NationStates Jolt Archive


How much cash do you carry?

Skip rat
23-01-2009, 15:52
I've just been through my pockets at work and found I have the grand total of £1.72. Today is pay day though so I can confidently stop at the cashpoint tonight.

Just thought I'd ask NSG how much cash do you normally carry? Do you always have a roll of notes in you pocket? Do you rely on credit/debit cards or are you like the Queen and carry no cash?
Mad hatters in jeans
23-01-2009, 15:52
what's it to you huh?
SaintB
23-01-2009, 15:53
I carry a debit card.
Tagmatium
23-01-2009, 15:54
Depends, really. I always like to have a bit of money on me, but I find that it tends to disappear. I also when through a habit a couple of years ago of emptying out my wallet every time I got home from somewhere. The result of that was I tended never to have any money on me, as it was sitting on my desk back home.

Currently I've got eight quid or so on me, but that's mainly because I need to go to the laundrette later on today and I need the precious twenty pence pieces to use their machines to dry my clothes. 'cos my landlord didn't see fit to give us a tumble-dryer.
Ashmoria
23-01-2009, 15:55
lately ive had about $300 in my purse at all times.

usually its under $50. sometimes its random change.
Tagmatium
23-01-2009, 15:55
I carry a debit card.
But surely you need to buy the occasional item which isn't feasible to use a card for?
Peepelonia
23-01-2009, 15:57
I've just been through my pockets at work and found I have the grand total of £1.72. Today is pay day though so I can confidently stop at the cashpoint tonight.

Just thought I'd ask NSG how much cash do you normally carry? Do you always have a roll of notes in you pocket? Do you rely on credit/debit cards or are you like the Queen and carry no cash?

None really, if I need to buy something I'll take some cash out, I normaly walk out of the door with less than a £1 on me so that I can buy the paper on the way to work, and perhaps a choc if the fancy takes me.
Skip rat
23-01-2009, 15:57
I need small change for food at work but rely on my debit card for petrol etc. Most pubs now take plastic, which is very dangerous when I'm out on the town
SaintB
23-01-2009, 15:58
But surely you need to buy the occasional item which isn't feasible to use a card for?

I live in the US, I have yet to find a store that doesn't take a debit card. If I did, I can probably locate an ATM within a block of it. If I think that I might actually encounter one I get some cash. Its also a credit card with a $500 limit but I never ever use it.
Khadgar
23-01-2009, 15:59
I've got $57 on me currently. If I'm going shopping I tend to carry a couple hundred. Most I've had on me (on a trip to the bank) was $2200.
Western Mercenary Unio
23-01-2009, 16:01
25 Cents. That's Euro cents.
Tagmatium
23-01-2009, 16:02
I live in the US, I have yet to find a store that doesn't take a debit card. If I did, I can probably locate an ATM within a block of it. If I think that I might actually encounter one I get some cash. Its also a credit card with a $500 limit but I never ever use it.
The same is true here. Most shops will take debit cards, yet I always prefer to use cash in a lot of situations. I think it gives me a sense of the transaction being "real", rather than theoretical money passing between my bank and what ever place I'm shopping at. A lot of the smaller shops near me tend to have a £5 minimum spend on using plastic, which tends to be a bit much if I've just popped to the shop to get a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar.
SaintB
23-01-2009, 16:04
The same is true here. Most shops will take debit cards, yet I always prefer to use cash in a lot of situations. I think it gives me a sense of the transaction being "real", rather than theoretical money passing between my bank and what ever place I'm shopping at. A lot of the smaller shops near me tend to have a £5 minimum spend on using plastic, which tends to be a bit much if I've just popped to the shop to get a packet of crisps or a chocolate bar.

As opposed to an ATM with a $20 withdrawal limit :P.

I stopped carrying cash often in college when someone tried to take my wallet at gunpoint.
Mad hatters in jeans
23-01-2009, 16:05
As opposed to an ATM with a $20 withdrawal limit :P.

I stopped carrying cash often in college when someone tried to take my wallet at gunpoint.

:eek2:
Skip rat
23-01-2009, 16:09
I love the feeling of having crispy notes in my pocket (I loved having $1 bills when I was in America). I normally end up with a pocket full of heavy change over here (curse the £2 coin)
SaintB
23-01-2009, 16:09
:eek2:

Would you believe it if I said that I didn't have one and he thought I was telling the truth?
Pirated Corsairs
23-01-2009, 16:10
I carry a debit card.
This. Occasionally I'll have cash, though, but only if I know I'll need it.

But surely you need to buy the occasional item which isn't feasible to use a card for?

Personally, the only situation that commonly occurs where a debit card will not suffice(and I do not know about it in advance) is running to the vending machines, and the machines here accept student IDs for payment, so essentially I just use a different debit card. (In fact, the vast majority for stores and restaurants here accept the student ID cards. Indeed, the school actually has deals set up with several restaurants where you can get some sort of discount or special deal if you pay using them)

If I know I'm going to need cash, I just run to the ATM. After that, I might carry a bit of cash for a while (if, say, I need $10, I'll typically withdraw $20-$30) until I spend that, but I usually can't be bothered to go get cash otherwise, and my paychecks are auto-deposited into my account, so I don't have any other reason to go there.
Mad hatters in jeans
23-01-2009, 16:12
Would you believe it if I said that I didn't have one and he thought I was telling the truth?

no. were you scared at the time? What did you do after that? police? Did you have to change your underwear?
scary people in US
Pirated Corsairs
23-01-2009, 16:13
Would you believe it if I said that I didn't have one and he thought I was telling the truth?

Damn, that's pretty gutsy. I don't know if I'd be willing to risk the bluff, not if the guy had a gun.
SaintB
23-01-2009, 16:16
no. were you scared at the time? What did you do after that? police? Did you have to change your underwear?
scary people in US

Damn, that's pretty gutsy. I don't know if I'd be willing to risk the bluff, not if the guy had a gun.

I was scared to death, but I didn't have any money and I figured that if I was going to get shot I would rather have ID on me so that they could tell my mom.

The police were wholly unhelpful; they took a statement and basically went "Yeah, another one."

I was almost crying when I said it.. so its not too brave.
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
23-01-2009, 16:19
I've got $57 on me currently. If I'm going shopping I tend to carry a couple hundred. Most I've had on me (on a trip to the bank) was $2200.
A-huh, a-huh. Don't mind me I'm just taki- er, not taking notes about your habits.
Entirely random question: When do you usually go shopping?

In the interests of playing fair: I've got $22 +a couple bucks worth of change. I normally would have more, but am going through a poverty cycle this month. February 6th can't get here fast enough.
Skip rat
23-01-2009, 16:23
In the interests of playing fair: I've got $22 +a couple bucks worth of change. I normally would have more, but am going through a poverty cycle this month. February 6th can't get here fast enough.

Yep...January is the longest month. I normally get paid on the 25th, but in december its the 15th - gives a horrible 5-6 week month between cash injections
Pure Metal
23-01-2009, 16:26
rarely more than £20, and that's quite rare. its cards all the way for pretty much everything. right now i have a tenner left over from the £20 i got out on monday

after xmas i had about £120 in my wallet, for a while (it all went on diesel after ferrying people back and forth, though). and once i was carrying over £700 in cash cos i needed to transfer it from one bank account to another instantly - a cheque would have taken way too long. that was pretty scary.
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
23-01-2009, 16:27
Yep...January is the longest month. I normally get paid on the 25th, but in december its the 15th - gives a horrible 5-6 week month between cash injections
You'd think that by now I'd have figured out that, since I don't work over Winter Break, I don't get paid over Winter Break either, and so I'd save up a bit more during November and December.
It never works out that way, though.
Tagmatium
23-01-2009, 16:30
There was a point were I had £110 in my wallet, but that was because of a brain-burp I had at a cash point when I was trying to put in £10 and accidentally hit the "1" twice and hit "enter" before realising. I mashed "cancel" like a mad man, but the damned thing had accepted it. I ended up spending the cash on waterproofs, boots and stuff for a dig in an estuary, but I was still very much annoyed. The cash point in question doesn't have £10 as an option on its screen, so you have to put it in manually. It's also the slowest cash point in the Western World.
Skip rat
23-01-2009, 16:46
. It's also the slowest cash point in the Western World.

Nah...I think the Brewsters chain of pubs have the slowest. I'm sure it does a full credit check on you and your immediate family before slowly rolling out a tenner (and then charges you £1.75 for the pleasure....robbing gits)
Khadgar
23-01-2009, 16:46
Yep...January is the longest month. I normally get paid on the 25th, but in december its the 15th - gives a horrible 5-6 week month between cash injections

Solution to that, put every penny you don't have to spend in the bank.
Hotwife
23-01-2009, 16:47
None. I use a debit card just about everywhere, and I have an EZPass for toll roads around here.
Daistallia 2104
23-01-2009, 16:51
I've got 11,000 yen ($US110) in the wallet at the moment, and that's around average. During my recent vacation back in the states, I regularly carried several hundred $US. I'm quite comfy carrying upto $US1000 worth of yen in my wallet.

That's one of many habits that'll have to change when I move back for good.
Santiago I
23-01-2009, 17:03
Almost none. I live with plastic.
New Wallonochia
23-01-2009, 17:17
no. were you scared at the time? What did you do after that? police? Did you have to change your underwear?
scary people in US

There are scary people in every country.

I currently have $23 on me, which is about normal. I buy almost everything with my debit card. I hate carrying change on me and I usually deposit it in my coffee can immediately upon getting home.
Exilia and Colonies
23-01-2009, 17:19
I'm carrying £69.95 at the moment. Quite suprising for the end of the week.
Rambhutan
23-01-2009, 17:29
£37.11
Londim
23-01-2009, 17:30
Depends what I'm doing. If it's a shopping trip then I just use my debit card. If I'm going out with friends to a bar or something then usually in the region of £20 to £30.
Sarkhaan
23-01-2009, 17:46
When I first get out of work, usually around $100. I keep it around $25 though...enough for the random "you don't meet our minimum purchase for debit" or for a cab/refilling my Charliecard (subway pass) if I run out.
Neo Art
23-01-2009, 17:54
When I first get out of work, usually around $100. I keep it around $25 though...enough for the random "you don't meet our minimum purchase for debit" or for a cab/refilling my Charliecard (subway pass) if I run out.

sucker. My work takes care of my charliecard :p
Sarkhaan
23-01-2009, 18:06
sucker. My work takes care of my charliecard :p

Oh yeah? Well, my work complains when they have to pay me.


I need a new job.:(
Bokkiwokki
23-01-2009, 18:36
I normally end up with a pocket full of heavy change over here (curse the £2 coin)

Be glad it isn't the 1960s or earlier, with pennies the size of CDs (okay, records at that time), half crowns you could use for car wheels, and crowns about the size of the moon. :D
Rameria
23-01-2009, 18:39
I try to keep $20 on me. Right now I have $14 plus a lot of change in my wallet.
Intestinal fluids
23-01-2009, 18:47
I carry a $100 platinum coin but its really worth 10X that.
Saige Dragon
23-01-2009, 19:27
Right now, nothing. When I do have cash in my wallet, whatever I've got. I usually pull out a hundred bucks or so at a time and that'll last me a while unless I go to a bar or something. I pay for booze with cash as it's quicker and easier and then I don't have to think about a tip or anything.
Nanatsu no Tsuki
23-01-2009, 19:28
Zilch, I use my debit card.
Exilia and Colonies
23-01-2009, 20:01
I've been seeing a lot of people saying they use debit cards. You have that much faith your bank is going to remain solvent???
Sarkhaan
23-01-2009, 20:07
I've been seeing a lot of people saying they use debit cards. You have that much faith your bank is going to remain solvent???

Yes. Plus, the FDIC insures my savings. Even if Bank of America goes under (somewhat unlikely), my money will be returned to me courtesy of the US government.
Exilia and Colonies
23-01-2009, 20:08
Yes. Plus, the FDIC insures my savings. Even if Bank of America goes under (somewhat unlikely), my money will be returned to me courtesy of the US government.

Thats not to say the debit card will keep working. You'll be penniless in the meantime.
New Manvir
23-01-2009, 20:30
Usually anywhere between $0 to $30.
South Lorenya
23-01-2009, 20:33
I only carry Yap currency (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rai_stones).
Philosopy
23-01-2009, 21:11
I normally keep £50-£100 in cash. It's annoying to run out.
Yootopia
23-01-2009, 21:28
As opposed to an ATM with a $20 withdrawal limit :P.

I stopped carrying cash often in college when someone tried to take my wallet at gunpoint.
Aye that's why you keep your mind on your money and your money in your shoe.

*edits* And I generally carry plastic.
One-O-One
23-01-2009, 21:52
Two dollars in coinage, and a five dollar note I owe to someone. Quite a lot for me then, usually I have an eftpos card with 0.17 cents on it.
Free Ruislip
24-01-2009, 03:04
I get ten pounds out a week, and use it for bus fare and newspapers.
CanuckHeaven
24-01-2009, 03:11
Usually up to $100. Most cash I ever carried was over $3,000 when I was treasurer for an event.

Largest cheque I ever transported from 1 individual to another was over 1 million CAD.
Skallvia
24-01-2009, 03:12
Well, i get paid direct-deposit....I only carry around a Debit Card as far as money goes...
Smunkeeville
24-01-2009, 03:14
I live on the envelope system (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Envelope_System) so I carry as much cash as I need to do whatever I'm doing.
One-O-One
24-01-2009, 03:17
Usually up to $100. Most cash I ever carried was over $3,000 when I was treasurer for an event.

Largest cheque I ever transported from 1 individual to another was over 1 million CAD.

What's that, like 25USD?:tongue:
New Kereptica
24-01-2009, 03:20
I carry about $500 in my wallet in assorted large bills, and about $20 in loose change in my pocket.
CanuckHeaven
24-01-2009, 03:28
What's that, like 25USD?:tongue:
At one point last year, it would have been about 1.1 Million USD :)
Skallvia
24-01-2009, 04:10
At one point last year, it would have been about 1.1 Million USD :)

as of January 23, 2009, its US$812347.6848...

I blame George Bush, lol...
Lacadaemon
24-01-2009, 05:08
Really I don't bother with cash. Debit cards and such. Funny thing is that if you don't ever take it out, it tends to accumulate anyway.
H N Fiddlebottoms VIII
24-01-2009, 05:25
Usually anywhere between $0 to $30.
Have you ever tried carrying less?
I still remember the day I picked up that anti-penny. What times I had, up until it encountered a regular penny and the Universe ceased to exist. Then things got fixed, somehow.
Bokkiwokki
24-01-2009, 11:22
I still remember the day I picked up that anti-penny. What times I had, up until it encountered a regular penny and the Universe ceased to exist. Then things got fixed, somehow.

That's exactly why Britain had the guinea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guinea_(British_coin)) of 1 pound and 1 shilling.
If people ever encountered an antishilling, they could throw their guinea at it, and still be left with a pound. :tongue:
I V Stalin
24-01-2009, 12:07
Rarely more than £20, and then only if I'm paying cash to buy event tickets and avoid paying a booking fee. As of right now...£9 plus £7 worth of 2p coins. They tend to accumulate.
Rambhutan
24-01-2009, 12:22
I always carry a chicken in case I need to barter.
Call to power
24-01-2009, 12:44
I've lost me wallet :(

usually I carry all my spending cash in my wallet (more or less 110% of pay) because I quite like spending money
Bewilder
24-01-2009, 13:59
Usually none at all. Once a week I draw £20 and spend it on food and cleaning products. Whatever change is left from that goes into the xmas pot, also known as a jam jar.
NERVUN
24-01-2009, 14:17
Depends on the day, usually around 1000 to 2000 yen in bills and about 1000 or so in coins.

Japan is a cash society though so it was really strange coming over here the first time given that I normally used my debit card at home. Now it's the other way around and I don't feel right whipping out the plastic when I'm back in the States.
SaintB
24-01-2009, 14:25
I've been seeing a lot of people saying they use debit cards. You have that much faith your bank is going to remain solvent???

Since my bank caters specifically to members of the armed forces and their families that is a resounding yes.
Longhaul
24-01-2009, 14:29
I normally have about £50 in my wallet, but it really depends what I'm planning to do at any given time, or what I've been doing recently.

Right now, for example, I have £8.17 in change and £170 in notes - mainly English banknotes, since I spent a couple of days in England earlier this week and it's sometimes just not worth the hassle of spending time convincing people that the currency I use at home is ok to accept.

I don't use debit cards all that often for regular, day-to-day purchases - I just find using cash to be quicker and easier.
I V Stalin
24-01-2009, 14:47
Right now, for example, I have £8.17 in change and £170 in notes - mainly English banknotes, since I spent a couple of days in England earlier this week and it's sometimes just not worth the hassle of spending time convincing people that the currency I use at home is ok to accept.
Well, actually...we don't have to accept them in England. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7841273.stm)
Dumb Ideologies
24-01-2009, 15:06
I normally have about £50 in my wallet, but it really depends what I'm planning to do at any given time, or what I've been doing recently.

Right now, for example, I have £8.17 in change and £170 in notes - mainly English banknotes, since I spent a couple of days in England earlier this week and it's sometimes just not worth the hassle of spending time convincing people that the currency I use at home is ok to accept.

I don't use debit cards all that often for regular, day-to-day purchases - I just find using cash to be quicker and easier.

I never knew Scotland had its own version of the currency until Michael McIntyre (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3KfvPtVCcco) mentioned it in his stand-up (skip to about 1 minute in)
Bokkiwokki
24-01-2009, 15:10
... and it's sometimes just not worth the hassle of spending time convincing people that the currency I use at home is ok to accept.

Well, then maybe you should ask yourself: would you accept banknotes from Northern Ireland (all 4 current banks), Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Saint Helena and the Falklands?
Do you even know what they look like? Which ones are still valid and which are not?

And if you have doubts about any of these questions, can you blame others for doing the same?
Longhaul
24-01-2009, 15:11
Well, actually...we don't have to accept them in England. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7841273.stm)
...and at no point did I claim that anyone did have to accept them. I'm well aware of their status, thanks, and so I was quite careful not to make any claims about their legality.

It is ok to accept them, though, since businesses can bank them in the same way as they would any English banknotes in their daily cash takings. I simply said that it's occasionally not worth taking the time to debate it, which is why I waited until I was halfway down the M6 before I withdrew funds.
Milks Empire
24-01-2009, 15:15
Rarely ever more than $40.
Cameroi
24-01-2009, 16:19
depends on where i'm going and what i'm going to do. i think the most i've ever had on me at one time was around a hundred bux. typically its less then twenty. frequently less then five.
Truly Blessed
25-01-2009, 06:03
No more than $100 usually and that usually does not last too long.
Minoriteeburg
25-01-2009, 06:06
I really don't like carrying large amounts of cash, if I have more than $100 in my wallet, I will go to the nearest BoA branch and deposit half of it.

Maybe it was me being raised in the city that created that habit, but I have always been that way.
Maraque
25-01-2009, 06:25
I usually carry a debit card and usually between $500-$800 in cash.
Maineiacs
25-01-2009, 07:23
What is this "cash" you speak of?

Did you mean that stuff I have none of?:p
Bokkiwokki
28-01-2009, 11:35
What is this "cash" you speak of?


This (http://www.anythinganywhere.com/commerce/coins/coinpics/chin-y301a-1.jpg). Or... well... this is ten of them, that is...
The imperian empire
28-01-2009, 11:46
I typically have around £20/30 on me.

But I've been known to carry as little as a few pence, to as much as a £180 before. Depends on what's happening that day.

I hope there is a Zimbabwean on NSG, I cant wait to see how many trillions in his wallet :P
The imperian empire
28-01-2009, 11:49
Rarely more than £20, and then only if I'm paying cash to buy event tickets and avoid paying a booking fee. As of right now...£9 plus £7 worth of 2p coins. They tend to accumulate.

I counted the jar of copper and silver change I had a few weeks ago.

£113 worth of change. I love finding money like that, especially as a 1 or 2p coin is almost worthless on its own :P
Hobabwe
28-01-2009, 12:05
Somewhere between €0 and €50,-- aswell as my debit card.
Stupid no card accepting stores >.<