Will that be cash or cash???

[timmae]

I am thinking I may be coming up to a crossroads of sorts...

I used to think that a world centered around using plastic (i.e. debit and credit cards) and where cash wasn't the norm would be a much better world. Thus, whenever I had the chance I'd use one of the cards and I rarely had anything more than a few dollars in my pocket. Then I moved to Chicago.

It is much easier to navigate and exist in Chicago if you have a decent amount of cash on hand. Examples... in Milwaukee you drive / in Chicago you hail a taxi and slip him a 5 or 10... in Milwaukee I went to Alerra and used the plastic / in Chicago I end up at filter, no plastic allowed... in milw there are franchise eateries everywhere / in chi there are ethnic ma and pops that I know don't even have a business license... etc.. etc..

Anyways, to the matter at hand. I have been leaning more and more towards the cash only joints and away from anything that even hints of franchise. I am not sure if the path will continue but it remains to be seen I guess...

A question for all is attached... how much cash do you typically carry? I've noticed I've gone from a sum total of about $10 a while back to the $100 range at the moment.

[Flasch186]

around 5 - 10 bucks at a time. Any more than that and Im afraid Ill lose it. I lose cash in my pockets all the time, and my GF always seems to acquire more, hmmmmm. but she does the lanudry so I guess thats the trade off.

[QuikSand]

Anyways, to the matter at hand. I have been leaning more and more towards the cash only joints and away from anything that even hints of franchise. I am not sure if the path will continue but it remains to be seen I guess...

Good call there. Enjoy the real food!


As for the walking-around-money issue... I usually carry a few hundred in cash, not including an "emergency hundred" tucked inside the folds of my wallet. Oh, and there's no other cash in the wallet, it's in the front pocket.

Poker players are a different lot, it seems.

[Swaggs]

Usually $50-$80. I try to only use credit cards for retail purchases, gas, and occassionally groceries. Using cash for meals, movies, drinks, etc. seems to keep me in line.

[MikeVick7]

I have a couple bucks in my wallet IF I'M LUCKY. I'm so locked into the plastic world...debit that this. It wouldn't kill me if I don't use another credit card in my life.

[QuikSand]

I have a couple bucks in my wallet IF I'M LUCKY. I'm so locked into the plastic world...debit that this. It won't kill me if I don't use another credit card in my life.

But you are making "credit card" payments that just debit your bank account, right? You're not actually paying an ATM fee to use your "debit card" every time you buy gas or groceries, right? (I am stunned whan I see people doing this)

[MJ4H]

It has been probably 7 years since I've carried ANY money with me. If I have any money with me, someone else wants it, so I stopped carrying it.

[Raiders Army]

At work I usually have $0 to $2. I go home for lunch and I don't normally need any money. On the weekends, I'll carry $20 to $50. I use our USAA check/credit card most places since I get a small percentage back.

[Raiders Army]

But you are making "credit card" payments that just debit your bank account, right? You're not actually paying an ATM fee to use your "debit card" every time you buy gas or groceries, right? (I am stunned whan I see people doing this)
There is no fee when you use your check/credit card to buy gas or groceries. As a matter of fact, it's best to get cash back because you can get cash without the fee.

[Ben E Lou]

I rarely carry cash. There are very few places (even fast food joints) in metro Atlanta where I need it. It caught me off guard when I drove across the country this summer, walked into a KFC somewhere in Tennessee or Kentucky for lunch, and needed cash to pay.

[MacroGuru]

I prefer cash over plastic.

HOWEVER, with that said, I only carry about $20 on me for a week for lunch, and thats generally it. If I gas up, I use my debit card. My wife, is the same way, however for her, she is Cash and believe it or not, check....she hates using the debit card, I do not know why, other than the fact she knows she will lose the receipt and forget to deduct the money from the ledger.

[B & B]

Couple hundred. I like to do whatever I want, whenever I want to.

Havent used a credit card outside of online purchases in months. Usually only write three or four checks a year also.

Find it amazing that people go around without even a few dollars in their pockets. A can of Mountain Dew and some Tic-tacs at the store, do we really have to bring Visa/Mastercard into this transaction? Ive got a 12 pack in one hand and a frozen pizza in the other. The game starts in twenty minutes. Get the hell out of my way, pal.

[kingnebwsu]

I used to only get out like $40-$50 from the bank. But recently it's been like "what the hell" and I've been getting $90-$100. Hasn't made a difference, except fewer trips to the ATM!!! :)

[GreenMonster]

Couple hundred. I like to do whatever I want, whenever I want to.

Havent used a credit card outside of online purchases in months. Usually only write three or four checks a year also.

Find it amazing that people go around without even a few dollars in their pockets. A can of Mountain Dew and some Tic-tacs at the store, do we really have to bring Visa/Mastercard into this transaction? Ive got a 12 pack in one hand and a frozen pizza in the other. The game starts in twenty minutes. Get the hell out of my way, pal.

I totally agree. I always carry a couple of hundred, you never know what will come up. They also need to come up with a minimum amount to charge, its bad when people take 20 mins to pay for a Royal with Cheese.

[MikeVick7]

But you are making "credit card" payments that just debit your bank account, right? You're not actually paying an ATM fee to use your "debit card" every time you buy gas or groceries, right? (I am stunned whan I see people doing this)
Nope, Raiders Army is correct, there is no fee when I buy stuff with my debit card. It's just like if I was writing a check and having the money come out of my checking account.

The only fee that I'm aware of is if I would try and get cash from another bank's ATM.

[pennywisesb]

I usually carry $15-20 at any one time. I use my debit card to purchase gas and for most store purchases and try to rarely use my CC unless I really need to.

[MikeVick7]

A can of Mountain Dew and some Tic-tacs at the store, do we really have to bring Visa/Mastercard into this transaction?
Ha! This is one of the reasons I don't use cash. It prevents me from buying all that little nickel and dime stuff.

Plus, I'm terrible with change, especially pennies.

[Ben E Lou]

Nope, Raiders Army is correct, there is no fee when I buy stuff with my debit card. It's just like if I was writing a check and having the money come out of my checking account.

The only fee that I'm aware of is if I would try and get cash from another bank's ATM.Yup. When I need cash, I go grocery shopping and get cash back. No fees that way. :)

[JonInMiddleGA]

I generally keep anywhere from $75 - $250 on me, or at least try to. Mostly depends on what I think is going to tap my wallet between now & the next convienient bank run (haven't used an ATM card in years, a holdover habit from more than a decade ago after major problems caused by not keeping track of what two people were taking out of the checking acct with the blasted teller card).

Then for the weekend, I'll usually load up on Friday afternoon/Saturday morning with $300-$400 to get through comfortably til Monday. Happily, that often last me until the middle of the following week anyway, I just prefer to have too much cash on hand than ever be caught with too little.

And yeah, there's nearly a half dozen credit cards between me & the wife, but those are pretty much only for: online purchases, hotel/travel expenses, and pay-at- the-pump gas.

[GreenMonster]

dola, this is even worse in college towns. After watching countless college students put $1.20 on the card for a 20ounce coke, the lines at college gas stations are much worse. After going to Georgia State for 4 years, you couldn't pay me enough to stop at the BP across from the Varsity. Minimum 30 mins from my life gone..

[JonInMiddleGA]

After going to Georgia State for 4 years, you couldn't pay me enough to stop at the BP across from the Varsity. Minimum 30 mins from my life gone..

LOL, I know the station & yes that's a nightmare spot.

[Flasch186]

are you trying to say that when I go to the store and use a Debit transaction, eventhough the price is the same, and no fee shows on my bank statement, I AM actually being charged a fee somewhere? Where is the fee? Where is it shown coming out of my monies?

[Ben E Lou]

I rarely carry cash.Upon further thought, that statement isn't really accurate. I rarely use cash. Right now, I have 6 bucks in my wallet. This particular 5 and 1 have probably been in my wallet for 2-3 weeks (the last time I got 20 bucks or so from the grocery store), so I guess I carry cash quite a bit--just not much of it.

[George]

I tend to use my debit card for just about everything. I'll usually carry about $50 or so, mainly for emergencies or very small purchases.

[JeeberD]

Several hundred

[Radii]

I pull a $20 out of the ATM most every week, either on Friday or Monday morning. If its gone before the next weekend rolls around, I just try not to spend any money on anything for myself. Very often I have no cash at all in my wallet, espicially on weekends.

[Bee]

I vary anywhere from about $20 to $300. I usually get $300 from the ATM and then when it gets down to $20-$30, I go and restock.

[Ksyrup]

Several hundred
This info will come in quite handy if a Dallas-area get-together happens... :D

[Subby]

Find it amazing that people go around without even a few dollars in their pockets. A can of Mountain Dew and some Tic-tacs at the store, do we really have to bring Visa/Mastercard into this transaction? Ive got a 12 pack in one hand and a frozen pizza in the other. The game starts in twenty minutes. Get the hell out of my way, pal. I'll remember to write a check the next time I am ahead of you in line ;)

[st.cronin]

are you trying to say that when I go to the store and use a Debit transaction, eventhough the price is the same, and no fee shows on my bank statement, I AM actually being charged a fee somewhere? Where is the fee? Where is it shown coming out of my monies?

It's probably not actually being charged to you, but it costs businesses more to process credit card payments than cash payments, sometimes a lot more. If you're one of those ignoramuses who thinks that the price of an item is based on its total cost and not demand (demand meaning how much you are willing to pay) than yes, you are being charged.

I don't carry cash, myself.

[B & B]

If there is some discertation on which button is the debit/credit, if they want cash back and trying to enter some pin # they dont have down pat, then Im buying.
Several times in the past Ive just said "Ive got it" I'll spot you the dollar thirty six, just add it on to my items and lets get this thing moving. Happy holidays for some cashless soul and the karma police keep off my back for awhile. Its win-win.

Here's a twenty, I dont need a reciept with my change. Thank you.

[JeeberD]

This info will come in quite handy if a Dallas-area get-together happens... :D

Reminder to self: Visit the bank the morning of the 27th so you don't get robbed by the damn dirty lawyer... :D

[sterlingice]

I don't get the "it takes forever to swipe plastic" crowd. Have you even used plastic in the last 20 years? At the grocery store, debit card's faster- especially in self checkout. At the gas station, debit card's faster. Do I want some high school dropout trying to count out $4.74 in change or be able to punch in my pin number and go- nothing to sign, takes a couple seconds to verify, etc.

I suspect that the reason, for instance, GreenMonster and the college BP is slow is because there's a lot of dumb kids who would take equally long to try and fish 1.20 in change out of their pocket than to find a card to swipe.

SI

[gottimd]

http://mi.aacdn.us/6pp4/0002.JPG

[JonInMiddleGA]

... or be able to punch in my pin number and go- nothing to sign, takes a couple seconds to verify, etc.

And if it worked that way for the majority of people I see, you might have a point.

Alas, the far more common sights include: people who don't know how to swipe the card properly, people who don't know their pin number, people who don't know how to punch in their pin number, people who bypass the cash in their wallet while searching for their card amidst the 42 other cards in their wallet, and the ever popular waiting-interminably-for-the-machine-to-process -the-transaction.

[sabotai]

I try to have at the very least $50 on me. I use my credit card only when I have too. Considering whenever I go out, it's for a specific purpose, so I usually make sure to carry how much cash I'll need for the day plus at least $50 in case something comes up.

It'd probably be at least a few hundred, but I'm po'.

[sabotai]

At the gas station, debit card's faster.
Not in New Jersey. :p

[sabotai]

http://mi.aacdn.us/6pp4/0002.JPG
Oh come on! That's a $100 bill wrapped around a bunch of ones. You can't fool us. :D

[sterlingice]

Oh come on! That's a $100 bill wrapped around a bunch of ones. You can't fool us. :DYeah, that looks like someone who has one "lucky hundred" or "lucky fake hundred" and is heading out for a night at the strip club ;)

SI

[gottimd]

Yeah, that looks like someone who has one "lucky hundred" or "lucky fake hundred" and is heading out for a night at the strip club ;)

SI
That is my lucky one hundred, but what is in between are all of my thousand dollar bills that I hide.

[Butter]

If I carry a bunch of cash around, I get scared to death that I'm going to leave an extra 20 here or drop one on the ground by accident... last Christmas, I had a wad of cash for Christmas presents, and on my way out of Wal-Mart the clerk chased me down to hand me the $150+ I had left on the little stand next to the register.

I don't need a big wad of bills to worry about. If I'm going on a trip in the car, I'll take along a lot of money, but otherwise I almost never have more than $10 on me.

[oliegirl]

around 5 - 10 bucks at a time. Any more than that and Im afraid Ill lose it. I lose cash in my pockets all the time, and my GF always seems to acquire more, hmmmmm. but she does the lanudry so I guess thats the trade off.


Flasch...work with me here. She is now your FIANCEE, not your girlfriend! No more talk of girlfriends from you, OK?

[Daimyo]

I never carry more than $100 or less than $20. I pay almost everything with credit, but I do need cash for lunch at work and I like to have some in case I want to order food delivered to home. When I get to <$20 I usually withdraw $100 from the ATM.

My experience in Chicago is a bit different though.... I almost never go to franchise restaurants (no point in Chicago to ever go to one really) unless my wife wants to, but I never had a huge problem using credit. Occasionally I'll find a place that won't take Discover, but its very rare I find a place that won't take Mastercard.

[sterlingice]

Flasch...work with me here. She is now your FIANCEE, not your girlfriend! No more talk of girlfriends from you, OK?Oh, c'mon- that's one of those things you just never get used to and by the time you're kindof used to it, it's time to change again. :p

SI

[Eaglesfan27]

I usually carry 40 maximum. I use my bank card as a credit card very frequently.

[Fidatelo]

I never carry more than $100 or less than $20. I pay almost everything with credit, but I do need cash for lunch at work and I like to have some in case I want to order food delivered to home. When I get to <$20 I usually withdraw $100 from the ATM.
This is my style also, although I tend to go down to $0 often before I re-stock back to $100. The only time that bites me in the ass is when I have to borrow a couple bucks to get a bagel from Tim's on my coffee break.

[digamma]

I'm a convert to the greenbacks as well. I still use the debit/credit card whenever I can, but I've made myself get into the habit of carrying at least $50, and usually in the $100 neighborhood.

[cthomer5000]

I pull out $100 every Friday for lunch + miscellaneous expenses for the week. The amount I have in my pocked then declines until the next Friday.

[Drake]

I'm shocked at the number of you whose wives let you carry money. I have an emergency check. Any other money or plastic I carry I have to get from my wife.

Since she pays the bills and I don't really spend money otherwise, this saves me tons of hassle. In fact, when I do get money in my wallet, I tend to forget it's there for weeks at a time. The best thing about this arrangement is no milk & bread runs on the way home. Yay!

[Raiders Army]

I pull out $100 every Friday for lunch + miscellaneous expenses for the week. The amount I have in my pocked then declines until the next Friday.
Does your regular workweek start on Friday or do you get paid on Friday and that's why you take it out that day?

[cthomer5000]

Does your regular workweek start on Friday or do you get paid on Friday and that's why you take it out that day?
I take it out on Friday because I'm most likely to be going out to do some spending on a Friday or Saturday night.

[Raiders Army]

Ah

[Easy Mac]

I carry my debit card and a credit card, never have cash. I don't think I've touched any cash in about 2 months. Haven't written any checks outside of church either. Credit for gas, groceries and online; debit for everything else.

[Joe]

I usually carry between $20 and $40, plus my credit cards and debit cards

[TredWel]

I like to keep about $20 on me. Like to keep some on me to prepare for times when I can't use debit/credit, but not too much to reduce the risk of losing it.

[Craptacular]

I usually get $100 or so at the TYME machine (ATM for you non-Cheeseheads), and reload when it gets below $20. I use a credit card for pretty much every purchase I can, as long as it's around $10 or more. I'll use cash for fast-food lunch and other small purchases.

[TroyF]

I carry about $0 in cash usually.

If I'm on a business trip, I'll grab 20 from the ATM, but that's about it. I can think of only a handful of cash transactions I've made in the last three months.

[Glengoyne]

If I carry a bunch of cash around, I get scared to death that I'm going to leave an extra 20 here or drop one on the ground by accident... last Christmas, I had a wad of cash for Christmas presents, and on my way out of Wal-Mart the clerk chased me down to hand me the $150+ I had left on the little stand next to the register.

I don't need a big wad of bills to worry about. If I'm going on a trip in the car, I'll take along a lot of money, but otherwise I almost never have more than $10 on me.
The last time I was carrying a big wad of cash around, I was in Vegas. In one of the clubs, I gave this Dancer a $20 to do a lap dance for my friend...It was his bachelor party. She asked like three times if I wanted her to give him the $100 special. I said nah, we're just getting started. Well he didn't freaking come back for like a half an hour, and he was quite pleased. Turned out I had given her a C-Note by mistake.

[timmae]

My experience in Chicago is a bit different though.... I almost never go to franchise restaurants (no point in Chicago to ever go to one really) unless my wife wants to, but I never had a huge problem using credit. Occasionally I'll find a place that won't take Discover, but its very rare I find a place that won't take Mastercard.

There are a few places that I've run into... not the norm but becoming more prevalent as I stray from the 'Lettuce' restaurants and Gap-like joints.. among them are...

Filter at damen and milw - coffee
bens shoes in wicker park - shoes
Maiz restaurant on california - good mexican grub
Irazu on milwaukee - great costa rican food
Charleston bar on hoyne - JD... what else!!
a few other local boutiques and byob joints also..

[timmae]

btw... any of the chicago folks know of any local chicago messageboards to peruse? Looking for something with local flavor...