I had two reasons, the first is because i found it way too easy to spend on my card without thinking, and the second because I wanted to regain a bit of privacy alongside everything else I’m doing. Ive set it up in my bank that on payday, an amount of my salary automatically goes to the bills account, some goes to long term savings, some to short term savings, then the rest I take out in cash.
It really does change my perception of spending I think: Ive found myself not buying things because I didnt want to break a note and carry change. I can physically see how much I have left. I can take £20 to the pub and leave when its finished. Plus it feels really good knowing every single transaction isnt stored forever. I have a small amount of money on a contactless ring for emergencies like a bus fare or somewhere that unexpectedly only takes card.
Is anyone else still predominantly using cash day to day?
“Is anyone else still predominantly using cash day to day?”
Yes. Germany.
Hm. Since covid, even my local bakery started taking cards. Even most corner shops for late night beers do. Kebab is usually still impossible, but that seems like the final frontier.
Man, Japan and Singapore too.
Lots of heavy cash flow dense countries seem to still be a fan of the paper, honestly.
Yep I was gonna say… and Japan. 95% of places I went were cash only, I think I only used my debit card once during a trip of weeks.
When were you last there, and what areas?
2023, Yokohama, Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Osaka, Yokosuka then back to Yokohama. In three weeks I saw one toilet with no bidet. And all of the bidets were nicer than my $300 one at home… was awesome.
Sorry for the change in topic to bidet. Every week or so I’d withdraw like $300-$500 in yen and just survive off that til I was below $100 then I’d hit an atm again. Money went far because of a favorable exchange rate… and alcohol and food are extremely cheap in Japan even without those factors.
In Hiroshima, we went into a bar with 8 seats (common for bars and restaurants to only be able to host 1-2 groups, it was neat), anyway four of us drank 4-6 drinks, beers, mixed drinks, etc… I swear the barman must have given us a deal, when the check came we asked them to double check it because we thought it was wrong… about $50 for ~20-25 drinks. Insane. That was the case in most every city but Hiroshima was the cheapest bar tab I ever saw relative to the amt we consumed.
For the record, the Japanese drink like the Irish stereotype, they go HARD.
Huh. I’ve been to all of those but Yokosuka, some as recently as a few months ago but also pre 2023, and I’ve found that almost everything I go to took card. I wonder if we somehow happen to only go to places that do/don’t take card and thus have totally different experiences with cash only.
And yeah the toilets are great. Toto sells them in the US if you’re based here. A little expensive, but if you’re gonna live at your current place for a long time, it’s probably worth it.
The bar sounds awesome, sheesh. That’s the cheapest tab of that size I’ve ever heard of. I buy most of my things while I’m there due to pricing, and even then I’m shocked at how damn cheap that is haha
Tbh after being rejected for card the first day or two in Yokohama, I just stopped asking and assumed cash. So tbh it sounds like I could have used a card more, but I enjoyed handling the cool-looking money so it was a win-win 😁
Heh, Germany isn’t a good example. Its really hard to find a German bank that doesn’t charge you money to let you take cash out of your own account.
Most countries in South America use cash for most transactions.
This is one thing the UK is really good for, all bank owned ATMs and most public ones are completely free to use for any cardholder of any bank. My bank doesn’t even have physical branches but I can still use the ATM of any bank lobby for free. There are some paid ones run by private companies but the fee is usually a flat £1-2 max. I’ve been to ATMs in Europe that have tried to charge me something like 10EUR to take out 30.
How’s Ireland?
Probably vaguely similar from when I’ve visited
A lot of the convenience of the modern UK high street baking sector is because of Girobank, the 1960s Government’s successful attempt to force modernisation on the banking industry. When I hear about the ass-backwardsness of other country’s banking arrangements (especially the US) I give a little thankyou to Girobank.
Edit: Also, yes, tourist ATMs are predatory bullshit.
huh, thats not common in my experience. Most people are with Sparkasse or other mayor banks which allow for free cash withdrawals, at least in their network. You can also get cash in supermarkets o.O
Sparmasse charges a monthly fee, no?
Most probably do, but thats not specific for cash and also depends on your local Sparkasse
Only if your direct deposit amount is below a threshold, which is low enough that most full time workers meet it.
And what happens when you stop working in Germany? They just steal your money every month? Fuck that
Was, das habe ich noch nie gehört? Ich habe bei der Sparkasse, Commerzbank und Santander ein Girokonto, keine davon verlangt Gebühren fürs Geld abheben bei Automaten der eigenen Bank. Bei der Commerzbank und Santander kann ich sogar 3 mal im Monat kostenlos bei Automaten einer fremden Bank abheben.
Außerdem kannst du kostenlos Geld abheben, wenn du im Supermarkt per Gieokarte (aber nicht Kreditkarte) zahlst