Poll of the Day > Carrying cash

(+) Yeah! (+)

I usually try to keep 30 or 40 bucks cash on me when I can.

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Not much, and occasionally I'm wiped out, but I try and keep $20+ on me.

I carry some emergency cash but not much.

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I have emergency money...
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At least a couple hundred. Only carry it to use as a backup in the event my card gets declined for some reason. Hasnt happened yet but the paranoia is strong.

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Seems kind of redundant to me to use a credit card at Dollar Tree if youre buying less than $10 worth of stuff.

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Only a small amount. I use a debit card for most cash purchases, especially since the pandemic began.

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I always try to carry a $50 bill on me, because I know that it costs about $50 (with tip) to get home from the city if I have to take a taxi. $50 will also get me most of a tank of gas.

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Yes, absolutely. Most of the time I do. it is useful for a lot of situations, such as tipping when I go to restaurants, paying people back if I owe them money(and they dont have zelle or care to use it), and purchasing bills out of my cash drawer at work. It's also rare but the credit/debit system at my store has gone down before. Not often or for that long, but it happens.

Yes, around $50-60 usually

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About a hundred or so. It's usually what I spend at a dispensary and it leaves me with ones for tipping or small purchases.

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Fierce_Deity_08 posted...

Seems kind of redundant to me to use a credit card at Dollar Tree if youre buying less than $10 worth of stuff.

I've never understood this? Why does the dollar amount of the transaction matter?
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ultra magnus13 posted...

I've never understood this? Why does the dollar amount of the transaction matter?

It only matters for very large transactions.
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No. I'm not a freaking peasant.

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ultra magnus13 posted...

I've never understood this? Why does the dollar amount of the transaction matter?

Credit card companies charge to allow their cards to be used. It's less common now, but some places really wouldn't accept them.
I think maybe once in the past decade I was asked to use cash on a small purchase cause the store would have lost money if I used a card.

That's why some still advertise as "accepted everywhere" and why some cards sometimes are not.

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ultra magnus13 posted...

I've never understood this? Why does the dollar amount of the transaction matter?

Using credit/debit cards always results in some sort of surcharge for the business. Depending on the service they're using, that may be a percentage fee (in which case it doesn't matter how large the transaction is) or a flat fee. In the latter case, they lose a larger percentage of the transaction (it's not uncommon for it to be 10-15 cents, which is a huge chunk of $1-2 transactions), so it's courteous to not use cards for small transactions, at least when dealing with small businesses for which those fees are actually fairly significant.

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I use credit card for most stuff, but always try to keep $20-$50 in my wallet just in case. Would not go above that, b/c then it'd really suck if I was robbed or it was stolen, etc...

adjl posted...

Using credit/debit cards always results in some sort of surcharge for the business. Depending on the service they're using, that may be a percentage fee (in which case it doesn't matter how large the transaction is) or a flat fee. In the latter case, they lose a larger percentage of the transaction (it's not uncommon for it to be 10-15 cents, which is a huge chunk of $1-2 transactions), so it's courteous to not use cards for small transactions, at least when dealing with small businesses for which those fees are actually fairly significant.

True, but businesses charge you for that in their pricing regardless of what you pay with, so you may as well use a card and earn some cash back rewards and build up your credit score.
For small businesses and/or small amounts then yeah, use cash. Though usually in those situations they require it anyway. Pretty much every small shop I go to has a $10 or more min. purchase limit to use a card.