I do have a credit card and I use it for a lot of my travel expenses because it provides me with a lot of advantages. I also use cash a lot just because I developed the habit when I lived in Japan and almost all transactions there were done in cash. There are still times when I will make a large purchase in cash.
There are also a lot of people that have misused credit cards and found themselves in credit card debt. For this reason, they have sworn off credit cards. For those who have a difficult time exhibiting self control with a credit card, it’s often recommended that they get rid of it and use cash instead. This action seems pretty simple and a logical step to take, but apparently not having a credit card makes you weird and possibly even a terrorist according to the Department of Homeland Security:
Have we really reached the point where using cash is considered so abnormal that it flags one as to suspect of doing something wrong?
That video reads like a commercial for VISA
We have reached a sad point when using the legal tender of a country to buy something makes you a suspect of doing something wrong.
Are you sure this video isn’t a joke?
I think the American legislative bodies are pushing for less privacy, so a domestic defense budget can demand more taxpayer dollars. I am paying in cash more often these days because I like not having all my financial transactions monitored, and I like not having my credit card information skimmed for identity fraud purposes, and I should only have to show identification when I purchase alcohol, tobacco or a firearm, not for things like baseball caps or baseball game tickets or lipstick.
A few weeks ago we were also hearing that one of the ‘signs’ of a possible terrorist is a guy with a finger or fingers misssing on hand (obviously they blew them up making homemade bombs and not just having construction accidents like a friend of mine). OR and this is the one for all you frugal folks that stock up on groceries. Anyone with a week or more stash of groceries is also suspect for being a terrorist. And could be detained without charges for as long as some weird government official wanted to with no proof of wrong doing. What has this country come to?
In God We Trust money is suspicious, stocking up on good deals and in case of bad weather in the winter is suspicious as well as managled hands (don’t ask why!). Not sure if that law passed or not, but things are at the point of ridiculous!
Credit cards HURT small business owners. Pay with cash and save them the 3% fee on the transaction (plus monthly fees). We have to fight with ourselved to not raise our prices just to meet rising taxes and more and more people using only credit cards “for the points”. The government might like the ability to track everything, but the retailers are being charged for the convenience (and eventually, in most businesses, you the consumer end up paying the costs).
We are headed for a cashless society and it surprises me that it hasn’t gotten to the point where cash is not accepted at all. We were being warned about a cashless society as early as the 1970s. Myself, I would probably use my debit card as a credit card and have it deducted from my checking account if they insist I must have a credit card rather than try to get by on cash alone. But this video really isn’t any big surprise to me.
I guess we are terrorists to a certain extent. We use a credit card for certain things, but usually pay cash for a lot of things. And, as ThiNg said, credit cards hurt small business owners. We try to pay cash or check to save them the money on the fees.
I read an article once that shows the age of someone when they pay with cash, and often count out exact change. I guess when I do that, I am an old fogey.