by Marco Angioni II

Created on: January 23, 2008

This is not so much an important question as it is one of personal preference. In this day and age, cash is becoming obsolete. With the meteoric rise of debit cards and credit cards, it seems that everybody is using plastic these days. Even things like checking accounts and savings accounts are fully automated to withdraw from your paycheck, or to deposit your paycheck. The point is, you rarely see your money anymore. Unfortunately, there are some transactions that still require you to pay with cash. As such, having some money on you can be helpful.

What transactions, you may be asking, still require you to pay with cash? The most common one I can think of is a cab ride or some other form of public transportation. As far as I know, these services require you to pay cash. Another example is vending machines (actually, I have seen vending machines that allow you to use your credit or debit card, however, for the most part, there are still many coin and bill operated vending machines). There are others, and the fact that they are not immediately coming to mind prove that such situations are dwindling, but that does not mean (as proven above) that they are nonexistent.

Therefore, if you live in a city in which you utilize public transportation, it behooves you to carry cash to pay for such services. Additionally, if you are a fan of the vending machines, a couple of bucks in your wallet or purse would be wise. However, does this mean that you should carry only this amount of cash to cover these expenses? This depends on you spending habits. If you feel that using your credit and/or debit card will cause you to spend more money than you should, you should carry enough cash to get you through the day and to prevent yourself from buying anything else. If your debit and credit cards do not entice or tempt you to spend more, then carrying only enough cash to pay for a cab ride may not be a problem.

It is important to note that many people do not carry cash, in my opinion, because you cannot recover cash if it is stolen. In other words, if you lose your wallet or purse, or the same are stolen, anything you have inside is gone, absent the police finding your wallet or purse. As such, if you had $100 in your wallet or purse, you cannot recover that $100. However, if your debit and credit cards a stolen, a simple phone call will shut down the card to prevent somebody from using them. Additionally, any money that is stolen by way of credit and debit cards is usually refunded to your respective account. Therefore, you do not have to worry about losing this money. Also, your bank and credit card company will send you a new card as soon as possible.

In the end, people do not carry much money because debit and credit cards are accepted virtually everywhere (with the exceptions noted above), and people can recover their losses if their credit and/or debit card is stolen whereas, the same is not true about cash. Thus, make your own decision as to how much cash to carry based upon your need to use cash and the possibility of preventing overspending.

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