Who carries no cash?

[hamchan]

I have had my purse stolen before and I no longer carry cash any longer than I have to. I have had it stolen from my home too. It is safer in the bank. Carrying cash or keeping it in thehouse is a huge liability to me. I get cash tips most days at work but I deposit them asap.

[BuckyBadger]

I frequently have zero cash with me. Sometimes I'll have some hanging around if I've recently come back from a trip. (I carry about $200 with me if I'm flying somewhere domestic or taking a road trip.) But on a day to day basis I often have no money at all.

If I split a meal with friends it's easy to give the server a card and specify how much to put on it. Frequently, there will be three cards given with instructions as to how much on each one. It works well.

But obviously if I know we're going somewhere where we'll need cash I'll stop by an ATM and get some, but on a regular day to day basis I have no concern if my wallet is cash-free.

[Miz Pat]

I carry no Money with me

I pay doctors with a debit card or an emergency check or a credit card if necessary.

I tend to carry very little money with me except a few dollars to give to homeless people and quarters for parking.

[MrBlues]

I only carry cash. The reason being that I am self employed and therefore, if I have it in my pocket I know what I have to spend. I did once decided to go without cash and just use a debit card. At the end of the month I was amazed at how much money I had spent and just did not realise. Normally, if the cash is not there, I cannot make spur of the moment spends thus save a little money.

[Liopleurodon]

I never carry cash. Cash burns holes in my pocket, it begs to be spent. I also have a HSA debit card I use at medical facilities. If a doctor doesn't take electronic payment, I simply find a new doctor. I'm not dealing with those stupid annoying claim forms because some ancient doctor can't get with the times and get electronic payment equipment.

I feel, that at least for me, using cash is the most tangible way of paying for things. If you set yourself a budget for $200 that week, and you have $200 cash, you can actually "see" and "feel" the cash when you spend it, versus using a plastic card.

I'm the polar opposite. I check my credit card balance daily. I can easily see how much I'm spending and where. All the little things add up quickly and visually on a credit card statement. For me cash makes it MUCH easier to overspend. $5 here and $5 there you'll forget about, but the credit statement lists every little charge you've made. Also, I use cards with a 5% reward, cash has a 0% reward.

Count me in the dying breed also. I ALWAYS have cash, usually no less than a couple hundred in my wallet. If I know I'm going anywhere where I might possibly want cash, it will be more.

That's a couple hundred dollars that can be stolen from you. I never carry more money with me than I'm willing to lose.

I use credit for almost everything but sometimes you just need (or at least want) cash. For example, many gas stations in our area charge less for cash than for credit. I'm happy to pay cash to save 8 or 10 cents per gallon. If we go out to eat with others and have to split the bill, cash is a must. Occasionally, I'll need to make change at the office. Or give a tip to a valet when I've parked my car somewhere. Or lots of other reasons.

For the $1 or so it will save me on a fill-up I'll just pay the credit rate at a gas station. I've found cash for splitting a bill to be a monster headache, especially since all anyone has is 20's. Its very easy to ask the waitress to put say $23 on your card for your share of the bill and you can even tip her a bit extra for her trouble. As for valet, the only person that parks my truck is me.

For me, just getting cash is somewhat of an inconvenience. My bank is 15 minutes out of my way. I'm paid by direct deposit. It's not terrible to have to go there if I need cash, but since I so rarely need it, it's not really worth the effort of going and getting it.

This is also true. I get direct deposit, to get actual cash it involves 20 minutes round trip of my time.

[hamchan]

I agree. I find I spend a lot more money using cash than I do using exclusively debit/credit. There are a lot of little convenience stores around me that either have a $5 minimum for debit and credit purchased or they tack on a fee. If I have cash it's a lot easier to just pop in for a candy bar or soda, or buy toilet paper or dish soap there instead of walking half a mile to the grocery store where it's much cheaper.

[disneysteve]

I was reminded of this thread the other day. We had friends over for dinner and the wife told us two stories of times recently when she got in trouble because she carries no cash.

1. She was driving over a bridge to Philadelphia. She moved her from NY and up there apparently every toll lane takes EZ Pass. Not the case here. We have EZ Pass lanes and Cash lanes. She wasn't paying attention and accidentally got in a Cash lane. They let her go through (she was blocking traffic) but she had to pull over and go inside and plead her case to the tollmaster to avoid getting a ticket. All because she didn't have $5 on her.

2. Another time she went into Philly to have dinner with a friend. The friend treated so it wasn't until she got back to her car in the parking garage that she opened her wallet and discovered that she didn't have her debit card. Since she carries no cash, she had no way to get out of the parking garage. She had to call her friend, who was just about home by then, to come back and bail her out of the parking lot.

I suppose both situations were avoidable but the reality is that they both happened to a perfectly intelligent, mature woman. And both could have been avoided with a $20 bill.

Whether you spend cash or not, do yourself a favor and tuck a $20 into your wallet just in case.

[dojo]

After getting sick and tired of all the commissions our bank put on our accounts, I am carrying cash only. It's not a lot, just enough as I would need to get back home or buy something from the store (if husband called to let me know we need something). Was pretty interested in the idea of not carrying cash, but when I looked at my monthly statements and noticed how much I pay just to use the debit card, I decided to close the bank accounts and pay cash.

[disneysteve]

After getting sick and tired of all the commissions our bank put on our accounts, I am carrying cash only. It's not a lot, just enough as I would need to get back home or buy something from the store (if husband called to let me know we need something). Was pretty interested in the idea of not carrying cash, but when I looked at my monthly statements and noticed how much I pay just to use the debit card, I decided to close the bank accounts and pay cash.

Not sure where you live but there are plenty of banks around here that have free checking. You might need to maintain a certain minimum balance but as long as you do, there are no monthly fees and no charges for using the bank's ATMs. I'm with Bank of America and have never paid a penny in bank fees for anything.

[TheKayla]

I don't usually carry cash, and am always surprised when I come across a situation where they won't take a card or check. Checks are understandable, but it's strange to accept neither. I want to get more into carrying some cash around me to avoid overspending in certain categories, but I find it much easier to just use a card linked to an account, no dealing with change or anything annoying.

It's also a lot scarier carrying cash around, so I wouldn't want to carry a significant amount. If I lose my wallet, the first thing I would do would be to report it and freeze my cards, no real harm done. If I was carrying around cash, there's a much greater chance it'd be gone. There's no paper trail and I won't be getting that back. Even if there was a nice person that would return my wallet with all my CC's and personal information, the cash itself would still probably be gone.

And as one other benefit, I like that all of my transactions are recorded automatically with cards and checks. No need to keep a thousand receipts, just need to check my accounts online when needed!

That being said, I do want to get more into the habit of carrying maybe $40 tops around with me, but no more.

[dojo]

Not sure where you live but there are plenty of banks around here that have free checking. You might need to maintain a certain minimum balance but as long as you do, there are no monthly fees and no charges for using the bank's ATMs. I'm with Bank of America and have never paid a penny in bank fees for anything.

You can see where I live in my profile 'bit' (Romania). We have a lot of European banks here, but who have created some 'special' systems for us (probably we're seen as idiots, don't know).

So, no matter what money you have in your accounts, you will pay the following:
1. monthly fee for the account
2. monthly fee if you use an internet banking option
3. a fee if you check your account at the ATM
4. a fee if you withdraw money from the ATM
5. a fee if you PUT money into your account etc.
6. a VERY hefty fee if you put/withdraw money at their 'office' and not through an ATM.

It's not out of the ordinary for someone to put say 300 bucks into an account and then, after few months/a year, instead of having more money (you are getting 'some' interest on it, right?) you'll probably find 280 for instance, since they took money for all kinds of crap.

I also have a Chase account for when we go to the US. 6 bucks/month is the fee. THE ONLY ONE. I can get money out, I can put more money, I can do anything. I do pay 5 bucks if I withdraw the money from an ATM in Europe for instance, but otherwise I never paid ANYTHING else.

Our banks here are absolutely killing us with the commissions and fees, so I'd rather handle my cash on my own and not lose money just using their services

PS: I don't use credit cards (only debit cards), have zero overdraft on all accounts, have absolutely no form of debt. So it's not anything related to me 'owing' them anything, it's just crappy service and huge commissions

[WISEWOMAN]

I don't usually carry cash. If I do, it's minimal.

Having worked in various positions in the medical field I suggest your staff remind patients of their co-pay and your cash/check only policy when confirming their appointments. Unfortunately, most people think doctor's are rich and don't "need" their copays.

[Nutria]

Yes, we do not accept debit or credit. Cash or check only. And yes, we are a small business, 2 person private practice. But all of our patients know that and they still show up with no money. It isn't a new policy. It's been like that for the 13 years that I've been here and before that too.

That's the same policy that one of my doctors has. (He's almost 70.) But I only see him once or twice a year and so forget. Typically don't have all of the $50 co-pay. The big downside for him, though, is that his office billing is sooooo slow, and the statements are confusing.

Speaking of which, I have an appt. with him tomorrow, so need more cash.

[disneysteve]

That's the same policy that one of my doctors has. (He's almost 70.) But I only see him once or twice a year and so forget. Typically don't have all of the $50 co-pay. The big downside for him, though, is that his office billing is sooooo slow, and the statements are confusing.

Speaking of which, I have an appt. with him tomorrow, so need more cash.

Since that thread started, we did start accepting cards. It was definitely reluctant on my bosses part, if for no other reason than the processing fees eating into the income. Losing 2-3% on every payment really adds up over time. It's not like we can raise our prices to compensate since doctors have zero control over what patients pay for their services unlike most other businesses.

[QuarterMillionMan]

Carrying no cash would cause me to feel anxiety. I always carry some cash. Never know when the need for paying with cash only might arise.