[the one ring]

Most of the time I receive cash, I just spend it out until it's gone rather than deposit it.

Same. It's worth the extra little bit of effort -- walking to & from the cashier -- to get a $0.20/gal cash discount on gas at the place close to me (I never get less than 15 gallons at a time). Plus you're not putting your card at risk of being cloned on the off chance the pump's card reader has been compromised.

OTOH, cash deposits into a bank account make those funds instantly available, vs. transfers that take at least one business day (but lately 2 or more, looking at you BofA).

 

[Ogre]

Same. It's worth the extra little bit of effort -- walking to & from the cashier -- to get a $0.20/gal cash discount on gas at the place close to me (I never get less than 15 gallons at a time). Plus you're not putting your card at risk of being cloned on the off chance the pump's card reader has been compromised.

OTOH, cash deposits into a bank account make those funds instantly available, vs. transfers that take at least one business day (but lately 2 or more, looking at you BofA).

Not the way I spend cash myself

 

[Big Fil]

I recently bought a new bike and paid with credit card so I could get the 2% cash back. Paid the balance off right away so I didn't have to deal with the interest.

 

[zstover]

Credit card, get them air miles/rewards points, but pay off balance immediately.

If you can't afford it all when you buy it, maybe you shouldn't be financing it?

 

[Tommy E]

A lot of good advice on here and a lot of responsible people so I'll chime in with my irresponsible self, lol. Fortunately I'm in a good financial position now but I wasn't always and I was very keen to buy things that I didn't think through or just out of sheer whim. I actually used about 5 different crappy credit cards to buy one of my first high dollar bikes $500 on one, a $1000 on another and so on. It was almost comical paying for it. But hey I was a moron and wanted that bike. Be responsible, don't be past me, lol.

 

[Blue Dot Trail]

I literally NEVER buy anything on credit. If I don’t have the cash at the house or in the bank account then I don’t buy it.... period. I’ll just keep saving.

I’ve literally showed up with a fist full of dollars. But, most times I’ll use my debit card.

 

[Bacon Fat]

One of my friends is a real tech junkie and does all of his banking through some online service that has no brick-and-mortar locations. He literally has no way to deposit or withdraw cash into or from his account.

I am the same way. Although I can get cash from an ATM, which I never do.
I rather someone pay with a check than in cash. I haven't used cash in a few years.

 

[Ogre]

I am the same way. Although I can get cash from an ATM, which I never do.
I rather someone pay with a check than in cash. I haven't used cash in a few years.

Checks... wow, almost never use paper checks. After more than 5 years on this checking account I'm on check #306... started at 300.

I wonder how many under 30 y/o folks have never even filled out a paper check.

 

[Harold]

Checks... wow, almost never use paper checks. After more than 5 years on this checking account I'm on check #306... started at 300.

I wonder how many under 30 y/o folks have never even filled out a paper check.

that's a good question. I don't use checks often, but the times I do use them, they're kinda required. there are some backwards companies out there still.

that, and because my bank also has a daily cash withdrawal limit from ATMs (I'm another who has an online-only bank). I can get it waived for a single transaction by calling their customer service line, but it adds an extra step.

what's funny is that I was talking to a neighbor recently. he mows lawns on the side for a little extra cash, and he was telling me that it's funny that younger people (he didn't give me an age cutoff, but he's 35-ish) are more likely to write him a check, and older folks are more likely to use something like zelle or venmo to pay him. which is funny, as I didn't even start using venmo until about a year ago.

 

[Ogre]

that's a good question. I don't use checks often, but the times I do use them, they're kinda required. there are some backwards companies out there still.

what's funny is that I was talking to a neighbor recently. he mows lawns on the side for a little extra cash, and he was telling me that it's funny that younger people (he didn't give me an age cutoff, but he's 35-ish) are more likely to write him a check, and older folks are more likely to use something like zelle or venmo to pay him. which is funny, as I didn't even start using venmo until about a year ago.

I cheat a bit. My bank lets me put in any arbitrary address and payee and they cut a check and send it for me for free. Not only do I not go through checks, I save on postage and can schedule payments too. Sometimes I put in a payee and I don't even know how they get paid. It might be digital or maybe they send paper. One of the things I love about this account.

The thing I always thought was magic is the thing where I can snap a photo of a check and it gets deposited in my account. I know how it works, but it still feels somewhat magical to me.

 

[Bacon Fat]

The thing I always thought was magic is the thing where I can snap a photo of a check and it gets deposited in my account. I know how it works, but it still feels somewhat magical to me.

That's why I like checks, goes right into a useful bank account. I don't want to use Venmo or paypal and I certainly don't want to have them linked to my bank account.

 

[milehi]

Same here, basically every dollar our household spends goes onto our CC in order to reap all of the rewards. We get literally thousands of dollars back in rewards via either airline miles or straight up cash back.

The 'I only use cash so I'm not subject to fraud' people don't make any sense to me. My credit cards provide a path of recourse if there is an issue with a vendor. My Sapphire card provides tons of buyer protection AND credit monitoring and identity protection.

There also seems to be a weird perception that using credit cards means you carry a balance and incur interest. We simply pay the balance each month. There is absolutely no downside, and IMO missing out on these benefits is financially unwise. This of course assumes that you can practice self control and use a CC only for things you'd purchase regardless of method.

As you may have guessed from that rant, the bikes that I've purchased new from a shop were purchased using a credit card, ha.

I use cash for all in person transactions. Including cars and my house. Mattress money. Wanna irritate someone? Go to a country like Iceland that's nearly cashless and only use cash.

I don't understand the part about fraud when using cash. That only happens with online purchases and swiping cards.

ETA I do have a AMEX Gold with no limit that I use for business expenses and for emergency. Funny thing, it was swiped at the airport and had a $47,000 charge on it. My credit union card was hacked too so I had no access to my bank account. Luckily I had $3700 in my pocked and converted half to Krona and used that when my AMEX wasn't accepted. BTW, AMEX reversed the fraudulent charge ASAP.

 

[DETarch]

I use cash for all in person transactions. Including cars and my house. Mattress money. Wanna irritate someone? Go to a country like Iceland that's nearly cashless and only use cash.

I don't understand the part about fraud when using cash. That only happens with online purchases and swiping cards.

I totally understand some of the reasons and benefits of using cash. But regarding fraud- a majority of my purchases are online and digital. Whether it’s my groceries or home utilities, I don’t buy many things face to face nowadays. And everything online goes onto a card, which results in both robust fraud protection AND significant financial rewards.

I don’t have a vested interest in what anyone else does, I just plan to continue leveraging every possible advantage in the system we’re all forced to operate within!

 

[milehi]

I totally understand some of the reasons and benefits of using cash. But regarding fraud- a majority of my purchases are online and digital. Whether it’s my groceries or home utilities, I don’t buy many things face to face nowadays. And everything online goes onto a card, which results in both robust fraud protection AND significant financial rewards.

I don’t have a vested interest in what anyone else does, I just plan to continue leveraging every possible advantage in the system we’re all forced to operate within!

I live in a small mountain town and some utilities dont have online bill pay. It takes me 20 minutes to make my rounds, and since I know everyone, it's a chance to say hi.

The grocery stores are set up for home delivery but since cooking is a passion i have to touch what I'm buying.

With bike parts, I can place an order online. Jensens will email me when the order is filled and I stop by on the way home from work. Mail delivery is a pain here. We have mandatory po boxes and the po is often closed by the time I get home. I also get a chance to confirm my drunken order.

With lodging. I confirm the room with a card and pay cash when I get there. Paying cash is a habit I picked up from my dad and I'm happy to be debt free with my only Bill's being utilities and insurances.

 

[TylerVernon]

$1.50 for a craft beer? Around here it’s more like $5 for a pint, and we have lots of breweries.

$9-$10 for a six pack. Isn't that pretty standard for the grocery store beer?

 

[Ogre]

I totally understand some of the reasons and benefits of using cash. But regarding fraud- a majority of my purchases are online and digital. Whether it’s my groceries or home utilities, I don’t buy many things face to face nowadays. And everything online goes onto a card, which results in both robust fraud protection AND significant financial rewards.

I don’t have a vested interest in what anyone else does, I just plan to continue leveraging every possible advantage in the system we’re all forced to operate within!

Yep.

You are more or less safe either way. If you are good at using credit then it's probably best.

If you aren't, cash is best (or cash/ straight checking/ debit cards).

People who aren't good at credit but insist on using it regardless end up spending decades in finance hell. I've known way too many people who self sabotage and end up spending twice as much for everything and don't understand why.

 

[Ogre]

$9-$10 for a six pack. Isn't that pretty standard for the grocery store beer?

Pretty typical here too. I've bought a big 22 ounce bottle of fancy 11% stout for $18 before too. But you can get good local brew for $10-12/ six pack.

 

[milehi]

Lol. I forgot when I went to Ireland last fall, I preordered $3500 in Euros before I left.

 

[Hit Factor]

Cash or check. Rarely debit card. I have a credit card but only use it for an occasional online purchase.

 

[Harold]

I cheat a bit. My bank lets me put in any arbitrary address and payee and they cut a check and send it for me for free. Not only do I not go through checks, I save on postage and can schedule payments too. Sometimes I put in a payee and I don't even know how they get paid. It might be digital or maybe they send paper. One of the things I love about this account.

The thing I always thought was magic is the thing where I can snap a photo of a check and it gets deposited in my account. I know how it works, but it still feels somewhat magical to me.

We do that a lot, too. But have run into a problem with our HOA dues last year, because of mail delays, this method resulted in a lot of late payments we never realized (post the payment on the same day of every month, inconsistent mail delivery results in the occasional late delivery). Some payees where we use this method have taken the steps to receive digital transactions, so they go through fast. The company managing the HOA has NOT done this. Using the HOA's pay online function, it's not even possible to pay early, so we have to wait until each month's dues get listed. It STILL takes a number of days for the transaction to go through, so it's really irritating that their system is as antiquated as it is. The method to set up automatic payments through their system is obscenely antiquated. Most places nowadays offer you a check box to make the payment recurring. NOPE. Gotta send an e-mail to someone in the management company to start the process, and they don't list that address anywhere, irritatingly enough. So I haven't set it up.

But that's not the sort of situation that I was even referring to before. It doesn't happen super often, but with a surprising frequency, I encounter businesses that insist on a physical personal check delivered personally by either me or my wife.