[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by EA

I couldn't help but notice that there was no -50 to 0, which is where I fall.

Okay, I'll bite. How does one carry a negative amount of cash?

[jtjtjtjt]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

I've been doing that every month for 40 years. Pretty much anyone with the least bit of financial acumen should be doing the same.

I've better things to do than watch my pennies. Maybe I'm watching my kilo (mega?) dollars instead.

So when I get a credit card bill, I will look at it and try to remember everything I charged that month and approximately how much. Since I didn't save any receipts, approximations will have to do. So a restaurant that adds a couple of bucks to a charge would not be noticed. Hence a preference for cash to pay at restaurants.

There are dull and boring things we all have to do every day (month). Balancing the credit card bill is one of them. It is not something I enjoy and I will try to minimize the effort I have to expend for it because I have fun, exciting, entertaining things to do instead.

[winter-rabbit]

Totally agree.

I can't stand people who pay with checks at the grocery store. Plus, they have to write down the transaction in their register!

Originally Posted by jtjtjtjt

I've better things to do than watch my pennies. Maybe I'm watching my kilo (mega?) dollars instead.

So when I get a credit card bill, I will look at it and try to remember everything I charged that month and approximately how much. Since I didn't save any receipts, approximations will have to do. So a restaurant that adds a couple of bucks to a charge would not be noticed. Hence a preference for cash to pay at restaurants.

There are dull and boring things we all have to do every day (month). Balancing the credit card bill is one of them. It is not something I enjoy and I will try to minimize the effort I have to expend for it because I have fun, exciting, entertaining things to do instead.

[EA]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

Okay, I'll bite. How does one carry a negative amount of cash?

I was being facetious.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by EA

I couldn't help but notice that there was no -50 to 0, which is where I fall.

This is me as well. I almost never have cash at all. I use debit for everything. Cash spends too fast.

[yellowsnow]

If I carry cash, it just disappears and I don't know where it went. So I use a debit card.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by jtjtjtjt

I've better things to do than watch my pennies. Maybe I'm watching my kilo (mega?) dollars instead.

Well, you keep watching those mega kilo dollars. I'm sure you have much too much wealth to worry about the little things.

Originally Posted by jtjtjtjt

So a restaurant that adds a couple of bucks to a charge would not be noticed. Hence a preference for cash to pay at restaurants.

In 40 years of dining out multiple times each week, I've never had a restaurant do what you're apparently obsessed with. Ironically, they have sometimes forgotten to include the tip when they put the charge through. So, in effect, there's a fair to good chance that your paranoia about charging in restaurants has actually cost you some money over the years.

[ScoopLV]

Originally Posted by EA

I was being facetious.

It's EASY to carry negative amounts of cash in Las Vegas. Go into any casino and ask for a marker. Lose it all. Whammo -- you now have a marker worth "negative cash" in your pocket. Some people have markers all over town.

[Croce]

Interesting comments and poll results thus far. The CNN poll showed that 79% of Americans carry less than $20. So our super small sample indicates that the poll takers are carrying more cash than the average. It means nothing, but will be interesting if there are more participants. I'm old school and always carry a fair amount of cash - use credit card primarily for gas and online purchases. Several reasons for this.

The ability to maintain some privacy. Many people have traded away their privacy for the latest cellphone app or smallest convenience to the point where privacy does not exist.

Bargain opportunities because of cash. I remember buying a pair of Bose 901 speakers (this is going back a long time) still in the box for a bargain price because of cash in hand.

Mug money - Never been mugged, but if it ever happens, better to hand over a few hundred dollars than two or three. Chances of survival might be better.

(a little off topic) In this interest rate environment, there is no disadvantage to keeping cash on hand for emergencies. In some countries during a credit crisis, bank restrictions on withdrawals are put in place. Could it happen here? I dunno.

All the other reasons specified by others.

[LV2ndHome]

Originally Posted by jtjtjtjt

Of course you'll know if you save all your receipts and then compare them to your credit card bill at the end of the month. But who wants that hassle?

Even when a CPA firm is hired to do an audit of a company's internal accounting, they don't review every entry as it would be too time consuming and expensive, and that is an accepted standard accounting practice.

No way am I going to sit down with saved receipts and worry about balancing to the penny. Sure someone might be able to pad a charge a couple of bucks and slip it past me, but I can catch any significant problems and my time is too valuable to use much more of it to hunt for a possible dollar mistake. Often I'm living out of a suitcase for a couple of weeks at a time, which also tends to limit and strain the ability to do the office/clerical work that is generally a much less lucrative use of my time.

I take a few seconds to look over my monthly statements or my account online for anything that stands out as not belonging or excessive. Only if I see a charge that I don't remember authorizing will I take time to investigate further, and that very seldom happens. Almost always it's an authorized charge that I simply didn't recognize initially due to it being abbreviated or a different name on the statement (a parent company or subsidiary name, or something similar) and I can figure it out quickly.