Sometimes you need cash.

[NW-Bound]

Another reason not to cruise? [emoji4]
...

Or just take a taxi (no Uber in Copenhagen), and pay $100 for the ride to the airport instead of the $6 for the bus/metro. Taxi drivers can handle credit cards from international travelers, I would think.

Perhaps we need to stop fooling ourselves that walking is a good exercise for health.

 

[CaptTom]

...Why? I don't want the 46 cents in my pocket.

Exactly! Cash is hassle enough. Having a bunch of coins in my pocket is something I don't miss.

 

[Badger]

Exactly! Cash is hassle enough. Having a bunch of coins in my pocket is something I don't miss.

I kind of like the jingle in my pocket from a few coins.
If traveling in a foreign country I like to bring back at least one of each coin as a souvenir for me and each of the grandkids to collect and it stimulates an opportunity for them to hear stories about other countries.

Cheers!

 

[Out-to-Lunch]

I kind of like the jingle in my pocket from a few coins.

I always make sure I have an Aldi's quarter or two on me!

 

[yakers]

Another reason not to cruise? [emoji4]

.

All the cruises I have been on everybody in port took dollars gladly.

 

[Spock]

I've always kept several K in cash at home and carried some... feel naked leaving the house without some cash in my pocket. I use the credit card a lot... 2% cash back. On the road I put everything but the room tip on the card... even the $2.57 Snickers bar at the gas station.
Since moving to a smallish town I use a lot more cash at the mom-and-pop restaurants, the vet, etc as the credit card fees are just another hole in their bucket. National chains (wal-mart groceries, etc) still get the card.
All tips are cash... though it's harder trying to "tip big" these days as inflation has taken a simple lunch for 2 up to $35.

 

[RetireAge50]

I recently got some fish and chips at a local marina and decided to use cash since it was getting stale in my wallet. Problem was i got some coins as change. I wear shorts and flip flops so no place to store coins so gave it to my mom. I lost the 2% credit card cash back and another 79 cents.

 

[CaptTom]

Back in the day I always had a pocket full of change. I'd tell people, if I have those extra couple of pennies when I pay, I'll get an even dime or quarter back. If I have a few dimes and quarters, I won't have to give another $1 bill. If I have a few $1 bills I won't have to break a 20 next time. By the end of the month I'll be rich with all those $20 bills I've avoided breaking!

What a PIA. No more bills or coins for me, if I can avoid it. My 2% cash back adds up to much more than I've every avoided breaking.

 

[Koolau]

Cash seems more real to me than CC. I often pay in cash when I could pay with CC. I'm talking about $10 or $15 - not a hundred.


I've been in too many places where cash was needed that I ALWAYS carry some cash. I like several 1s and 5s for tips. YMMV

 

[NW-Bound]

My wife always has some cash. It may be as much as a few $K. That's good, because I don't have to keep any.

In the recent trip, of course she brought some because we stayed 1 night in Cape Canaveral before boarding the transatlantic cruise. We wanted to give some tips to the waiters and cabin attendant (on top of precharged gratuities), and my wife said to use the dollars we still had instead of the euros.

Good move, as I did not think the bus driver in Copenhagen later would accept dollars, but she did take euros.

 

[HenryD]

I only keep cash on the boat to tip the fuel dock staff, otherwise, I use a card exclusively in the US. We do keep about $1k in small bills in the RV just in case. On my last two trips to the UK I didn't touch cash once, it was all contactless payments. In contrast, the last time I was in Costa Rica one gas station we visited, not a mom-and-pop, was "Solamente efectivo" - cash only. When was the last time you paid for gas in cash (under normal circumstances)?

 

[GrayHare]

I routinely fill up at cash only gas stations since the price is lower

 

[Car-Guy]

I like this a lot... I may even have some cards made up and start leaving them with each tip, assuming this is legal.

 

[HarveyS]

I agree sometimes you need cash, and I usually have some with me. And, I used to always tip with cash. I've stopped that. I tip with the credit card. If the employee needs to pay taxes (and social security), well then "welcome to my world". Very low earners will likely get any tax withheld returned at year-end. Social security payments should be made to support the system.

 

[CardsFan]

I agree sometimes you need cash, and I usually have some with me. And, I used to always tip with cash. I've stopped that. I tip with the credit card. If the employee needs to pay taxes (and social security), well then "welcome to my world". Very low earners will likely get any tax withheld returned at year-end. Social security payments should be made to support the system.

+1. I was beginning to think I was the only one that felt this way.

 

[Jerry1]

I don't always tip with cash, but my rationale for doing so is that I want to make sure that person gets the money. I'm not sure how they handle tips from credit cards. Do that split them amongst the entire team? Does the employer take a cut? I'm just not sure so I tend to tip in cash more often than not. I don't do it so they can avoid taxes but obviously, that can happen. However, I thought the employer has to take a certain percentage of an employee's pay and asses a tax against it. Basically an assumption on the level of tips they should have earned is reported. That is my understanding anyway.

 

[NW-Bound]

Sometimes I tip with cash, but most of the time with credit cards because I have no cash on hand.

I have read stories of low-wage workers having minuscule SS benefits, particularly people who got a big portion of their pay outside the "system" because it reduced taxes for both themselves and their employers. They then have to go on SSI.

 

[SecondCor521]

However, I thought the employer has to take a certain percentage of an employee's pay and asses a tax against it. Basically an assumption on the level of tips they should have earned is reported. That is my understanding anyway.

The employer probably has to withhold income and FICA taxes on the employee's pay which includes reported tips.

Unreported tip income should be reported by the employee on their tax return, and there is a Form (4137 I think) where they calculate and pay the FICA taxes on those unreported tips.

I have read stories of low-wage workers having minuscule SS benefits, particularly people who got a big portion of their pay outside the "system" because it reduced taxes for both themselves and their employers. They then have to go on SSI.

This is tax evasion, and probably silly to do because SS benefits for lower income workers are the most generous (compared to higher paid people). It also probably makes it harder to get a mortgage or any other income-based loan, as banks will probably (or I think they should) look at taxable income when deciding how much to lend and at what rate.

Bottom line, tip income is wage income and generally treated that way by the IRS.

 

[NW-Bound]

This is tax evasion, and probably silly to do because SS benefits for lower income workers are the most generous (compared to higher paid people). It also probably makes it harder to get a mortgage or any other income-based loan, as banks will probably (or I think they should) look at taxable income when deciding how much to lend and at what rate.

Bottom line, tip income is wage income and generally treated that way by the IRS.

Low-income people may not be able to afford a home anyway. And then, SSI may still be higher than what they could get on SS based on their true pay, so they think cheating is a win-win situation.

Scandinavian countries are going cashless, and that reduces this problem. Drug dealing too, from what I read.

 

[old medic]

Why? I don't want the 46 cents in my pocket.

I'm a change freak i guess... If I have change in my pocket, and the bill comes to $**.01.... I'll put another 99 cents in my pocket. Most times it goes in the console. Not uncommon to clean out several dollars in change. I'll sort thru it and please to find some older coins to add to the collection. still finding war nickels on a regular basis.

 

[Music Lover]

Scandinavian countries are going cashless, and that reduces this problem.

If someone wants to go cashless then me using cash doesn't affect them in the slightest. But if everyone is forced to go cashless other problems less obvious will be created. And those problems will be ugly and impossible to resolve.

 

[NW-Bound]

If someone wants to go cashless then me using cash doesn't affect them in the slightest. But if everyone is forced to go cashless other problems less obvious will be created. And those problems will be ugly and impossible to resolve.

Do you mean not just credit cards but also all forms of electronic transfer such as PayPal or Venmo? Any transactions involving bank accounts?

I guess people who want totally untraceable transactions can resort to bartering, or using precious metals as money. Some already use crypto.

 

[W2R]

Sometimes you need cash

Frank and I have been together for almost a quarter century. For us, it helps that we don't share our money. We never have and don't want to. No money arguments, for one thing.

When we eat out or get take-out he pays and then I pay him for my half of the bill when we get home. For that, the easiest solution is cash. Yes, "sometimes you need cash".

So yesterday I made my monthly ATM run. I put $100 in my wallet, and the rest goes in my secret hiding place. Pretty simple.

 

[Koolau]

Frank and I have been together for almost a quarter century. For us, it helps that we don't share our money. We never have and don't want to. No money arguments, for one thing.

When we eat out or get take-out he pays and then I pay him for my half of the bill when we get home. For that, the easiest solution is cash. Yes, "sometimes you need cash".

So yesterday I made my monthly ATM run. I put $100 in my wallet, and the rest goes in my secret hiding place. Pretty simple.

Going cashless to "catch criminals" means no one has privacy anymore. We all hate criminals, but loss of privacy is worse than criminals in my opinion. Trust me, the gummint would find ways to alter your behavior if they knew every cent you received and paid out. If you doubt that - see my tag line. It's unrefutable .

 

[NW-Bound]

Going cashless to "catch criminals" means no one has privacy anymore. We all hate criminals, but loss of privacy is worse than criminals in my opinion. Trust me, the gummint would find ways to alter your behavior if they knew every cent you received and paid out. If you doubt that - see my tag line. It's unrefutable .

Dunno about the gummint, but Google already knows all about my spending habits and where I have been. I hate it, but boy, it's tough to escape from their watchful eyes, unless I turn myself into a caveman.

For other people, it would be Apple who tracks them. You cannot hide.