Do You Still Use a Wallet and Cash?

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  Hydralyte on 12/04/2023 - 21:50

  +1

  I live in Western Sydney. We love cash!

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  Thinkswithelbow on 12/04/2023 - 22:06

  Phone only.
  Cash for gifts and marketplace/gumtree

  I've been burnt once in the last 3 years that I've had no wallet. But that's the risk o accept for convenience

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  2esc on 12/04/2023 - 23:09

  I wonder if those that fall into the "I only carry a phone and use it to pay all transactions" category are either under 35, live in major cities, single, couple no children or if they have children their partner has a wallet or purse.

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    Jolakot on 13/04/2023 - 13:22

    Under 35, living in a major city

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  thisusernameistaken on 13/04/2023 - 09:09

  +1

  Almost all of my in-person transactions are using cash.

  Based on my age, one would assume I would be card only but that's not the case.

  Cash is king and also a lot more fun than card payments. I enjoy handling coins and notes and working out the change in my head. It feels more meaningful than just passively tapping my card. It's also great for budgeting and stopping impulse spending.

  I've noticed that some businesses manually enter the payment amount before the customer taps their card. Manually entering the amount every time increases the chances of making a mistake and charging the customer an incorrect amount.

  Small businesses that prefer cash are not necessarily trying to avoid tax; they may just want to avoid paying ~ 2% in fees to process the payment. A lot of businesses are now passing on these surcharges and it all adds up. There is no guarantee that credit cards with cashback programs are going to run forever.

  The only exception I had with cash payments was that I used to pay my doctor appointments by card so I could get the Medicare rebate back instantly however more and more doctors are passing on the card surcharge so I'll just start using cash for them now. My last rebate might of even been paid the same day despite paying with cash.

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  mickrb30 on 13/04/2023 - 09:38

  +7

  i use cash most of the time
  REASON - If we go digital cashless society,
  internet is down, if a war develops, cyber attack, etc you cant access you money,you starve
  believe or not, the government will then have more control over the people,
  where you go, what you spend, where you are, they can freeze your accounts at their discretion
  you have all been locked up like animals in a zoo over covid, in the future will be loosing more of our freedoms
  and be deeply controlled by governments,t will take time, but we will get their
  I prefer cash when shopping, but still use cards for online payments.

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    thisusernameistaken on 13/04/2023 - 09:46

    +5

    This isn't conspiracy theory stuff, it only takes someone with common sense to see that cashless is bad from a freedom perspective. Don't forget that once cash is gone, nothing stopping banks from charging you high fees to keep your money in their bank or for Visa and Mastercard to start charging businesses (who will then pass on) high fees like 5% or more. Uber Eats has shown that people are willing to pay 20% in service fees.

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  mickrb30 on 13/04/2023 - 09:46

  +5

  BTW,
  When the fires went through batemans bay, all the electronic comms were down for week+ so nobody with a card could get food or fuel…
  Cash is still king.
  Electricity down, fires, outages, severe flooding with no power, war, cyber attacks, card is USELESS

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    Roman Sandstorm on 13/04/2023 - 14:33

    +1

    Yep mickrb30,

    And you'll be right when the apocalypse happens, because you'll have your stockpile of cash-purchased toilet paper, jerry cans, and ammo.

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  KaTst3R on 13/04/2023 - 11:08

  Some of the most popular Asian shops are cash only. I dont mind paying cash as long they keep their prices low.

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  Yorkshire-Man on 13/04/2023 - 12:46

  The wallet is for so many more things than cash. My work access card, opal card, RSL membership card, medicare card, drivers licence (etc etc etc).

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    Jolakot on 13/04/2023 - 13:27

    Digital medicare card, digital drivers license, digital transport cards, digital rewards cards all make that a moot point for 90% of people

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      Yorkshire-Man on 13/04/2023 - 13:59

      In theory yes. But ever tried to use a digital medicare card at your doctors? Tried to rent a car with a digital drivers licence? Tried to tap on with an Opal Card on your phone. Technically I have all these, in reality doctors & specialist require an actual Medicare card, no car rental firm accepts the digital drivers licence & the only way to tap on/off in Sydney is by using a credit/debit card, not my Opal Card.

      The wallet will stay until all this gets properly sorted :)

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        Archi on 13/04/2023 - 14:15

        i have a wallet with all those things in it, but it never leaves my car unless i need them.

        i don't go to any of these places like doctors, specialist without my car
        i don't go to supercheap, costco, BCF or any other store without my car.

        i technically just carry my phone unless i specifically know i need a particular membership, store or ID card, then i'll grab that item put it in the back pocket and off i go.

        when i return to the car it goes back in the wallet and into the centre console away from view.

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        bazingaa on 13/04/2023 - 15:45

        But ever tried to use a digital medicare card at your doctors?

        I have used it to get a COVID booster.

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        Jolakot on 14/04/2023 - 08:27

        I've never had an issue with digital Medicare cards at any doctor I've been to, including specialists. For like 2 years I just used an old photo of my Medicare card after losing it until it expired, all you need is the number itself, they already verify the details attached to the card with Medicare

        Can't you guys tap on with Apple Pay etc in NSW? My actual myki expired ages ago, ever since it was released I've just use Google Wallet to tap on, never had an issue with it either

        Never tried to rent a car, but I'm assuming that's not a spontaneous decision, so would have to intentionally bring it along. You're right though that the lisence is probably the trickiest to leave behind, I sure wouldn't want to have a dead phone after being pulled over by the cops. Not even an option in VIC yet unfortunately, maybe one day

        I still carry my physical lisence in my phone case, plus an emergency $50 note to avoid being stuck if there's a system or NBN outage. Always hated carrying a wallet stuffed with random cards and coins, plus I'm a klutz and frequently lose stuff, so it's great to have it all condensed down into a single item that I'll always have with me anyway

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  bazingaa on 13/04/2023 - 15:42

  I have $50 in my phone case, just in case to use at placed with card surchage like restaurants

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  whatgift on 13/04/2023 - 19:09

  Carry a small card carrier these days mainly for my drivers licence, just waiting for VIC to get their act together with digital licences.

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  Fobsessive on 13/04/2023 - 20:14

  Slim card-carrier with around $50. Hairdresser, banh mi, merch at local shows, avoiding surcharges, quickly paying back mates.

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  mickrb30 on 14/04/2023 - 09:57

  every one doesnt think, however how do you feel when the internet down on your provider ? ? for a few hours
  ok you can use your card to pay
  what will you do when its weeks and banks cant operate due to above
  no money, and if and when they open, they will ration out your money to a minumium
  your screwed, controlled,

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    aidenh37 on 14/04/2023 - 12:13

    Electricity down? Okay, most card terminals are battery-operated, there's a healthy amount of time before it stops working.

    Internet down? Okay, eftpos supports offline transactions - ever been prompted to sign out of nowhere? That's because the network couldn't be reached, and an offline eftpos transaction has been permitted. The payment will go through when the terminal comes back online. (Useless with single-network debit cards on Visa/MasterCard though)

    If either if these things is down for more than a week, then I have a feeling the shop is being looted anyways like in the movies.

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  aidenh37 on 14/04/2023 - 12:10

  Typically, for me I carry a slim Bellroy card wallet and no cash, because in Victoria we still use physcial IDs only plus physical myki cards (use an iPhone). Personally find using a physical card easier than the phone at times.

  In NSW, unless going regional I only carried my phone, as transport is paid for by debit/credit card, and ID is digital (accepted nearly everywhere now). There was the odd moment where a bank/phone company needed physical ID, but this was early on. Car rental also needed card to swipe for details, I could just provide details manually as I store my cards in my password manager.

  Oh, and the wallet comes out when going interstate, because other states legally don't have to/can't accept digital IDs, so it's handy to have when driving/going out.

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  BluebirdV on 14/04/2023 - 13:28

  Just curious if I want to apply for a home loan. If I were to go a year using cash only would it help getting a bigger loan?

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    timhn on 14/04/2023 - 20:19

    Huh? What made you think like that?
    If I can have some proofs on how my my monthly spending with cc statements, that probably make their decision on how much can lend out to me easier than someone without any proof because all his expenses were by cash.

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      BluebirdV on 16/04/2023 - 14:07

      You might be right but OP said in the post An acquaintance of mine who is in transaction data analytics said that if you can use cash to use cash. Their reason being that you are being tracked for all your purchases and this allows banks to make decisions on loans, particularly home loan applications where you state your expenses. As cash can be used to a degree of anonymity and also can be stored for use later, cash withdrawals don't register as an expense the same way a purchase through card or mobile NFC payments do and the expense cannot be tracked by the banks create a profile of your spending. This can potentially enable great loan values to be acquired.

      This has lead me to think cash might be worth going back to, as well as physical nature of tracking your spending and feeling your wallet thin out makes you want to spend less.

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  monky on 22/04/2023 - 14:14

  I have a Mastercard chip implanted into the big toe on my left foot: Not only am I hard to rob, but I can get a good burn going every time I order KFC

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  bargain huntress on 07/06/2023 - 20:45

  Has anyone tried the cash envelope system a.k.a. the dave ramsay system?

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