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Cash Amnesia

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Re: Cash Amnesia

#81

Post by __MatrixMan__ »

malfist wrote: post #2

This goes against everything I'm familiar with around budgeting. One of the big tricks to getting your budget in check is to pay cash so you can see the money leaving your wallet. Swiping a credit card makes that all invisible

I've heard that said, but it doesn't feel right.

When I pay by card I have to ask myself: is there enough money in my spending account? Is this transaction going to fail? (I keep that balance low on purpose).

Cash lets me sidestep the accounting: if I have it here at all it's pre-approved for spending. Lower cognitive burden there at the POS = easier to part with.

Maybe that would be different if I did anything important in cash.

Re: Cash Amnesia

#82

Post by JumpCrisscross »

bern4444 wrote: post #80

I've always thought the opposite. When I pay for something with cash I remember it far more strongly than when I pay with card. I pay with a card all the time and the action is the same no matter the price. I tap it and move on. With cash I remember having to go get the cash, counting out the right amount at the register, and physically handing it over. And then I notice its absence since now I gave up all the cash I…

Out of curiosity, how old are you? I’m in my thirties and think the same.

Re: Cash Amnesia

#83

Post by marssaxman »

croutonwagon wrote: post #65
TheRealPomax wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I first moved to North America, the idea that a credit card company was allowed to give people cash back, offer insurance, etc. for using their cards seemed like some bizarroworld "how is this legal" concept. Having lived here for decades, it still is. It's like an alcohol shop rewarding its most alcoholic customers by giving them free booze. And then if you sign up for a new card, or you cancel a card, some ran…

I straight use credit cards as insurance, especially against scams. I specifically dont use a debit card at all and dont carry it. I only have it to pull money out and it stays locked in a safe at home. CC's allow me to ensure things like Amazon sellers arent scamming you, or worse, random websites with awful return policies. With a CC merchant that have a motivation to work on your behalf (ie: to get you to pay them…

We all have different perceptions of risk, don't we? My approach is the opposite of yours - I carry my debit card everywhere, and use it for every non-cash purchase - because I am far more concerned about the everyday risk of getting into debt by spending more than I can afford than the relatively unlikely prospect of getting scammed.

I did have to recoup stolen money once, but this was quick and straightforward since I am a member of a credit union. Leaving my debit card at home would not have helped, since the thief proved to be my ex-girlfriend!

Re: Cash Amnesia

#84

Post by kevinmchugh »

TheRealPomax wrote: post #24
hunter2_ wrote: post #18

> “Certain products are more guilt-inducing because they feel more like impulsive purchases, like a foam hand for the sports game,” Huang says. “Some are more rational purchases, such as books or stationery products for class.” Sure enough, they found that customers were more likely to pay in cash for harder-to-justify items like stuffed plush mascots and Christmas ornaments. Or perhaps the group of people buying har…

When I first moved to North America, the idea that a credit card company was allowed to give people cash back, offer insurance, etc. for using their cards seemed like some bizarroworld "how is this legal" concept. Having lived here for decades, it still is. It's like an alcohol shop rewarding its most alcoholic customers by giving them free booze. And then if you sign up for a new card, or you cancel a card, some ran…

There's a liquor store near me that gives out a poker chip for every $25 you spend. You can trade 4 poker chips for a pint in their bar. Is this bad?

Re: Cash Amnesia

#85

Post by [deleted] »

mdp2021 wrote: post #26
adastra22 wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

The poster wrote «of course» (taking something for granted) and «you», suggesting an universal context, valid for "everyone". Not just places in which the practice is established.

[deleted]

Re: Cash Amnesia

#86

Post by Etheryte »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #82
bern4444 wrote: post #80

I've always thought the opposite. When I pay for something with cash I remember it far more strongly than when I pay with card. I pay with a card all the time and the action is the same no matter the price. I tap it and move on. With cash I remember having to go get the cash, counting out the right amount at the register, and physically handing it over. And then I notice its absence since now I gave up all the cash I…

Out of curiosity, how old are you? I’m in my thirties and think the same.

I don't think it's tied that much to age, but rather local culture. For example this mindset is prevalent in Germany and Switzerland to the point where many locals look at you weird when you ask them why they prefer cash. (There are other historical reasons here too, but that doesn't take away from the main point.)

Re: Cash Amnesia

#87

Post by kevinmchugh »

chrismcb wrote: post #58
MyNameIsRansom wrote: post #28

Lots of small businesses do "cash no tax". It's not forgotten when it's spent. I've fixed my car in cash (primarily to save on tax; and to not have it known by insurance). It's hard for one to "amnesia" $5000 in cash. It's a tool, just like a credit card.

I've never seen anyone do this. But, unless the small business is committing fraud, they are then eating the tax. I don't a small business is going to willing pay 10% (or whatever the tax is)

I haven't either but I regularly see 3-5% cash discounts. Tax is 10% in my locality, in lower tax places it makes sense

Re: Cash Amnesia

#88

Post by mdp2021 »

hooverd wrote: post #55
mdp2021 wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"social credit score"?

Ok, I live in the US, we don't have one of those. We do have a bunch of companies, insurers and otherwise, that want to assign some sort of risk score to you. Credit card companies will happily part way with transaction data. *If you're wondering: I have a credit card. I don't really care if some data broker knows that I bought pants or paid my water bill.

In Europe, all electronic transactions are shared between at least a dozen unclear public-private entities.

I am not aware of a "social credit score" around these parts, but I do not have cards and I do very strictly care that privacy remains respected.

Re: Cash Amnesia

#89

Post by croutonwagon »

marssaxman wrote: post #83
croutonwagon wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I straight use credit cards as insurance, especially against scams. I specifically dont use a debit card at all and dont carry it. I only have it to pull money out and it stays locked in a safe at home. CC's allow me to ensure things like Amazon sellers arent scamming you, or worse, random websites with awful return policies. With a CC merchant that have a motivation to work on your behalf (ie: to get you to pay them…

We all have different perceptions of risk, don't we? My approach is the opposite of yours - I carry my debit card everywhere, and use it for every non-cash purchase - because I am far more concerned about the everyday risk of getting into debt by spending more than I can afford than the relatively unlikely prospect of getting scammed. I did have to recoup stolen money once, but this was quick and straightforward sinc…

We definitely do. And my intent wasnt to proselytize about it. More to just explain the reasoning.

I have had fraud due to things outside of my control that took hundreds of hours and months to recover from. Some being from family of all things. But an Ebay/Paypal EFT with a previous bank (Suntrust) causing recurring overdrafts and a LOT of effort to get it to stop caused a lot of the afformentioned structure.

We are both fairly stringent on spending, myself having had to crawl out of CC debt, so sticking to budget and keeping spending in check isnt so hard anymore. We definitely still have plenty of other safeguards as well.

For example any loan we "reverse engineer" to design it to a specific payment that sets a budget limit. And for things like cars, we keep that loan to no more than $300/month. And once the car is paid off we continue putting that 300/month into a savings account for repairs and/or down payment on the next vehicle when repairs start to exceed the value of the vehicle.

We also do the same for the kids college funds etc,.

Re: Cash Amnesia

#90

Post by croutonwagon »

gruez wrote: post #77
TheRealPomax wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, with a debit card in North America that is certainly true. Because banks are shit here.

Not really, because most banks have zero liability policies even though the law doesn't mandate it[1]. That said, the susceptibility to fraud is a fundamental problem with debit cards. When the card gets charged, it's your money that's taken out (or at least put on hold). On a credit card, it's the bank's money. That's an important difference, because even if you get reimbursed for it at the end, you're still without…

Thats exactly why we are structured that way. Especially for our primary accounts.

Its also why we use 3 banks. So if for some reason 1 bank had some type of incident or the accounts do, we have 2 other options with cash reserves. Though that has not happened to OUR accounts, we have had incidents at our banks (they just didnt affect our account balances)

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