How often do you take out cash?

[GB]

I am just sort of curious. How often do you go to the bank or ATM to take out cash?

I just noticed that I have $40 on me right now. I pay for almost everything by credit card (and pay the balance off in full each month). The $40 that I have on me right now was taken out of an ATM on Jan 1 the night before I went on a business trip. I withdrew $200 for cab fare and anything else I might need while traveling. This morning when I counted my money I was amazed that I still had $40 on me. I have only spent $160 in cash in almost half a year. That is just under a dollar a day in cash that I have spent so far.

So how about you? Do you use cash more frequently? Do you use debit or credit cards? Do you pay with wampum?

 

[middie]

I don't go to the atm very often. I don't have alot of money in my account so I try to leave it there lol.

 

[LadyCook61]

We hardly use cash, mostly use our debit/credit card for purchases.

 

[Andy M.]

None of the stores I shop at accept wampum.

I use credit and debit cards as much as possible and pay off the balance in full each month. We charge our grioceries, car washes etc. so we can get the points for airfares.

I don't make cash last as long as you do. I usually take $50-$100 in cash back when I use the debit card and that can last a week or month depending on what's going on. The take-out delivery guys prefer cash. I usually use cash for misc. small purchases.

 

[Mel!]

I only withdraw cash when I need a large amount to take with me when I travel to someplace. That would be a few times per year.
My boyfriend is usually the one who withdraws the day to day money we spend. I think he does it every one or two weeks, depending on what we are currently buying.

Mel

 

[suziquzie]

I only work 2 days a week so we cash my little checks to use for groceries and gas for the week.
It helps me keep on budget at the grocery store, because when I only have so much cash I only spend what I can...... There's no way I want to be at the register saying, "uh, I dont have enough $$ can I put this back?" I usually end up $20 under budget because I am so paranoid of being that person!
Usually towards the end of the off week that I don't get paid we will get some from the machine out of DH's checks to get to my next one, he gets paid weekly.

 

[Uncle Bob]

House hold bills are paid with checks...Gas on credit card and, A few things on a Charge Card paid in full each month...Groceries, some gas, going out to eat, and most other day to day "stuff' is cash. I don't own an ATM card, So I personally use a lot of cash money...

 

[Beachcomber]

Very little cash spent at our house, everything on the little plastic card which we earn points from, and paid off in full each month. Do not remember the last time I withdrew cash from my bank, what cash we do spend comes from our 'yard sale pot'. We have a sale each summer and that is used for cash purchases, which are far and few between. We do not fly so we use cash the points in for gift cards. One year when we were living in Texas, we received enough Shell gas cards to pay for our gas on a trip we took to North Carolina. Now we are in the process of painting our house inside and out and all of the paint has been paid for by Home Depot gift cards.

 

[LT72884]

nope, i hate having cash on me. Call it an OCD but when i check my bank account online and i see that i have 100$ in there and i have 50 on me. I dont count that as 150$, i still count it as 100$ because i go by what number i see in my account. Its weird but thats how i do things.

 

[pacanis]

Cash baby! Unless I am buying something online or want to keep track of a business expense, everything is paid in cash and sometimes check. Especially something small, say under 20 bucks. Drives me nuts to see people buy a happy meal and pull out the plastic. I don't care what the commercial eludes to, it is still faster to pay with cash.
And I think we discussed this under another topic, but being that I own a small business, I have feelings for other small businesses and all those dinky CC sales take away a noticeable amount of markup when you are deducting your processing fees at the end of the month.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I'm the opposite - I use cash for most daily expenses. I pay monthly living expenses online and use a debitcard for groceries. When I make purchases online, I use a PayPal. But for everything else - eating out, gas, etc., I use cash. I started this about 20 years ago in a quest for debt-free living. I read it was easier to teach children, as well as adults, to manage money better when you use cash. When the cash is gone, you don't spend til you make more. Also, it's somehow harder to part with the green than use a card - makes you evaluate your purchases a little more. It's worked for me and my family. I can honestly say I have no debt except for monthly expenses like utilities,insurance, property taxes etc. It was hard to get used to but now, I cringe when I have to use a credit card for stuff like car repairs or large purchases that I want the extra warranty that is provided by the credit card.

 

[pdswife]

Like Andy, we buy almost everything with the credit card so that we get the miles. Groceries, gas,phone bills..everything. I do always have cash with me for little items. But, don't seem to use it much.

 

[Uncle Bob]

Pacanis...Your processing fees aren't built in to your mark up?? Often times, on larger purchases, I negotiate the price down with a retailer by paying cash to at least where the processing fee is not charged...often less...if the retailer wants to "skim" some cash.

 

[GB]

I am debt free like you FM (with the exception of mortgage and car loan and utilities) We have a home equity line, but we keep that paid off. We use our credit card for every single purchase we can as we get a return on doing that. Not using our credit card would be like throwing money in the trash.

What we do though is keep track of every penny we spend. We get a receipt for every purchase, no matter how small. At the end of the day I take all the receipts and total up the money. That amount is then moved from our individual checking accounts into our joint account. Our joint checking account is used solely for paying bills. When the money is moved over it is rounded up so if we make a purchase for $29.02 then we will move $30 over. Those extra cents add up over time and also build in a little buffer in case we ever mess up a little. Every two weeks I will pay our credit card bill online by paying the entire balance at that time right away. I know the money is there because it has already been moved to our joint checking account.

The great thing about doing it this way (for us) is that not only do we get perks from our credit card (GPS, two iPods, rice cooker, thermopen, and many other cool things), but by tracking the money each day we can see what we are spending on and what our spending habits are. If we starts to spend too much then we notice it right away and can take corrective action.

 

[*amy*]

Hardly any cash on me, for the same reason - I use mostly plastic (debit card). If I ever get held up, the most they'll get is lip gloss. A few days ago I went into the bank. It was the first time I'd seen the inside of a bank in years. Couldn't believe there were still lines, & the ATM was empty.

ETA: I rarely go to an ATM. When I do, $40 will last awhile. Getting singles & change is the hard part. Have to wait on lines for vendors to open the register - till someone makes a cash purchase

 

[pacanis]

Pacanis...Your processing fees aren't built in to your mark up?? Often times, on larger purchases, I negotiate the price down with a retailer by paying cash to at least where the processing fee is not charged...often less...if the retailer wants to "skim" some cash.

No, not really, since the majority of my sales is "Service" and hard to access a true net value. So when I see my CC processing statement at the end of the month and think I could be drive a Porsche.... It hits home.
There is a yearly farm auction by me that charges a surcharge if you pay for your purchase with a CC, but technically that's illegal here. I know of another business that gives a 3% discount if the sale is cash or check and have often thought about doing that. Not that there is any "skimming", but obviously there is more to pocket if the CC company doesn't take their "share".

It's definitely a perception thing..... I don't mind losing 3% of a $300 sale, but losing 3% on a $10 bag of catfood is more noticable.

 

[Uncle Bob]

No, not really, since the majority of my sales is "Service" and hard to access a true net value. So when I see my CC processing statement at the end of the month and think I could be drive a Porsche.... It hits home.
There is a yearly farm auction by me that charges a surcharge if you pay for your purchase with a CC, but technically that's illegal here. I know of another business that gives a 3% discount if the sale is cash or check and have often thought about doing that. Not that there is any "skimming", but obviously there is more to pocket if the CC company doesn't take their "share".

It's definitely a perception thing..... I don't mind losing 3% of a $300 sale, but losing 3% on a $10 bag of catfood is more noticable.

Still, I would figure out how to pass the expense along to the consumer...you should not "absorb" the cost of processing fees...You can only offer a 3% discount on cash, and check sales (I wouldn't on checks) if you have the 3% built in to the mark up...So what color Porsche ya gonna buy???

 

[ronjohn55]

I hit the ATM about every 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Just for money for things like quick lunches here at work and stuff. Use a credit card (no balance carried) for most other things.

Be sure to keep a hawk's eye on your credit cards especially if they come from Bank of America though. They've *really* been jerking consumers around and trying to find a reason to tack on any type of rate they can find. I'd guess that since they're probably getting hit with more missed payments and such, they've gone looking for revenues in other areas.

 

[Wart]

.

Cash

.....

 

[pacanis]

You're right, I should UB. But in a business where you get a lot of grief everytime you raise the price....

And as a sidenote; Visa, with MC to soon follow, has just started bumping up processing fees on corporate cards to a higher rate if we don't enter a sales tax amount. Apparently this is an effort to monitor whether charges to corporate cards are legitimate write offs. When you swipe one of these cards, they always want the sales tax entered separately.
So, seeing as how 85% of my sales are non-taxable in PA, I always enter $0.00. That is now an unacceptable amount and I will pay a higher processing fee because of it. Everytime I get one of these cards.
Credit cards might be more convenient, but it is the merchants who end up paying for all these perks the consumers get. You can clearly see though looking at most of the answers here, it isn't the wave of the future, it's here now.