How much cash do you carry?

[odoreater]

Wait, people have set amounts of cash that they carry in their wallets?

I carry however much I happen to be carrying on that particular day. It could be anywhere from $0 to $1000 depending on the circumstances.

It's a little anal to always carry a particular amount of cash in your wallet, no?

 

[brosnan6]

Originally Posted by ChicagoRon

1 - I do have only one credit card. I got the Sak's world mastercard about two years ago for the 10% discount and to have a backup when Amex is declined. Turns out, the only place that turned down my amex in those two years also did not take MC (I was at the KY derby and The Triple Crown races don't accept mastercard). I get superior service from AMEX and so the Sak's card was unused for so long they sent me a letter that they canceled it on me. 2- Valet parking, hotel maids, bathroom attendants, bell-hops, sky-caps, taxis, cash-only restaurants and bars 3- That is changing, especially with the advent of the speed pass. As an aside, I am such a shill for amex, but I'm pretty pissed that they will give their version of the speed pass to gold and green card holders, but not platinum... I pay more.. how do I have less features ? 4- I use my card for anything where I may need purchase protection, but will you really dispute that chipotle burrito? This thread has alerted me to the fact that I am forfeiting over 20,000 points ($200) / year in value by paying cash for so much.... but I am still just a big believer in using cash, especially because it helps me stay on budget.
Interesting. I'll continue to comment using the 1,2,3 format we've already established

1- Fair enough. I prefer to make my smaller $-value daily purchases (lunch, coffee, groceries, bills, etc) on my Amazon Visa. Anything above $50 will go on Amex -- clothes, electronics, tickets, etc. They have the best customer service for disputes and the purchase protection/return protection is one of the best ******* perks of their cards 2- Rarely in places I need to valet, tipping maids has never crossed my mind (and I travel out of town ~3-3.5 weeks/month for work...), bathroom attendants fall under my "cash only when going out drinking exception," rarely have bags that require assistance, cabs at home I use credit card if $10+ and always credit cards when out of town (or a rental car), rarely ever at a restaurant that doesn't accept cash (and if I am I'm usually with somebody who is picking up the tab), and I don't think I've ever been to a bar that doesn't accept credit cards. 3- Nothing to add 4- True, I won't be disputing that Chipotle burrito (coincidentally my lunch today). At this point it just boils down to personal preference -- which obviously seems to be cash for you and obviously seems to be credit for me. It seems to me that we have very different preferences. I'll continue to never understand people who insist on using cash and I'm sure those people will continue to never understand my utter dislike towards cash. Let's call it a truce

 

[spertia]

Hell, in my dinky town I regularly get stuck in line (particularly at the grocery store) behind people paying with a paper check! Surely in this day and age, anyone who has a checkbook also has received a debit card from their bank.

 

[romafan]

Originally Posted by brosnan6

Interesting. I'll continue to comment using the 1,2,3 format we've already established

....

2- Rarely in places I need to valet, tipping maids has never crossed my mind (and I travel out of town ~3-3.5 weeks/month for work...), bathroom attendants fall under my "cash only when going out drinking exception," rarely have bags that require assistance, cabs at home I use credit card if $10+ and always credit cards when out of town (or a rental car), rarely ever at a restaurant that doesn't accept cash (and if I am I'm usually with somebody who is picking up the tab), and I don't think I've ever been to a bar that doesn't accept credit cards.

You should tip your hotel maids. They're like waitresses at the coffee shop. They generally lead a hard life, have tough jobs, and deserve a couple of bucks from the people they clean up after.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by romafan

You should tip your hotel maids. They're like waitresses at the coffee shop. They generally lead a hard life, have tough jobs, and deserve a couple of bucks from the people they clean up after.
I also find I have fewer issues with theft than many of my friends. Even if it's only a few bucks, why steal from someone who was thoughtful?

 

[neld]

around $40-100 plus a few coins

 

[Big Pun]

Originally Posted by odoreater

Wait, people have set amounts of cash that they carry in their wallets?

I carry however much I happen to be carrying on that particular day. It could be anywhere from $0 to $1000 depending on the circumstances.

It's a little anal to always carry a particular amount of cash in your wallet, no?
No, i usually just scrounge around spare cash after I take some out the ATM and major purchases, comes to around $40.

 

[c00kz]

I usually only have the cash which isn't worth making an ATM deposit for on hand. If things play out so that I've got a large amount of cash on hand I get really uneasy until I've slimmed it down to a twenty or two.

When I was living in a pretty high-crime area a couple years ago I would carry two wallets when going out at night, my regular one stowed away and another with 25 dollars or so and a school ID and an empty gift card just in case giving it up would make my life a little easier.

 

[A.K.A.]

I only carry cash when I am out of town overnight. Usually I'll withdraw $100 at the airport. $200 if I am gone for more than 3 days, or going to a city where I won't have a car. The hardest part is keeping track of where the money was spent.

 

[Stylin-1]

Originally Posted by brosnan6

Interesting. I'll continue to comment using the 1,2,3 format we've already established

1- Fair enough. I prefer to make my smaller $-value daily purchases (lunch, coffee, groceries, bills, etc) on my Amazon Visa. Anything above $50 will go on Amex -- clothes, electronics, tickets, etc. They have the best customer service for disputes and the purchase protection/return protection is one of the best ******* perks of their cards

2- Rarely in places I need to valet, tipping maids has never crossed my mind (and I travel out of town ~3-3.5 weeks/month for work...), bathroom attendants fall under my "cash only when going out drinking exception," rarely have bags that require assistance, cabs at home I use credit card if $10+ and always credit cards when out of town (or a rental car), rarely ever at a restaurant that doesn't accept cash (and if I am I'm usually with somebody who is picking up the tab), and I don't think I've ever been to a bar that doesn't accept credit cards.

3- Nothing to add
4- True, I won't be disputing that Chipotle burrito (coincidentally my lunch today). At this point it just boils down to personal preference -- which obviously seems to be cash for you and obviously seems to be credit for me.

It seems to me that we have very different preferences. I'll continue to never understand people who insist on using cash and I'm sure those people will continue to never understand my utter dislike towards cash. Let's call it a truce

Don't forget about the extended warranty either. I extended the factory warranty on my Samsung LCD by a year by simply putting it on my Amex.

Cash is so sub-prime.

 

[ChicagoRon]

Originally Posted by Stylin-1

Don't forget about the extended warranty either. I extended the factory warranty on my Samsung LCD by a year by simply putting it on my Amex. Cash is so sub-prime.
Yeah... they paid for the repair of my PS3 blu-ray laser this year using extended warranty. Easy as pie. I am also planning to return the Paul Smith sandals I bought from Blue Bee on clearance (final sale) to Amex. I manage to get my money's worth every year.

 

[lpresq]

Originally Posted by edmorel

I try and have about $100 on me. I also hate small timers paying for a $4.35 transaction with a debit card. Also, there are plenty of transactions where I like to leave a tip and prefer to leave a cash one than a number on a credit card slip.

Yes, but then you're left with .65 jingling around in your pocket.

 

[spertia]

Originally Posted by lpresq

Yes, but then you're left with .65 jingling around in your pocket.

That's small-time. Big timers simply dispose of the coins immediately in the nearest trash bin.

 

[chronoaug]

Try to keep like 5-10 if possible. Lots of cool local food joints/bakeries/little places like that only take cash. I love my wallet to death because it's a slim unadorned simple looking black leather bifold wallet and has a little zipper area where i can keep loose change. Nice when i get change back from places and need to carry it till i get home. Plus, i like keeping a few coins in there so when i get something that costs like $4.12 i don't get 88cents of change

 

[Milhouse]

cash = rand();