by Cody Hodge

Created on: February 19, 2009

In a world of go, go, go antics, we constantly are looking for faster ways to do everything it seems. One of the big inconveniences of the past was how one would pay bills. In the past, you would write a check, and have to mail it in, or go to the bank, and deposit it, and then wait for it to clear, then pay your bills. Today, you can just have everything done electronically, and just sit back and let the bank do all the work for you. Is this a problem?

On the surface it seems like it is the greatest thing ever to be invented. No more having to go to the bank, no need to carry cash, and no need to worry about your bills not getting paid on time. All you have to do is just go on-line, click a few buttons, and your bills are automatically paid after your check is automatically deposited. No hassle, no lines at the bank, and most of all it saves a lot of paper, in fact where I work we are trying to get people to even get pay stubs on-line.

However, there are problems that arise out of a cashless society. First of all, what happens if you lose your cards? You are suseptible to identity theft, getting charges on your card that you didn't make, and other headaches. While it is easier these days to dispute charges, it still isn't fun to have to jump through all those hoops.

If you lose your card, and you get your identity stolen, you have to get it back, and thats a pain. Not only that but your credit rating could suffer, which is another hassle altogether. All that because you couldn't carry just a little bit of cash on you.

Since most of the economy is based on electronic transfers, what happens if the power goes out? The whole global economy could ground to a halt, and more importantly, you have no access to your cash. How would that work out if you couldn't get money from an ATM, or use you debit cards?

I remember one day at the store when power went out, and all the lines were down. All we could take was credit, and cash, and some people flipped out, and that was just a couple hour power outage. Imagine if that continued for more than a few hours? Society wouldn't know what to do with itself.

So while it seems like a cashless society offers advantages, it is not all rosy. It is still good to carry cash around, just in case. It can be accepted anytime, and anywhere, and there are no questions asked. It is good for emergencies, and just in case you can't use your cards for whatever reason. Trust me, I have been there, take my advice and carry some cash.

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