Are You Still Using Cash?

I think Jon sometimes that the problem with cards, it very easy to forget a payment you made and end up over spending or as it used to be getting a fine from your bank for going over drawn, at least with cash If you only have £20 you can only buy a Max of £20 worth of stuff, it makes for a very good budgeting tool.
 
Just nipped out to ice cream van, cash required, and provided.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
I think Jon sometimes that the problem with cards, it very easy to forget a payment you made and end up over spending or as it used to be getting a fine from your bank for going over drawn, at least with cash If you only have £20 you can only buy a Max of £20 worth of stuff, it makes for a very good budgeting tool.
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£20 in your pocket or bank account will make no difference to budgeting. If you only have £20 it doesn't matter whether it is a cash or card payment. Besides with internet banking it is easy to keep a track of what you have spent, plus you have at least one days grace before the money comes out and just shows as payment pending.
 
redsnappa said:
how do kids learn about money using contactless, google pay and apple pay. I'm glad I'm old
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Banks do cards for kids, parents pay in the money setting their budget limit, the kids can track online what they are spending, when the money runs out or not enough funds, the payment is rejected and they can't make their purchase.
 
nilagin said:
20
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This is the problem for some people with internet banking,first you have to pay for the equipment and an ISP then you can have access to your own money it makes not having much money so much worse.
 
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nilagin said:
£20 in your pocket or bank account will make no difference to budgeting. If you only have £20 it doesn't matter whether it is a cash or card payment. Besides with internet banking it is easy to keep a track of what you have spent, plus you have at least one days grace before the money comes out and just shows as payment pending.
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Not everyone does internet banking.
 
gman said:
There's also the elderly to consider, some of who may not be very tech savvy nor trusting.

Also, what happens when systems go down? Cash is a good backup.
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but thats bunkum, the so called "elderly" need a debit card to get there pension and have done for years, paying using chip and pin is allready in there dna.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This is the problem for some people with internet banking,first you have to pay for the equipment and an isp then you can have acess to your own money it make not having much money so much worse.
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Having internet banking doesn't reduce your ability to access your money. I can still go to a cash point or ask for cashback in a supermarket if I should want to.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
I think Jon sometimes that the problem with cards, it very easy to forget a payment you made and end up over spending or as it used to be getting a fine from your bank for going over drawn, at least with cash If you only have £20 you can only buy a Max of £20 worth of stuff, it makes for a very good budgeting tool.
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When I bought my camera on my card, it did not feel like I was buying, as I did not see the cash being handed over. It was a shock when I got the card statement, as I had forgotten about the other items I had also bought on the card. Had I been using cash, I would never have spent that much. :(
 
Now if they ever did get rid of cash, and you had to use a card only. Imagine who could check up on you, possibly even insurance companies.
They could possibly use your buying habits against you. How much you drink, and do you smoke etc. I could also see other problems too.
 
jonbeeza said:
When I bought my camera on my card, it did not feel like I was buying, as I did not see the cash being handed over. It was a shock when I got the card statement, as I had forgotten about the other items I had also bought on the card. Had I been using cash, I would never have spent that much. :(
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But you can still do the same with cash. Assume you have £1000 in your pocket, you buy a camera for £800 and you go and make the other purchases as well, some of which you have forgotten about, you will still get the same shock of not having as much money left as you thought you had. You can check your bank balance just as easily as counting the money left in your wallet.
 
Sort of related to this ( an assumption everyone has internet) I had the census come through today, now I've never been on a census or the electoral role but when I picked the envelope up I thought that's a bit thin ! I opened it up yes you guessed it , it has to be done online ! If you don't do it you can be fined £1000. The amusing bit is it says if you cannot fill it in online go to www.census.gov.uk and you can request a paper copy ! In fairness there is a phone number but to even say that makes no sense.
 
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nilagin said:
But you can still do the same with cash. Assume you have £1000 in your pocket, you buy a camera for £800 and you go and make the other purchases as well, some of which you have forgotten about
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How can you make a £300 payment if you only have £200 in your pocket ? You could only ever spend £200 max .
 
nilagin said:
But you can still do the same with cash. Assume you have £1000 in your pocket, you buy a camera for £800 and you go and make the other purchases as well, some of which you have forgotten about, you will still get the same shock of not having as much money left as you thought you had. You can check your bank balance just as easily as counting the money left in your wallet.
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Yes but if I had the cold hard cash in my hand, I would not fritter it away so easily. I don't think I would have paid £400 cash for a compact camera, I would have thought about it a lot more, I would have opted for a used camera for about £200 instead. But there again, had it of been cash, I would have spent it on the house, bills and repairs.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
How can you make a £300 payment if you only have £200 in your pocket ? You could only ever spend £200 max .
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Read what I said again. You can just as easily find you don't have enough money in your wallet by counting the money as you can by checking your bank balance and find you don't have enough money.
Either way you can still spend that £200 having forgotten you needed it for something else.
I keep minimal money in my bank account. When I make a payment, I get a message telling me I am going to be overdrawn, even if the payment is pending.
Regardless of whether you buy with cash or card, you get a receipt, those receipts will give you a clue to how much money you have left.
 
jonbeeza said:
Yes but if I had the cold hard cash in my hand, I would not fritter it away so easily. I don't think I would have paid £400 cash for a compact camera, I would have thought about it a lot more, I would have opted for a used camera for about £200 instead. But there again, had it of been cash, I would have spent it on the house, bills and repairs.
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But budgeting using a card is still no different to budgeting with cash. Where do you get the cash from, the bank or cash point? It's just as easy to withdraw £300 cash and spend it, forgetting you needed £100 for something else as it is to make a £300 card payment having forgot you needed £100 for something else.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
That is definitely one of the draw backs with cash, electronic fraud is pretty nasty but rarely violent. I saw a bit of snippit on a news artical which was saying various businesses would only use cards, this was to stop there being money on site or someone having to transport it to the bank.
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Speaking of banks and cash, I know of one bank in Glasgow who no longer deals with cash on site. Any cash transactions now have to be done via the post office. It was primarily to reduce insurance costs they said.

With regard to cash, it's a little tricky to buy something online with cash, especially from abroad. Using card also gives you extra proof of purchase when using a local store, although I am seeing a rise in receipts being emailed such as Halfords.

Another thought is that there'll always be an element of tax evasion in society, but who will suffer the most if cash is eliminated?
 
nilagin said:
But budgeting using a card is still no different to budgeting with cash. Where do you get the cash from, the bank or cash point? It's just as easy to withdraw £300 cash and spend it, forgetting you needed £100 for something else as it is to make a £300 card payment having forgot you needed £100 for something else.
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I know budgeting should be the same, but having cash would make me think more. Such as trying to keep hold of it, for as long as possible. On a card, it is easy to spend it all, even after budgeting. So not really about budgeting, but rather spending the money more wisely, I suppose. :)
 
jonbeeza said:
Now if they ever did get rid of cash, and you had to use a card only. Imagine who could check up on you, possibly even insurance companies.
They could possibly use your buying habits against you. How much you drink, and do you smoke etc. I could also see other problems too.
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They couldn't though, as only your bank has access to your complete transaction history. This is something that comes up again and again when people talk about the death of cash and it's completely false. Your bank is not packaging up your account history and selling it as personal data. People would be rightly upset about that.

Edit: Even more, your bank don't know what you've bought, only the amount you've spent. It doesn't show up on your bank statement that you've been to shop for 20 fags, a bottle of whisky and some pork scratchings. It just shows how much money you've spent.
 
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HMRC are pushing for easy access to your bank transactions with the Financial Institution Notice. Whilst the argument, "if you've nothing to hide then why worry" may apply, there may be the concern of how safe your bank data will be in their hands.

It could also be a stepping stone onto more intrusive powers.
 
nilagin said:
Read what I said again. You can just as easily find you don't have enough money in your wallet by counting the money as you can by checking your bank balance and find you don't have enough money.
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This is what you said below

nilagin said:
But you can still do the same with cash. Assume you have £1000 in your pocket, you buy a camera for £800 and you go and make the other purchases as well, some of which you have forgotten about, you will still get the same shock of not having as much money left as you thought you had. You can check your bank balance just as easily as counting the money left in your wallet.
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Going by what you have said , You have a £1000 then you buy a £800 camera this means you cannot buy anything else which is more than the £200 you have left. Alternatively You start with £1000 in you bank, You spend £800 on the camera, £50 on a dinner then go home. The next day the payment for the meal has not yet gone through you check your balance quickly and See you have £200 great I'll spend £200 . When all the payments go through you now realize you are £50 in dept, in the old days the bank would now fine you for the unplanned over draft and you would now be £75 in dept. This has happened to me multiple times in the past so it does happen. Do the same scenario looking at the cash you have in your wallet, you would see straight away you don't have enough for a £200 purchase. Now if every thing you brought on you card was instantly taken from your bank account then your idea would work.

Beside all that why are you still arguing something that has nothing to do with the original question ?
 
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BADGER.BRAD said:
This is what you said below



Going by what you have said , You have a £1000 then you buy a £800 camera this means you cannot buy anything else which is more than the £200 you have left. Alternatively You start with £1000 in you bank, You spend £800 on the camera, £50 on a dinner then go home. The next day the payment for the meal has not yet gone through you check your balance quickly and See you have £200 great I'll spend £200 . When all the payments go through you now realize you are £50 in dept, in the old days the bank would now fine you for the unplanned over draft and you would now be £75 in dept. This has happened to me multiple times in the past so it does happen. Do the same scenario looking at the cash you have in your wallet, you would see straight away you don't have enough for a £200 purchase. Now if every thing you brought on you card was instantly taken from your bank account then your idea would work.

Beside all that why are you still arguing something that has nothing to do with the original question ?
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I'd have used my credit card to buy the camera.... ;)
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This is what you said below



Going by what you have said , You have a £1000 then you buy a £800 camera this means you cannot buy anything else which is more than the £200 you have left. Alternatively You start with £1000 in you bank, You spend £800 on the camera, £50 on a dinner then go home. The next day the payment for the meal has not yet gone through you check your balance quickly and See you have £200 great I'll spend £200 . When all the payments go through you now realize you are £50 in dept, in the old days the bank would now fine you for the unplanned over draft and you would now be £75 in dept. This has happened to me multiple times in the past so it does happen. Do the same scenario looking at the cash you have in your wallet, you would see straight away you don't have enough for a £200 purchase. Now if every thing you brought on you card was instantly taken from your bank account then your idea would work.

Beside all that why are you still arguing something that has nothing to do with the original question ?
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If I check the balance on my banking app, it includes any pending payments. Using your example, if my balance is £1,000 and I spend £800 on a camera, the balance will immediately show as £200. Likewise, if I spend £50 on a meal, the balance will show immediately as £150.
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This is what you said below



Going by what you have said , You have a £1000 then you buy a £800 camera this means you cannot buy anything else which is more than the £200 you have left. Alternatively You start with £1000 in you bank, You spend £800 on the camera, £50 on a dinner then go home. The next day the payment for the meal has not yet gone through you check your balance quickly and See you have £200 great I'll spend £200 . When all the payments go through you now realize you are £50 in dept, in the old days the bank would now fine you for the unplanned over draft and you would now be £75 in dept. This has happened to me multiple times in the past so it does happen. Do the same scenario looking at the cash you have in your wallet, you would see straight away you don't have enough for a £200 purchase. Now if every thing you brought on you card was instantly taken from your bank account then your idea would work.
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When I check my bank balance after having spent the £50, it will tell me I have £150 balance and a £50 payment pending. So I am fully aware of how much money I have left in the account. If I was to check right now I would also see what all standing orders and direct debits will be coming out and on what date up to 7th April. So at any point I can transfer money from a savings account into the account to cover the payments or money spent. I have an agreed overdraft limit and if I should use it, it charges a ridiculously high 1p per day. ;)
 
BADGER.BRAD said:
This is what you said below



Going by what you have said , You have a £1000 then you buy a £800 camera this means you cannot buy anything else which is more than the £200 you have left. Alternatively You start with £1000 in you bank, You spend £800 on the camera, £50 on a dinner then go home. The next day the payment for the meal has not yet gone through you check your balance quickly and See you have £200 great I'll spend £200 . When all the payments go through you now realize you are £50 in dept, in the old days the bank would now fine you for the unplanned over draft and you would now be £75 in dept. This has happened to me multiple times in the past so it does happen. Do the same scenario looking at the cash you have in your wallet, you would see straight away you don't have enough for a £200 purchase. Now if every thing you brought on you card was instantly taken from your bank account then your idea would work.

Beside all that why are you still arguing something that has nothing to do with the original question ?
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In the old days I believe I was always/usually slightly overdrawn at the bank at the end/beginning of most months though it never showed on my monthly account sheets -- I had occasion to check them years later -- and was never charged for it :).
 
Lez325 said:
I have £50 in cash in my wallet, been there since original lockdown :LOL::LOL::LOL:
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I have £5, I believe it maybe from some cash I was given Christmas 2019. I didn't even realise it was there until the other day.
Just checked my wallet, I also have 40 1st class and 12 2and class stamps in my wallet. I can't remember the last time I used a stamp.
 
sphexx said:
In the old days I believe I was always/usually slightly overdrawn at the bank at the end/beginning of most months though it never showed on my monthly account sheets -- I had occasion to check them years later -- and was never charged for it :).
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I closest I came to being overdrawn was back in the 80's. I had a direct debit coming out of my bank account on payday. Although my wages were normally paid straight into my bank, this particular week, payroll had made a cock up and paid me in cash. I had to go to the bank as soon as I finished work and pay my wages in myself.
 
I wish banks would do away with overdrafts, never used mine and never will, but I know many
people who rely on them to make ends meet because there monthly wages pay last months overdraft.
 
Gremlin said:
I wish banks would do away with overdrafts, never used mine and never will, but I know many
people who rely on them to make ends meet because there monthly wages pay last months overdraft.
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Not much different to a credit card really. I have a large agreed overdraft limit that I don't use, I don't have any credit cards though.
 
My wife read some of these latest posts, laughed and looked at me, "you'd never forget what you'd spent money on, I bet you can trace it back to your first penny" well not quite right but usually on a daily basis,
I thought overdrafts were to do with firefighting!
I went to buy a new telly recently,well end of December, got offered a deal from stock so produced cash, assisstant told me they wanted card payment, when I told them I would have to come back because I carry cash and my card only comes out the house mainly to go the bank for more they were surprised, but still insisted they'd prefer card, so I said I'd return later and keep the box handy, that was before this lockdown, I wonder if it's still waiting for me, I went home had coffee and lost interest in a new telly and didn't go back.
 
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I have a tenner in my purse which has been there since about Feb 2020. I used to always take a bit of cash on holidays when they were a thing - mainly for getting food / paying for parking and suchlike but now almost everywhere has some form of electronic payment that is not really necessary. Oh and if I were to go somewhere with the intention of gambling I would take only as much cash as I was willing to lose.
 
When I mate and I were going to the casino we would go with as much as we were prepared to loose and a return train ticket, no money left didn't stop us getting home.
 
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