Carrying hard cash

[Amp34]

I think the last time o used cash was about 6 weeks ago, to pay a bus fare. Outside of paying for the bus on occasion I’m strugfling to remember when the last time I used cash was. Perhaps June to pay for something off gumtree?

Normally have 10-20 in my wallet just in case but it’s normally in there for months.

 

[adolf hamster]

May as well not try and stop most tax evasion because it won't be a 100% eradication.

The same I'd argue for other things. What's the point of police or hospitals? Crime still happens and people still die. Am I doing it right?

police go after murderers before the pickpockets, hospitals treat the car crash victim and leave the kid with a cold in the foyer, you can fill in the blanks yourself.

 

[muon]

police go after murderers before the pickpockets, hospitals treat the car crash victim and leave the kid with a cold in the foyer, you can fill in the blanks yourself.

So what you saying is that reducing tax evasion is better than not trying at all?

Why do you think bitcoin is popular?

 

[adolf hamster]

So what you saying is that reducing tax evasion is better than not trying at all?

Why do you think bitcoin is popular?

What i'm saying is if you want to reduce a problem then you don't start by spending all your resources eliminating a few small issues, you start with the biggest problem and work your way down the list.

 

[Angilion]

The main reason for using cash is that banks, governments, retailers and insurance companies would all like it to go away.

I agree with this.

However, I quite rarely use cash now except for very small purchases at work (e.g. 20p for a coffee). I usually keep £10-£20 in my wallet and a few quid in change in my pocket, but I usually pay by card. Contactless is inherently insecure, but it's very convenient and the insecurity is inherent in the existence of the card so it doesn't matter whether or not you use it.

Having said that, I spent £5 in cash in a takeaway this evening. I know from prior experience that their card handling system is rubbish. Their wifi is so bad that I'm half inclined to think the whole shop is an accidental Faraday cage

I think that privacy is a good thing as a matter of principle, so I think that the existence of cash is a good thing as a matter of principle. But I'm not really putting my money where my mouth is, since I hardly use cash any more.

 

[Blackjack Davy]

Chip shops
Hospital canteens (yes, really)
Some independent newsagents

I like to pay with card wherever I go but there are still definitely places that don’t accept cards. It can be doubly annoying to find a shop like this when you’re in the middle of no where.

Small shops like cash. Card transaction fees presumably. Theres an independent greetings card shop nearby thats really good but any card transaction is £5 minimum. Even debit cards.

 

[Mobius 1]

Hate physical cash. I never carry it.


The sooner it’s phased out the better.

 

[spoffle]

Such as?

A lot of local places to me only take cash, and I live in a big city. It's not something I have to prove to you, it's simply a matter of fact that where I live, a lot of places will only deal in cash.

 

[spoffle]

So what you saying is that reducing tax evasion is better than not trying at all?

Why do you think bitcoin is popular?

They should tackle the mishandling of tax money before they go after tax evaders because they don't have enough tax money.

 

[spoffle]

If there was enough evidence to show it that would be legally wrong. May as well just commit benefit fraud or tax fraud if you want more money and don't care about the law.

It would be illegal, not legally wrong. Legal and illegal aren't synonyms for right and wrong.

 

[chaparral]

Always like to keep at lest £100 cash in my wallet...

 

[chief barker]

I've always been suspicious of a cashless society because once money becomes virtual, the government and banks have control and can access the data. Which means a great increase in the taxation base, as well as in the surveillance capacities of the State.

I thought you techies hated Government surveillance?

An account balance is not actually money - but a claim on money and can be easily taken away.

 

[Sankari]

I avoid carrying cash. I've probably done it half a dozen times in the last 6 months. Cashless is so much more convenient and secure.

An account balance is not actually money - but a claim on money and can be easily taken away.

Except for, you know, the law and stuff.

 

[pooley]

Cash is king.

i hear ya!

 

[dowie]

What i'm saying is if you want to reduce a problem then you don't start by spending all your resources eliminating a few small issues, you start with the biggest problem and work your way down the list.

eh? HMRC isn't just one bloke with a to do list.... multiple aspects of tax evasion can be tackled simultaneously

 

[Tefal]

Airsoft is pretty niche. To me cash only just rings tax evasion as there's literally no other benefit. I would actively avoid somewhere that only takes cash for that reason and not because I just don't have cash on me.

no fees on card transactions is one benifit

 

[Glaucus]

Ewww cash.
What corner shop doesn't accept card, even the ones in tiny villages accept cards now. Haven't come across a pub in years that hasn't accepted card and even plenty of chip shops now take card. Cash is dying and there's plenty of cheap and mobile options to take cards. Even plenty of market stalls can take card now.

 

[Feef]

Cash for literally everything, including online purchases. Still strikes me as slightly bizarre for a country whose economy is based around tech to be so far behind on this.

 

[Rannoch]

In a power cut you’ll all be scrambling for loose change lol

 

[Spook187]

Wow there is some droids in here, always carry cash, you never know when you need it, more often than not, it's like you're lives are so robotic and set on rails.