Do you carry cash?

[jbsoonerfan]

I got to talking to a buddy tonight about carrying cash. I NEVER pay for anything with cash when I can use my debit card, but I carry cash. I think this may be a generational thing. I am 41 so cash was king when I was in my early 20's. I could write a check, but as I got older, checks became almost obsolete. I moved to paying for everything with my card but I still carry cash for emergency's. My buddy who is younger than me said he might have $10 or might have $100 cash on him at times. I know it might sound strange, but I have always had this "you never know" attitude. I always have at least $500 cash on me. When I told him that, it blew his mind. I know guys that carry 2-3K on them. I guess I post this to ask, do you guys carry cash? I look forward to the responses because I know some of you guys come from a time where it was basically cash only, and we have the younger guys who have probably never had to use cash. I never really thought about this till tonight. 

[MN Fisher]

Hitting Home Depot or Menards for parts for the trailer rebuild...I'm paying cash...so ya.

[Mike L]

Always carry cash in a money clip in my left front pocket, usually $50-$100. 
Wallet has everything else in my left back pocket. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[Captain Phil]

I carry cash and plastic.  Normally a couple hundred in cash.  My credit cards pay me back with money, so I charge most everything.  We use the cash back to fly first class on vacations. We pay off our balance every month and never run a credit card balance.  It's a good habit to get into.  Running credit card balances is the road to bankruptcy. 

[Catt]

I carry cash & a debt card, never had a credit card in my life.

 

Everything I own is paid for ?

[Jig Man]

Where I live green is a universal language so I always have several Franklins in my wallet in case I see something I want or need.

[Scott F]

I seldom use cash for much but I always have $20-$50 cash on me.  I use a debit card most of the time. Credit cards for gas. I have at least 6 credit cards but have no balances on any of them. I’m a believer in keeping my credit score high. 

[DaubsNU1]

Credit cards for pretty much everything...flying to Maui today for free...credit card miles : ) 

 

I do keep a $100 bill tucked away in my wallet...just in case I need emergency cash. Aside from that, it's all cards. 

[Sam]

Yes, cash and a debit card.

 

Use BPS VISA when making large purchases.

22 minutes ago, DaubsNU1 said:

Credit cards for pretty much everything...flying to Maui today for free...credit card miles : ) 

 

I do keep a $100 bill tucked away in my wallet...just in case I need emergency cash. Aside from that, it's all cards. 

And remember Daubs, if you go to New Orleans French Quarter you always want to hide some money in your shoe for bail, just in case. ?

[813basstard]

$500?

 

d**n. 

[CrankFate]

Rarely. Only when I go somewhere where they don’t take my debit card. I read that if you use your card it’s harder to track how much you spend. I find the opposite to be the case. I can see every penny I spent in my account.

 

Meanwhile, last weekend, my son found a wallet with around $200 in it. We gave it to the store we were at. Hopefully the guy goes back there.
 

Happened to me a few years back on a day I was actually carrying cash and the guy that found it gave it to the store and I got it back.

[J Francho]

I carry cash for tipping.  My grandfather always said don't do anything that your cash in pocket can't get you out of.  I almost always use a debit card.  I have a credit card as well, but that is paid off before interest accrues.  So far doing that has actually raised my credit score, which was useful when it came time to buy my new house.  I do think credit cards can get some into trouble, but they are a useful tool if you approach it as an intermediate pipeline for paying bills and not "free" money.  Accruing interest on those things is the devil and will lay waste to your flow through.

[volzfan59]

I always keep $200 to $300 tucked away in my wallet, just in case. Other than that, $20 to $40 in cash. I pretty much use my debit card. 

[ike8120]

Usually a very small amount

[TnRiver46]

Some, but the pool I draw it from is quite shallow so not much haha

[Skunkmaster-k]

It depends on how close to payday it is. 

[roadwarrior]

A couple of hundred bucks of various denominations in a money clip, 

two or three Benjamins in my wallet.

[NoShoes]

Shoot. I don’t carry cash. I had 60 bucks in my wallet the other day I have no idea where it came from. 
 

Credit card for everything, never slide my debit. I don’t like the idea of paying right out of my checking in case the card gets scammed. 
 

Pay off everything every month. Never have paid a dime of interest on cards.  Debt free besides the house at 29

[gim]

I carry anywhere between 10 and 40 bucks cash.  I don't like not having any at all, but I don't like having an absurd amount either.  I know some people who carry around close to 1000 bucks in cash and to me that seems ridiculous, but its their money so they can do what they want.

 

I primarily use a debit card that draws directly from my checking account.  I have a credit card that gets me cash back points, but I don't use that for anything other than large or emergency purchases.  Paying it off in a timely manner helps maintain my quality credit score.  Most of my bills are auto pay now, so I don't write that many checks.  But some bills I still have to manually pay for with a check.

[J Francho]

31 minutes ago, NoShoes said:

Credit card for everything, never slide my debit. I don’t like the idea of paying right out of my checking in case the card gets scammed. 

Both cards have the same protections, even more so when used automatic debit, skipping the PIN entry step.  I've had my cards compromised twice, neither time was through anything I did.  The compromise was on the bank's side.  Both times were simple processes to reverse the issue.

[TOXIC]

You debit card users break me out in a sweat. ? Having been in the banking industry for 35 years before I retired, I don’t even own a debit card.  I do have 4 credit cards structured in different ways.  The reason I do not carry a debit card is that if they get hacked, it’s harder to get the charges stopped and depending on your bank, you may not get all of you funds back.  Saw it happen too many times.  My wife does have a debit card but I don’t like it.  

[desmobob]

My debit card was hacked and I not only got my money back from the fraudulent purchases, but I was even credited for a charge I didn't recognize and reported, but was legit (name on the account was different than the business name, which is fairly common).  When I pointed it out the bank later, they said don't worry about it !

 

My concern about relying on debit and credit cards is that if there was ever some large-scale hack, virus, or whatever that shuts computer communications down, people without cash on hand would be in a big bind.  But every time I start building up an "emergency" cash supply, I end up tapping into it or spending on something.  ?

[huZZah]

14 minutes ago, desmobob said:

My concern about relying on debit and credit cards is that if there was ever some large-scale hack, virus, or whatever that shuts computer communications down, people without cash on hand would be in a big bind.

Lol I think having cash on hand would be the least of your problems in this scenario. 
 

I always keep at least $50 cash on me and $20 cash in the truck. Just in case. But I use my credit card, not debit, for as much as possible and pay it off every month. Especially gas. Had my debit card number stolen 3 times and it was such a freaking hassle every time. The credit card? 
Open app

dispute charge

done. If it’s really bad they send me another card in like a day or 2. 
 

Credit cards aren’t for everyone; they require a good deal of discipline. But I like the ease and peace of mind they bring me. And the money isn’t instantly gone and it’s not mine if there’s a problem ??
 

And I build points which is whatever. Occasionally it buys my gas one time. 

[NoShoes]

43 minutes ago, J Francho said:

Both cards have the same protections, even more so when used automatic debit, skipping the PIN entry step.  I've had my cards compromised twice, neither time was through anything I did.  The compromise was on the bank's side.  Both times were simple processes to reverse the issue.

They don’t in my experience. Mother in law works at a bank, people typically get there stuff back on debit card but it’s more of a process than with a credit card. 

[gim]

Both my debit and credit cards are VISA.  They have exactly the same fraud protection.