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Posted: **Tue May 06, 2014 10:36 am**

In this day and age of technology, money is always at our fingertips, through cards, ATMs, and various methods of paying for stuff, whether it be at the grocery store, mall, online, etc. Do you still carry a lot of cash with you, or do you rely mostly on plastic and electronic transactions? I know a few people who don't like the newer technologies associated with handling money, they don't trust banks, etc. Also, there are advantages to having plastic cards and online transactions instead of paper and coin, probably mainly due to convenience. Another issue with carrying actual bills is health. I found this article today which made me think of this topic:

Turns out you're getting a lot more with that change for a twenty: After analyzing the DNA of 80 $1 bills, researchers from New York University's Dirty Money Project discovered some 3,000 types of bacteria.

Not only is that number more than previous studies have shown, but researchers were only able to categorize about 20% of the non-human DNA, as the rest hasn't been catalogued yet. Of the bacteria named in abundance: viruses, funghi, E.coli, the bacteria that causes diphtheria, and--number one on the list--Staphylococcus aureus, the strain responsible for acne, respiratory issues, and food poisoning. (Think public toilets are gross? Check out the 10 Worst Germ Hot Spots that you never would have guessed.)

Surprised that microbes can actually grow on money? "A body-temperature wallet is a petri dish," says Philippe Etienne, managing director of Innovia Security Pty Ltd., which makes special bank-note paper for 23 countries, to The Wall Street Journal. And even though the $1 bill (made of an absorbent cotton-linen blend) gets passed around for about 21 months before it's retired, it's still enough for public health experts to seriously consider money as a source of potential contagion.

Source: http://healthyliving.msn.com/health-wel ... llar-bills

So, what side of this are you on? Do you prefer to carry money around, or do you leave your transactions to the newer methods? Maybe a combination of both? What are your reasons?

Posted: **Tue May 06, 2014 11:35 am**

here in the netherlands, you can pay with your bank card at just about any shop. it's easier than carrying around large sums of (bacteria-infested) money, though i still carry some small change for things like parking garage cashier machines. though ideally one should always carry a decent amount of cash to use if the bank system or card-system in the shops has problems. which happens more often than we'd like.

Posted: **Tue May 06, 2014 11:44 am**

I've noticed a really intriguing difference between UK and Netherlands organic and fair trade shops, as the former tend to only accept coins or notes, whereas quite a few equivalent places in Amsterdam will only take card.

I can see the logic on both sides (plastic vs paper, hygiene vs bacteria, etc) but it still struck me as quite interesting!

Personally, I've noticed that I tend to pay mostly by debit card in shops. Though, as I said, the smaller shops in the UK will only take cash.

Posted: **Tue May 06, 2014 6:54 pm**

I know some old timers that regularly carry large sums of money at ALL TIMES. They like having lots of cash on them for the opulence of it and also don't like the technology and avoid it as much as possible.
It took me a long time to learn that carrying cash is easier a lot of the time and only having cards is a bit tedious. Especially cause every little transaction (buying a coffee for example) is greatly expedited by just having hard cash. Plus the bank doesn't get to charge you for every withdrawal.

I'm all for the card system but i recommend having cash on you for the smaller transactions.

Posted: **Wed May 07, 2014 3:56 am**

Ah, the UK system does not charge for withdrawals at all! Or at least, the vast majority of ATMs are free services, some corner shops have their own and those charge £1.50-75, but you can use any machine from any bank without having to pay a fee.

Same for using card in shops, no fee (unless it's those smaller shops again). But I do agree on having some cash for minor transactions - especially as some establishments have a minimum card spend of £5.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2014 3:37 pm**

My local grocery store went cash only today. I guess the machines were down. It was interesting to watch people panic who didn't have cash. It was quite the problem.

I'm glad I had cash.

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2014 3:41 pm**

Va'al wrote:Ah, the UK system does not charge for withdrawals at all! Or at least, the vast majority of ATMs are free services, some corner shops have their own and those charge £1.50-75, but you can use any machine from any bank without having to pay a fee.

Same for using card in shops, no fee (unless it's those smaller shops again). But I do agree on having some cash for minor transactions - especially as some establishments have a minimum card spend of £5.

The Netherlands did away with ATM and card fees altogether. Even for amounts as minute as a euro you can use the card without added fees. It's a fairly recent development, mind you. And did you know even some market stands have mobile card machines?

Posted: **Mon May 12, 2014 5:33 pm**

I use cash for many transactions. Many younger people I know use debit cards whenever possible.

As long as the government doesn't make me use a hand-implant with a certain number, I am fine.

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2014 11:09 am**

For general transactions, like going grocery shopping, getting a transformer from toysrus, etc, I used one of my cards.

For fast food, cash. For eating out at a restaurant, I do both card and cash. Card to pay for everything but cash for the tip.

If it's something bigger, say Vegas, Botcon, etc, I generally do cash. It's a hell of a lot easier than dealing with the cards. And have you seen some of the fees Vegas charges when you use your card.

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2014 12:39 pm**

Thalack wrote:And have you seen some of the fees Vegas charges when you use your card.

Every time I go there I use cash. But I haven't been in a couple of years, so...

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