So I know some older people who always carry a lot of cash on them, like $700 on them at all times. Shops want you to pay with your card, unless they are a small business not declaring the sale, so I guess it is handy carrying that much cash if you need to pay a friend for something on the spot. Or maybe it just reminds them of the olden days to carry cash.
Anyway I carry no cash on me, unless I'm on my way to buy some Devil's lettuce or some pingas. How much cash do you carry?
It’s not possible to have multiple cafe eftpos down.
There was a time I ordered bubble tea at a shopping centre and when I want to pay by ApplePay, the guy said machine is broken. So I told him to cancel the order, guess what, the machine magically fixed itself when the guy said let me try again.
Nowadays the eftpos works on 4G/5G, it rarely breaks.
End of the world if you dont drink a coffee?
$205 at the moment. Banked $600 last week. Lots of FB marketplace sales.
Very disappointed with the comments on this topic - it's supposed to be OzBargain and yet no one has mentioned the increasing prevalence of card payment surcharges let alone the $$$s I save every year by paying cash for a round down and card for a round up!
The convenience of going cashless outweighs the minor surcharge you get for me. I don't want to carry change, notes etc and deal with having to wash my hands after touching it.
Just sad reading comments like these..
Why?
Did you know it's cheaper to do your own grocery shopping, but people still use delivery services and things like Uber Eats because, wait for it, convenience?
Or you can get a card that pays cash back on all taps? It cancels the greedy card payment surcharge and over all gives dollars back. No need dealing with fiat and the chance of loosing notes and coins etc… meh each to thier own.
It a bit like the inconvenience of carrying bags. I have no problem spending $10 on them a year to save myself from that :)
I used to be like that back in the day when I was more conscious of saving my money, but I've become lazier. I don't want to carry so many things in my wallet, I'd rather pick the stuff I wanna buy, tap the card, and leave the store asap.
Use credit card rewards points to offset this (using no annual fee card)
I usually keep around $50-$200, varies on when I next get to an ATM. Same as you, I think credit card surges are just a waste of money to me. One or three of those and it's already enough to make up those $5 Amazon coupons and whatever else people laud here.
Out of all the times of the day I "waste time", paying cash is hardly the worst offender. And I say this as a regular Aldi shopper lol (thankfully I'm not that much slower than a card tapper anyway).
$50, for small grocery shopping if there's credit card surcharges under $10 and for eating out at places that charge surcharges for eftpos
Mostly $0 but sometimes $5.
$20
Cash can be useful to give to the homeless or charities one encounters on the street, esp. in urban areas.
What do you get neg? I up voted you.
Thank you 🙏
I don't know why the comment was negged - seems a bit strange
About $100 - $200 in notes. Enough to buy the weekly groceries, in case the EFTPOS machines and financial systems are down.
I don’t carry any cash. People that give a discount for cash aren’t declaring the cash income so not paying tax on it. This just increases the tax burden on those of us that do pay tax.
I'd be more worried about the big players bribing politicians to make exceptions in our tax code than bob saving a few quid down the road.
Around $50 generally. We travel for extended periods and keep enough cash on us to pay for a full tank of fuel if the comms are down in a non city area.
I carry cash - usually $100 to $200. If a retailer charges me a fee (in person) for using my CC, then I will pay by cash. And I will pay amounts under $20 with cash.
No cash when you have a mortgage that keeps growing thanks to the banks.
You need to carry power banks . I was stuck in queues today that drain my battery. When on the 3 rd call the battery went dead and cost me in the hundreds :(
Lesson learnt.
Next time you're stuck in a line knowing well your only payment method is your phone. Maybe just maybe dont make 3 phone calls if you're low on battery.
You need to carry power banks
Just a physical credit/debit card would work too.
$185 One of each note cos I like that sort of thing. Also it's about the right amount if caught in a spot I've found.
I like this answer. It seems super logical.
None.
However there is about $20 of change sitting in the car which has been there for years.
A few years ago - <$50
Nowadays, anywhere from $100-$200.
After moving, lots of smaller groceries / stores near me prefer cash. And been stepping up the FB marketplace game too.
Also got a reasonable stash at home, dubbed the 'reno' fund, but its basically turned into the petty cash stash that we raid / top up as we need to.
I carry about $200. There are some places that seem dodgy and you don't want to use your card. There are places like casino tables that only accept cash. And also all points listed above.
There are some places that seem dodgy and you don't want to use your card
I agree with this
I have one of those slim card-holder wallets which has no room for cash, so none. I keep some coins in the car though.
I take out $300-$400 cash per fortnight. All my bills are paid via direct debit. Restautant's / food I pay in cash, get a discount when I pay at most Asian restaurants.
$15. Never carry any coins, but I do have $1 in my car in case I need to unlock a trolley.
Somewhere between a greenback to a gorilla depending on the week.
All correctly declared and accounted for for taxation purposes of course..
Rip Silverback.
zero - i haven’t regularly carried cash on me for about 15 years
Usually carry $500-1000 daily and around $3-5k if going on a Aus holiday. Keep $10k-15k stashed for emergencies. Also keep a higher amount in bonus interest saving account. Cash is king
I carry a moustache!
I carry $200 all the time and withdraw $200 again when I am low. For small restaurants, cafes, tradies that I like, I always pay in cash to “support” them. And, I know they appreciate that.
By 'support' you mean, 'evade tax', right?
If they choose to report fully, they do. If they don’t, they don’t. I just pay in cash 🤷🏻♂️. If I like them, I enable that choice. What they do is up to them.
Absolutely. I keep at least a grand just for tradies. If they declare that's up to them. There is also an island near where I live that we visit that has a lot of businesses that only accept cash. The island bus also only accepts cash.
Do they provide you with an invoice? If not, then you know exactly what you're doing and so do they. If there's any issues with the work you get no warranty if the tradie chooses to be a tit about it.
Personally I would never pay cash to a tradie unless I'm prepared to wear the cost if the work doesn't go to plan.
For example: 200 dollars for a couple lights switches moved? Might pay cash. 10k for a driveway install? I'll pay the extra 1000 for an invoice and recourse should something go wrong with it.
$0
Minimum $80 in 20's. Might also have a $50 note or two.
Definitely worth it as some stores don't have eftpos, but more importantly, when the efptos is down at local cafe's. Life saver!!!
Edit: The question should be, who's parents have never purchased anything using cards? I know both my parents haven't.
2 or 3 gold coins in my jeans. Mainly for the few times when I shop at Aldi, so I can use a trolley.
I very rarely keep cold hard cash on me these days, since I have no reason to take out money when I'm out and about (unless there is a banking catastrophe and people can't take out their money for some reason for an extended period of time, but that is literally the worst possible scenario in Australian banking history).
I do however have some cash in my house, just for emergencies sake, last time I checked I had about $500? I have tended to keep a couple of hundred over the years.
$350 in the wallet. $1,000 at home. It gets used. Some food and beverage places I go to do not have card payments and emergency tradie cash, or farewell gifts, birthdays etc.. much better than those prepaid cards.
Around $150.
In my wallet I aim to keep at least $20 note for emergency + few gold coins for trolleys. At home, I have a stash of different value notes, mostly $5, $10s and $20s for facebook marketplace buys - probably around $300.
0
My phone's been my wallet for years.
My dodgy barber wants cash so for those guys I used to keep $20 in me car. Haven't been since the pandy and been cutting my own hair.
9,999
$0 at all times until I need some cash, then I ask my wife. lol
~$100
Depends on how much I stole that day.
when I was younger I kept $100-$200 at home. in case I needed to pay a taxi driver after a night of drinking. actually because of the below I usually took money out of my wallet and stashed it at home before going out drinking so I couldn't spend too much.
I also used to get paid in a cash pay packet. all taxed legit etc but pay packets were a thing. not much made it into the bank back in those days. my uni friends thought i was loaded cos I was the only place they saw $100 notes. Working In a pub tab meant I dealt with $100s all the time.
these days i still pay my landlord cash each month. when I take that out of the bank I usually get another $100 for myself.
I also often pay for work petty cash items on my card but then get cash when reimbursed for those. I usually try and get rid of the excess cash buying petrol or groceries.
Wtf.. i must be the minority, i try to carry at least min $2k in my wallet at all time.
Just normal. ;-) I carry $1000.
$902.10
It a bit weird I can order my favourite fish and chips shop on Menulog with multiple payments.
But at the shop they insist on cash only . To the point of directing patrons to the nearby ATM .
The ATO should audit all businesses that have these practices.
There is only one reason :)
I know right. The convenience of paying with a card is worth them raising their prices 2% or whatever to cover the card fees. But I think some stores are less worried about 1% card fees (a little less than 1% actually on average if their POS is through their bank) and more worried about the tax they'll pay on each sale. I know some small businesses that care a lot about compliance and pay tens of thousands a year to companies dedicated to making sure they are compliant with tax and wages.
Plus if you even plan on selling your small business one day then surely you want clean books that reflect your true popularity.
Think I have about $100 in my wallet that has been there for years. Pretty much never use cash, I honestly can’t remember the last time I paid for something with cash.
$0 because I'm not living in 1987.
$50 in the back of my phone case for emergencies.
Otherwise, no cash carried.
so far $388.40
I have 20 in the car for emergencies. Otherwise none.
Max $200. On average 50-100.
It does sit there for a while though, so often when I want to use it they won’t take it.
Even though I personally find it inconvenient, cash is king. I'm terrible with losing things and am too scared to carry cash to pay for everything, otherwise I would seriously consider it.
When you keep money in a bank, you pay bank fees off your money. When you pay by card to a business/person, they pay payment processing fees, and then they pay fees on their money in the bank too.
Even if a business declares all income regardless of method (which obviously legally, they should) they would save on fees accepting cash.
For a lot of oldies it's probably habit (and suspicion of banks!) But its also saving from fees being put into banks pockets every single step of the way.
When you keep money in a bank, you pay bank fees off your money.
Not sure what you mean there… monthly bank account-keeping fees maybe!? If so, there are plenty of banks with no fees. Many have had fee-free Visa debit cards for years now, and Macquarie Bank even has a fee-free Mastercard debit card.
Yes that is what I mean :)
And I personally only use banks that are fee-free for my usage, but just trying to prove a point.
Yep, every account of mine became fee-free years ago. You’d have to be very paranoid not to keep your cash in the bank.
Cash on me 50 or so in various bills
Or maybe it just reminds them of the olden days to carry cash.
Wot rot. It just makes sense to use cash. e.g. You can't buy that ABC you see for sale at an unexpected garage sale, buy fruit and veg or flowers out of a van on the side of the road, nor can you do so when some stores EFTPOS system falls over. I saw on some mainstream news site a day or two ago, a headline about the EFTPOS going offline in some large business so people could only buy with cash. The same is NEVER true back the other way unless it's a power failure forcing the store to close.
Electricity, water, rent are paid via online banking and online stores via debit card. Everything else like groceries, haircut, clothes, etc (all the stores found in a shopping centre) is cash. I'm paid and gone while other people before/after me and in other register lines are still fumbling around, muttering to themselves (it's about 90% women to 10% men) about… "I was sure I had $x in there…) trying to find a card in their wallet/purse with enough balance on it to pay. Many times lines have been held up several minutes after their groceries are in the trolley while they try 3 or more cards.
Since I have to go to a supermarket every week or two where there's always an ATM, I just withdraw or top up my wallet to $1000.
I've never experienced this. It's always been the cash payers that have taken the most time fumbling through wallets and purses to find change or make the correct change with cashier.
That's just nonsense. What could possibly be simpler than being told: "$121.45" and getting out 3x $50 notes, 1x $1 coin, 2x 20 cent pieces, and 1x 5 cent piece, and receiving 3x $20 back… compared to trying 3+ cards which have no way to see the balance of. On the very rare occasion it might be true, it would also mean that same person would be EVEN WORSE using cards.
The last time I was in a line behind someone who had to try multiple cards to find one with an available balance on it was back in the ‘90s. Before internet banking. Before responsible lending legislation which meant that those people couldn’t easily get credit cards.
@SolitaryMan: Yeah I doubt they were credit cards too. They must have been debit cards because their owner used the words "enough balance."
The last time was Aldi a few days ago, and a couple of weeks before that at WW. The guy at Aldi laughed to himself and said, "I guess should just pay with cash, hey?" [Sigh] The WW one went through her purse searcgubg for three different cards, got the PIN wrong twice, had a conversation with herself about which card should have what balance, adding up to 8-9 minutes wasted.
@[Deactivated]: That's a problem with people more than the payment method.
I rarely find myself without enough funds in the account, thanks to transaction notifications and widgets on my home screen.
None accept on holiday overseas.
The real question should be:
If nobody carries cash, and all those cards are so common, why do we have to pay surcharges pretty much everywhere?
Other than Aldi, where is everywhere?
Most restaurants I go to in Victoria. Many groceries.
Every cafe.
Eat at better restaurants.
Other than the odd place that charges more for Amex it’s rare to find anywhere that charges a card surcharge (since the RBA stopped vendors charging a fee above what the bank charges them).
Pretty much anywhere mate. Do you even go out?
Maybe in Adelaide surcharges have fallen out of fashion. When I was a kid everyone would charge surcharges for cards, it was normal for every small shop to have a handwritten surcharge thing on the checkout. But these days no one does, except Aldi. Even weird little Asian shops don't do it anymore. Actually I saw an outlet store for imported women's clothing, gaudy dresses made from synthetic fabrics, ran by Asian ladies that barely speak English, do it. But I'm pretty sure they do it just to encourage you to pay cash so they can not declare the sale.
Yup, it's a bit of a cop out, given most cards can be accepted for about 1.1% now with major banks' merchant services. Cash is almost certainly more expensive by way of hours worked to count/reconcile, take to/from the bank and in potential insurance should theft occur. Processing card payments has none of these issues - it's all automatic.
There's some really nasty ones out there too - carparks, I'm looking at you.
Edit: To add, say a cafe earns about $2,000-$3,000 a day (no idea if this is a true revenue amount but bare with me), and it takes about a full hour each day at minimum casual wage to deal with all-cash earnings, that's at minimum a 1.5% cost to process that cash. If cash was only 10% of earnings, then it's closer to 15% - because it still takes an hour to process just $200 of revenue. $30 + 1.1% of the other $1,800, that's about $49.80 in processing costs. Go cashless? It's only $22 to process the whole day's revenue. So really any cafe still using cash and passing on card processing fees are either subsidising the cash handling, promoting cash for evading tax, promoting cash for wage theft, or a combination - because it's easier and cheaper for a cafe to just go cashless.
I've carried zero cash for several years - now when I see a coin or a note I'm like 'oh I remember these …' and look at it like it's an antique I've just come across
Either $90, $180 or $210 because with those amounts I get a good mix of $20 and $50 notes from the ATM.
Pulled out $400 and it spat out four notes. I was spewing.
A number of Asian restaurants give 10% discount on cash payment.
They may put up their prices 20% on the delivery apps. But I regularly get around 50% off with stacked deals :)
I know some can't work out the complicated mathematics of that .
Winner. Winner , Winner , Checken Dinner hehe .
None.
I’d carry around $3-400. Yes, you can get away with cards and ApplePay but why support the Antichrist?
One of each note. 5, 10, 20 50, 100.
$185.
Under A$150.. No coins.
Username doesn't check out. What happens if you go to get a coffee and the eftpos is down and no Atm around? Then you go to the next Cafe and same issue? :(