Do you still carry money, or are you cashless?
Discussion
I was watching a film the other night and a chap reached into his trouser pocket and pulled out some change to pay for something, and it suddenly hit me, I can't remember when I last had change in a trouser pocket!
It always used to be keys in my righthand trouser pocket, change in the left, notes in a wallet in the back pocket. I still carry a wallet but it's mostly for cards and receipts. There's about £40 in notes, but that's almost out of tradition! I use a card almost exclusively, the only thing that springs to mind is a small amount of change in the car to pay for parking (although thinking about it, that's mostly paid by card now).
Is cash pretty much dead, do you carry/use it anymore?
It always used to be keys in my righthand trouser pocket, change in the left, notes in a wallet in the back pocket. I still carry a wallet but it's mostly for cards and receipts. There's about £40 in notes, but that's almost out of tradition! I use a card almost exclusively, the only thing that springs to mind is a small amount of change in the car to pay for parking (although thinking about it, that's mostly paid by card now).
Is cash pretty much dead, do you carry/use it anymore?
I almost never have any coins now. In fact, I have barely had any notes for months, let alone coins.
I now pay for most things using my phone. Usually leave my wallet at home.
Even car park ticket machines are nearly all contactless now, or use a parking app, and that was one of the only things I still kept coins in the car for.
To be honest, this suits me perfectly. Cash is nothing more than an annoyance to me, and I find cashless payments a lot more convenient.
Most businesses don't want cash anymore either. It costs money to pay into the bank, it is a hassle, and a security risk. Businesses and banks have clearly used Covid as an excuse to really push the "Sorry - Card payment only" thing, but I don't have a problem with that as it makes my life easier.
What has really annoyed me for years are those little shops or cafes with a bit of paper stuck to the till saying "No card payments under £10" and so on. Those sort of places were the only reason I still had to carry cash, and they need to get with the times.
A friend of mine was complaining bitterly about Covid bringing about the accelerated demise of cash, but this is only because he's a builder and has piles of it under his bed that he's now worrying he won't be able to spend.
I have found numerous other benefits to the demise of cash, such as restaurant bills and Uber. No more paying over the odds for a service just because that particular industry has this curious idea of Tips. If the restaurant bill is £87.48 then thats what I'm paying on my card/phone. Same goes for an Uber. The exact fare being seamlessly billed to my card when I get out is better than paying cash in a black cab, and wondering how irritated the driver is going to be if you try to get change back from a £10 note when the meter says £8.90
I now pay for most things using my phone. Usually leave my wallet at home.
Even car park ticket machines are nearly all contactless now, or use a parking app, and that was one of the only things I still kept coins in the car for.
To be honest, this suits me perfectly. Cash is nothing more than an annoyance to me, and I find cashless payments a lot more convenient.
Most businesses don't want cash anymore either. It costs money to pay into the bank, it is a hassle, and a security risk. Businesses and banks have clearly used Covid as an excuse to really push the "Sorry - Card payment only" thing, but I don't have a problem with that as it makes my life easier.
What has really annoyed me for years are those little shops or cafes with a bit of paper stuck to the till saying "No card payments under £10" and so on. Those sort of places were the only reason I still had to carry cash, and they need to get with the times.
A friend of mine was complaining bitterly about Covid bringing about the accelerated demise of cash, but this is only because he's a builder and has piles of it under his bed that he's now worrying he won't be able to spend.
I have found numerous other benefits to the demise of cash, such as restaurant bills and Uber. No more paying over the odds for a service just because that particular industry has this curious idea of Tips. If the restaurant bill is £87.48 then thats what I'm paying on my card/phone. Same goes for an Uber. The exact fare being seamlessly billed to my card when I get out is better than paying cash in a black cab, and wondering how irritated the driver is going to be if you try to get change back from a £10 note when the meter says £8.90
Edited by anonymous-user on Monday 14th December 19:23
When I was skint many years ago in my early 20s after some very very poor choices and a few knock backs (as in, didn’t even have the price of a pint available sometimes,) I promised myself once I sorted myself out, I’d always have some cash on me, just to remind me.
Had 3 £50 notes in my card holder ever since, same 3 have been there for a couple of years now
Had 3 £50 notes in my card holder ever since, same 3 have been there for a couple of years now
Android pay for me too.
Can pay up to silly amounts with my phone!!
With everyone scared to touch coins these days bit of a pain... I struggle to find a coin for the trolley!
Cash will still have its place in society, just not as much as previously.
Cashless society is great for the tax man too.
Can pay up to silly amounts with my phone!!
With everyone scared to touch coins these days bit of a pain... I struggle to find a coin for the trolley!
Cash will still have its place in society, just not as much as previously.
Cashless society is great for the tax man too.
Before I retired I owned a cash heavy business so I literally never used any cards.
Since I retired it’s the exact opposite and I never used cash. I’ve got a few tenners in my wallet but any change I get goes into my wife’s purse.
I was out on my bike and called into a cafe. It was only after we were halfway through our meal that my wife noticed a notice on the door saying cash only.
I had to leave my wife as hostage and go to the nearest town to find a cash machine. That’s still the only time in my life I’ve used one.
I got £1.50 in change the other day from the car wash, it was the first cash transaction I've made since February. I dropped the Pound coin down the seat and it seems lost forever....
I've even got a little gizmo to unlock the supermarket trolley so I don't even need a coin for that.
Even the pub which seemed the last bastion of the cash purchase became quicker with contactless payments and now paying cash and waiting for change slows the drinking down.
I've even got a little gizmo to unlock the supermarket trolley so I don't even need a coin for that.
Even the pub which seemed the last bastion of the cash purchase became quicker with contactless payments and now paying cash and waiting for change slows the drinking down.
I always hated carting coins around anyway, so I used to dump those as quickly as possible, but for the past, I dunno, couple of years I have hardly ever spent cash on anything. Went to a farmer's market at the weekend and had to pay cash for a couple of very small things and now I have change sloshing around again.
I usually keep £30-40 in my wallet just in case I run up against needing cash but it's been there since definitely long pre-Covid and will probably stay that way.
We have also been doing the elderly neighbours' shopping along with our home deliveries, obviously we pay online but they always give us cash for their stuff, so every few weeks or so there's an envelope with a few hundred quid on the kitchen side which I take to the bank.
I usually keep £30-40 in my wallet just in case I run up against needing cash but it's been there since definitely long pre-Covid and will probably stay that way.
We have also been doing the elderly neighbours' shopping along with our home deliveries, obviously we pay online but they always give us cash for their stuff, so every few weeks or so there's an envelope with a few hundred quid on the kitchen side which I take to the bank.
Lord Marylebone said:
I have found numerous other benefits to the demise of cash, such as restaurant bills and Uber. No more paying over the odds for a service just because that particular industry has this curious idea of Tips. If the restaurant bill is £87.48 then thats what I'm paying on my card/phone. Same goes for an Uber. The exact fare being seamlessly billed to my card when I get out is better than paying cash in a black cab, and wondering how irritated the driver is going to be if you try to get change back from a £10 note when the meter says £8.90
wow. this might sound a bit weird to you but I enjoy paying for a nice meal with cash so I can just leave a tip without some convoluted card machine machinations going on.Edited by Lord Marylebone on Monday 14th December 19:23
Anyway yeah I usually have at least a grand in me pocket, have been caught out with temperamental cards in the past so just like to have something that, at least pre covid silliness, always worked (being a trade I can easily spend 100s/1000s on materials) and I can just get what I need and get on with the day.
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