I am cash poor, ask to see my wallet and you’ll be lucky to find a $20 inside. Usually the total will be closer to $10, or maybe only a dollar. I don’t feel the need to carry around a lot of money, I feel safe as long as I have enough for a bus ticket home. So far I’ve never been caught in a cash-only situation, but there are some good reasons to keep more money in your wallet.
Convenience – Cash is accepted everywhere, no worry about whether they accept Visa or American Express
Reliability – with credit and debit cards, when the power goes out or networks go down you are out of luck
Safety – there are times when you need cash to get out of a sticky situation, AAA will bring you gasoline when you are stranded on the side of the road, but they don’t give it to you for free
Overspending – it’s impossible to spend more than you have when you are only spending the cash in your wallet. Many people with spending problems turn to a cash only system to keep them out of trouble.
Of course I have plenty of my own reasons to stay cash-light.
Loss Protection – cash can easily get lost or stolen, with no hope of recovery. At least if your credit card is stolen you aren’t liable for the charges.
Tracking Spending – I don’t keep track of where I spend my cash, but every credit and debit transaction is logged by the bank and I can refer to it later
I know some people carry a few hundred dollars at all times, but the thought terrifies me. Would the money make me a target? Would I lose my wallet and all the cash in it? Instead I only carry around enough to buy a snack. We keep some money in the house for disasters like an earthquake that knocks out all the power, but I never keep money on me.
What are your cash carrying thoughts? How much is in your wallet?
Photo: Saad.Akhtar
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7 comments:
I take $100 out of the ATM at a time, so I always have $100 or less in my wallet. However, that money goes really slowly. I mostly use credit and debit cards for the points and for the Way2Save transfers I get from my Wachovia account.
It depends. On weekends, I have at least $100 for grocery shopping (the farmer's market doesn't take plastic!) and other errands. I take out about $500 at a time, but divvy it up into an accordion coupon holder for various expenses. I don't carry the holder around with me, because I'm afraid I'll lose it!
At the end of each day, I take out all of the cash in my wallet except for a buck or two and put it in our "kitty" for any purchases that aren't pre-planned. So, during the week--very little. Weekends--a good amount, until the farmer's markets and grocery stores take it. My husband, on the other hand, will carry several hundred dollars at once in various pockets (he refuses to carry a wallet). Worries the crap out of me.
I'm like you. Probably a $20. We have cash at home though, in case the ATM's don't work. Funny enough, that happened to our bank this summer for 2 days.
Generally I have $20 or less in my wallet. The exception is grocery shopping. Since we went to the (mostly) cash only system I take about $100 to the store with me. I HATE carrying cash though, as I worry it will get lost/stolen. I have set my wallet down on numerous occassions and had it returned to me, but one of these days, that isn't going to happen. It drives my Dad crazy that I never have cash on me. He thinks I'll get stranded somehow. He carries probably at least $100 at all times. I'm so bad that occassionally I don't have money to pay for my parking, so I'll seek a lot that takes credit cards. Doh!
To the other extreme, one day we had roofers and a contractor at our home doing renovations, and they preferred being paid in cash. I had thousands of dollars in my purse. I went to the bank and straight home to pay them, but man was I anxious on the 5 minute ride home. I was convinced I'd get car-jacked (in my very safe neighourhood). That's what carrying too much cash does to me. Not good.
I keep changing my mind about how much to carry. For awhile there I was trying to do the "envelope" system which meant that I had a lot of cash on me because it was not only spending money, but also grocery money and gas money. So, then I decided to only have half of the month's cash on me, but then, I changed my mind about having so much cash on me, so then I would only have $40 or $60 on me. I do like to have some cash on me, but now I think that no more than $60 is good.
I like the way you think about cash, like i do. Without much cash, i have been able to control the impulses 6-packs of beer, the crappy fast foods, and some of the stupid scratchoff lottery tickets. it saves money and calories!
John DeFlumeri Jr
I hardly carry cash. Credit Cards work for me.
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