carry it but end up with some when buying and selling stuff locally (ex: Facebook Marketplace and tag sale groups) when the other party isnt equipped to use Venmo. I really cant stand losing potential CB. I earned a promotional $150 debit card from my cable company and actually have anxiety over the fact I wont earn even the littlest CB back on it and has to be treated like cash. Unless there is a workaround I'm not figuring out. 🤷‍♀️

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 23:13:00 GMT

@Horseshoez wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
When I have cash in my wallet, I'll spend it, so I try to stick to plastic only.
LOL, some folks say the opposite, having access to credit encourages overspending. I tend to think this varies on an individual to individual basis.

I have trained myself to not use plastic if I don't have the money in the bank to cover it but when I have cash on hand, I know I don't have to pay it back later, so I only ever have cash with the intention of spending it.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 23:15:15 GMT

@PandaGirl77 wrote:
I don't carry it but end up with some when buying and selling stuff locally (ex: Facebook Marketplace and tag sale groups) when the other party isnt equipped to use Venmo. I really cant stand losing potential CB. I earned a promotional $150 debit card from my cable company and actually have anxiety over the fact I wont earn even the littlest CB back on it and has to be treated like cash. Unless there is a workaround I'm not figuring out. 🤷‍♀️

Most of those cards have a way to EFT the money to your checking account or offer some free way to get cash off of it which you can then deposit into your checking.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

calyx — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 18:28:49 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
When I have cash in my wallet, I'll spend it, so I try to stick to plastic only.
LOL, some folks say the opposite, having access to credit encourages overspending. I tend to think this varies on an individual to individual basis.
I have trained myself to not use plastic if I don't have the money in the bank to cover it but when I have cash on hand, I know I don't have to pay it back later, so I only ever have cash with the intention of spending it.

^ I don't track cash in my budgeting program, so for me cash is "free money"

I *know* it's not, but I treat it like it is and I really, REALLY hate it when someone pays me back in cash when I put something on a card (except the boss, because we have our trading system down pretty well).

I managed to (briefly) train myself to put random dollars I received in a cubby in my old car to keep on hand for parking, but new car has no cubbies for cash, so off it goes, like water through a seive

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Apr 2021 20:43:52 GMT

@calyx wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@Horseshoez wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
When I have cash in my wallet, I'll spend it, so I try to stick to plastic only.
LOL, some folks say the opposite, having access to credit encourages overspending. I tend to think this varies on an individual to individual basis.
I have trained myself to not use plastic if I don't have the money in the bank to cover it but when I have cash on hand, I know I don't have to pay it back later, so I only ever have cash with the intention of spending it.
^ I don't track cash in my budgeting program, so for me cash is "free money"

I *know* it's not, but I treat it like it is and I really, REALLY hate it when someone pays me back in cash when I put something on a card (except the boss, because we have our trading system down pretty well).

I managed to (briefly) train myself to put random dollars I received in a cubby in my old car to keep on hand for parking, but new car has no cubbies for cash, so off it goes, like water through a seive

That's the same way I operate. My budget is based on the money in my primary checking account. Cash on hand and money in other accounts is totally separate and not as heavily tracked. My US Bank account is where I put a couple bucks here and there for when I want fast food, my NFCU account is just for autopay purposes since I have a CLOC, my ABLE account is money that can only be touched in a major emergency, and DCU and Service savings largely sit for unexpected expenses.

The only reason cash lasts a bit with me is because my being homebound stops me from being able to spend it. As soon as I'm out of the house though, it gets spent. Roommate's kid gave me $20 cash for buying him a game with my credit card in like November or December. Sat in my wallet until I had my dental consult at the end of January and then gave it to my waitress at Red Robin as a tip and paid the bill with my card.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Schwartzinator — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 18:12:44 GMT

I keep $100 in the car for parking costs in the big cities, but I don't personally carry any cash on me.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

OmarGB9 — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 21:08:03 GMT

I rarely carry cash anymore. Can't even remember the last time I did. Then again, I haven't carried a wallet in almost a year - only recently started carrying it again. For most of 2020, I only carried my ID and a couple of CCs.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

MrT_521 — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 22:05:41 GMT

@calyx wrote:
I really, REALLY hate it when someone pays me back in cash when I put something on a card (except the boss, because we have our trading system down pretty well).

I love when this happens! The best thing for me is when I get spend on my card with someone else's money.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

TSlop — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 01:07:43 GMT

I use credit cards for all possible purchases, since anything I'm using cash on isn't getting me cashback or points. I tend to carry about $20 for emergencies, but I occasionally run out and I go cashless for a while. In fact, I ran out of cash tipping 2 people $5 each for some things during a work trip in January. When I eventually put some cash back in my wallet, I'm thinking about carrying $20 in 5s now for just these situations.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

Aim_High — Tue, 13 Apr 2021 16:49:50 GMT

@TSlop wrote:
... I ran out of cash tipping 2 people $5 each for some things during a work trip in January ...

Cash tips when I'm traveling (which happens frequently, even during the pandemic) is one good example of where I still need to carry cash.

Just thought I would mention another good example that happened to me last week. At a fast-service restaurant, their card processing link was down and they were ONLY taking cash. (Yes, backwards from what some have done during the pandemic with only taking cards!) My coworker was going to have to go find an ATM but I had cash on hand and was able to pay for both our purchases since we didn't have a lot of time.

Re: Credit cards vs Cash

iced — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 21:07:40 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I wonder how many of you still carry cash.

I know that almost all of us on this board use credit cards extensively.

I have about $40 in my wallet 'just in case,' but I never use it. I could probably get away without carrying it, but I have it "just in case."

If I have my wallet with me I'll keep maybe $100 in there just in case, but most of the times I go out it's either just my phone for mobile pay or my phone plus the card I know I'll use.

I do keep a small amount of currency at home in a locked safe that I use for traveling, which includes some US money. Usually ~$100-200 per currency. A box with 3-5 $100 bills, some 20-50 Euro bills, a stack of 20 pound notes, 500 Israeli Shequels, a couple thousand Chinese Yuan, a hundred Canadian dollars, etc. Serves as my cash stash when I travel so I don't have to hit ATMs every time.