How frequently do you pay for stuff in cash

[Kermit power]

I was just looking at some of the comments on this article about Covid accelerating the move to a cashless society, and I find it interesting how there are both people who never use cash and people who use it all the time each thinking that the other is completely detached from the real world, so I thought it would be interesting to find out how frequently the (by definition fairly IT-literate, so presumably going to skew the results) PH community uses it?

The article mentions that a third of people asked have had cash refused for a transaction in the past month, but it doesn't specify whether they also asked if people had tried to spend it. I've not had cash refused, but I can't remember the last time I tried to spend any in the first place. I think it was probably before the Quins stadium went 100% cashless a couple of seasons ago...

[Seanrof]

Mechanic cousin just dropped off our car after giving it an MOT. He said he had been about 80% busy in comparison for this time of year, but his cash takings had all but disappeared since the summer.
I also spoke with a cab driver friend just after xmas. Before his takings were about 80% cash, now they are closer to 10%, but thats of the money he does get. As a private hire driver he has been trying to ride out the storm when others had quit. He said after all of his costs, he is doing 50hr weeks and is lucky to clear £4 an hour . Grim

[worsy]

When the pubs are open, more than once a week as I only use cash in pubs. Unplanned takeout (order in shop) as cash too. Shopping expenses is all by card, unless it is < £5.

At the moment, I give the dog walker cash weekly. Online food shop, Amazon, online clothes shopping is all via Paypal or Card.

[Jim the Sunderer]

I've not used cash since before last March, except for birthday £50 £5 notes for the nephews in their birthday cards.


Even the 70 year old plumber I use accepted a bank transfer.

Image unrelated.

[HappyMidget]

Only really use cash for our dog agility trainers, everything else id card based

[Rivenink]

I've barely been anywhere to need cash in the last year.

I think the last time I carried any significant amount of cash for anything other than a small specific transaction is when I was abroad before the pandemic hit and even then I preferred to pay by credit card that didn't charge transfer fees and had a good exchange rate.

[Clifford Chambers]

worsy said:

When the pubs are open, more than once a week as I only use cash in pubs. Unplanned takeout (order in shop) as cash too. Shopping expenses is all by card, unless it is < £5.

At the moment, I give the dog walker cash weekly. Online food shop, Amazon, online clothes shopping is all via Paypal or Card.

This is me pretty much, nowhere to use it. Window cleaner, takeaway curry man, is about it.

Seems quite rude offering cash if contactless is available.

[Superhoop]

I barely used dash before lockdown, only for my visits to the barber.. haven’t been to the barbers since last March (my other half has turned into my regular barber now) so basically.. not at all now..

There was an interesting program on this the other week, explains that going cashless is affecting the poorest areas of the country most.. a reduction in people using cash machines expensive to operate, so less cash machines available for those that need them.. also cash is more of a necessity for people with lower incomes as it enables them to budget more effectively as you can actually see what you are spending..

[Vanden Saab]

I always have cash in my wallet as you never know when the whole contactless system is going to fall over. Rarely use it as everybody wants card payments at the moment but once covid is over it will probably return to normal. I guess younger people will only learn when something goes wrong and they are stuck with no way of paying for anything.

[Sheets Tabuer]

I've rarely paid with cash for years, since the advent of touch pay I don't think I've been near a cashpoint, I did marvel at the plastic note my dad gave me to get him some bits from the shop.

I find the only places that don't take card or touch pay is the takeaway or corner shop, wonder why as the old lady on the egg stall at the weekly market has contactless payment.

[MrOrange]

I never use cash where card/contactless is available, but some businesses (our local chippy, for example) are cash only.

What I can say is that apart from a monthly visit for fish and chips, I have not used cash since the pandemic started. In fact, I've not visited a cashpoint since 2019!

[Mastodon2]

Other than the odd vending machine in a hotel, I can't think of the last time I used cash. It's so much easier to just use other ways to pay.

Taxi drivers, window cleaners and tradesmen must hate it.

[Jasandjules]

I use it quite frequently, not least just to ensure that I have change to pay delivery drivers.....

[Kermit power]

Mastodon2 said:

Other than the odd vending machine in a hotel, I can't think of the last time I used cash. It's so much easier to just use other ways to pay.

Taxi drivers, window cleaners and tradesmen must hate it.

Our window cleaner asked me if I could pay him via online transfer! He got so fed up with nobody ever having any cash to pay him when he knocked on the door that he said it wasn't worth the hassle any more.

[Jiebo]

The only place I still use cash for is my barbers and car wash. Both are clearly evading tax. Hate cash, its old fashioned and wont miss it.

[Kermit power]

Vanden Saab said:

I always have cash in my wallet as you never know when the whole contactless system is going to fall over. Rarely use it as everybody wants card payments at the moment but once covid is over it will probably return to normal. I guess younger people will only learn when something goes wrong and they are stuck with no way of paying for anything.

I suspect that will only be the case if government legislation is introduced that requires certain types of essential businesses to accept cash.

As I said in my original post, the place I used to most often spend cash was at Quins rugby matches until the stopped accepting cash in one go at the start of the season 2 or 3 years ago. The bar queues are still slow, but they're faster than they used to be, and no longer needing to count up and transport all the cash previously spent by 15,000 or so people must make a huge difference!

It might not be on the same scale for a small business, but if you're cashing up a café at the end of the day, then you've presumably got to walk the takings to a night deposit at a bank branch, that can't be much fun, especially if you're a woman on your own. I'm sure lots and lots of such businesses would've been taking cash because they didn't want to turn customers away, but with all the changes from Covid, I suspect they'll now realise that the world has moved on, and they can feel rather safer and get a chunk of their evening back by not needing to worry about banking the stuff on their way home.

[Drawweight]

I used to have loads of cash in the house when I was a milkman so I never used cards.

Now since I retired it’s the exact opposite.

I’ve still got a couple of hundred quid upstairs that I haven’t touched since March last year and £400 in £2 coins that I really haven’t a use for. I put a bag into the car every so often for coffees and parking meters.

I actually used a cash machine last year for the first time in my life.

[cossy400]

I'm a lorry driver away from home nearly all week, due to being lazy eatout nearly all week but have a slush fund for the week of £50 what's left goes in the grandkids money boxes.

More the reason is I know after that money is spent that's it.

spending on card is too easy through the week

[fiatpower]

I put £10 into the tea kitty at work every 10 weeks or so. That is literally it, can't remember the last time I used cash for anything else.

[fido]

PH has matured. A page of posts and no one has mentioned hookers and coke.