The Humble $50.00 Note

[leon]

Hi Guys, well I absolutely agree with this persons argument of a cashless society, I love using cash and often do.;)
So what are your thoughts on this.:shrug:

Leon :thumbsup:

[dikman]

I'm a cash-type person (olde school). There's no doubt that "certain people" are trying to do away with cash and force us into using digital means as the only way to pay for things. It will allow them to have absolute control over our finances. Banks, for example, are continuously trying to make it harder to access cash, as in handing control of ATM's to a private company and charging each time you use them.

[AstroViking]

Yep, fully and totally agree with keeping and using cash as much as possible.

[xelasnave]

Bring back gold coins.

Well I don't know that cash does you any good if the system goes down .....I recall in Tabulam when this happened the shop could not take cash because they were off line...the world stopped..but I need petrol to get home....sorry...but I have cash....sorry...
Absurb but that actually happened...

Of course we need fifties otherwise the entire illegal drug industry would colapse and just think who would also go down if that happened...insurance premiums taken for theft protection would colapse presumably...well I won't go on and just leave it to ones imagination...

The movement against cash is no different to most ideas..the folk who have the idea think that now everything should go their way..just look at alternate power or internal combustion against electric...each has its place but talk to supporters and you find their product is fantastic and all else evil...

It's all good to chat about but certainly not worth taking a position as there are better things to think about...like funny cat videos or Taylor Swift or football....sigh


Alex

[pmrid]

Another reason to use cash is that the checkout doesn’t charge to a fee for every transaction. The downside is that most ATMs charge you up to 2.5 % to access your cash. Nobody wins.

[Saturnine]

As all have said, cash is the way I pay for most day to day purchases. Larger buys , say over $500, then I'll use the card and for online as well, obviously. I like my cash for all the reasons mentioned, the main problem is that all cash registers and petrol pumps too , are electronically operated so if the power goes down or the system gets hacked, the pumps etc wont work anyway. Anyone got a spare hand pump.

[raymo]

I also love my cash, but I'm pretty sure that the switch to digital only is
pretty much irreversible, in the western world at least.
You can't get cash from some regional branches of the ANZ. You have to use the branch's ATM. The big four continue to close branches, so eventually whether they give out cash or not will become irrelevant, as you will have trouble finding a branch.
Incidentally, many people are collecting the coloured $2 coins, knowing that they can always spend their collection if they ever need to.
Some of the lower mintage ones are fetching good money. When cash eventually ceases to be usable, I wonder what will happen to the
value of those collections, as I imagine that many collectors will spend their collections while they still can. Would that push up the value of collections that were retained? When cash is withdrawn from circulation will some of the people tasked with destroying the coins keep some
of the collectable ones for themselves, or dutifully destroy them all?
raymo

[rat156]

Well, I'm going against the grain here, I hate having to get cash out to pay for something.

I'm not so paranoid that I would expect the Banks/Government/Evil Overlords to want to track my every transaction and use it against me. Anyway there are so many other things that can do that.

I find the convenience of using cards (or only my phone, pretty much always now) far outweighs any concern over what anyone wants to know about what I buy from Woolies.

I spent a few years in Europe, in the Netherlands I didn't need cash at all, so rarely had any in my wallet. In neighboring Germany however, cash is still king, I had to walk 4 km round trip once, in the pouring rain, to pay for a pizza as the restaurant did not take cards at all. Then again, they are quite protective about privacy in Germany, for obvious reasons.

Of course there's always the issue of forgery...

Cheers
Stu

[sharkbite]

There are plusses and minuses...

Cash needs to be printed, distributed, guarded and Insured as part of getting it to an ATM. The ATM itself needs to be built, installed, powered and maintained. All this comes at a cost, which , one way or another, the bank customer is paying for, either via a direct fee, or whether through higher or lower interest rates depending on whether its a credit or debit account.

The ATM system, as well as any bank branch are linked to the same (electronic) general ledger, and if Eftpos is not working - chances are neither will they.

Supermarkets for example - factor this in to the price of their goods - and there is no difference in the price on your bill between cash or eftpos...

So if you are paying cash at woolies - bet your "Bottom Dollar" you are paying this hidden cost twice - once at the atm and again at the checkout.

Don't get me wrong - cash still has a place in terms of peer-to-peer, like if you owe a mate $50, or if you need to buy your unscripted medicine from that bloke underneath the sneakers on the power line....

I personally have not carried cash since the start of 2020, and before that only used it to buy lunch....and its kinda nice knowing i dont have someone elses manky germs in my pocket...

Before the flames start - if you like cash - no judging - thats up to you - live your life and be happy!

P.S. Funny story.....we were at the local shops where an elderly lady was in the process of withdrawing $1Ks of notes from an ATM. Presumably she didn't trust that the machine had delivered the correct amount, so she toddled over to the nearest seat, put her handbag down and proceeded to count it. In full view. In a crowded shopping centre.

[thunderchildobs]

Bought two movie tickets online in one transaction. I was charged two transaction fees, one for each ticket.
Can someone please explain how it costs twice as much in transaction fees when you only moving digitial information for a single transaction?

[leon]

I/we don't get any cash from an ATM, if I/we do need to top up the wallet with a couple of 50 dollar notes i/we get it from Bunnings, you don't even have to buy anything and there is no extra charge.:)

Also as caretakers of a property we live for free in our own supplied house free of any utilities cost and get a small wage for doing the job and they pay us in cash each month, so there is always plenty of cash floating around.

We do declare our earnings with C/link because of our pension status not that it is that much and everyone is happy :)

Cant get any better than that ;)

Leon:thumbsup:

[JA]

Cash is great for in-person transactions where, as a seller, you might not want to share too many of your personal details with a buyer, such as on Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree etc... AND aside from counterfeit, is not that scamable, except for the famous Marx Brothers scene from At the Races (??-not sure).

Best
JA

[pmrid]

This discussion is amusing in a way, but misses the point somewhat.

The Banks have been gradually moving customers out of their Branches for years. Who remembers the 'good old days' when you formed a queue in front of a teller's cage in order to withdraw of deposit, to get your kids' Savings Account Book noted with their weekly sixpence deposit and so forth. And in those days there were cheques. Actual negotiable instruments.

But in time, we were squeezed out of the Branch and told to use the hole-in-the-wall outside. You could barely find the phone number for your local branch but had to negotiate a call centre to do any business with the Bank.

And then, cheques became the past and Internet Banking became the future. With that, went the demand for cash, large shops redesigned their customer interface to embrace the machine, to make the customer their own checkout chick, to make then accept having their photo taken any time they used their machines and were treated as a potential thief when doing so. It saved the shops a lot of money - staff and also indirectly in insuring cash in transit. It ended the careers of many a bank robber.

All this, in the name of the mighty god Mammon - the profit, the bottom line, the shareholder. Customer service became an advertising slogan not a policy.

I know I seem like an old-fashioned grumpy old man - and indeed I am. But that does not stop me from being nostalgic about the days when going to the bank was as much a social as a business experience.

[wavelandscott]

I too like to use cash…it helps me maintain a budget.

Yes, digital is convenient and maybe “safer” but I still prefer cash.

I probably am getting old…I do avoid self checkout and on more than one occasion a store manager has actually checked me out on the self checkout line to help reduce the queue at the “manned” single lane.

I have also noticed as a benefit of using cash that some cashiers have trouble doing the sums on change…here in the USA added tax often makes the total an uneven number. On more than one occasion the cashier has actually tried to give me more back than I deserve.

[ChrisD]

I remember racing to the bank on Friday and spending half my lunch hour in a queue for the teller to get some cash for the weekend so you wouldn't run out on Saturday night, and filling the car up before lunch on Saturday because after that petrol stations were closed until Monday morning. I honestly don't miss any of that. :)

Chris

[alan meehan]

Got to say I still like cash myself; my grandkids don't know to save any more like putting money in a money box and having to crack it open when its full now your bank does it all for them until they get a no funds in an account. Then cash is king, and they come and raid my money tray.

[leon]

Well it seems that most like Cash, and why not.:thumbsup:

As for self service I will stand in line at a supermarket and wait my turn at the check out for as long as it takes and will never and never have used a self service.:)

Once some time ago I was shopping in a new hardware place in Ballarat and was not aware until i approached the check out that the only way to pay for my stuff was to do it my self, Hence the trolley was left abandoned and i walked out. :sadeyes: this was not out of being lazy but out of principle

That placed closed about six months after it opened

So at the end of the day, who decides that we all cant use cash anymore, even at Bunnings today one can pay for the humble sausage with a card or phone :screwy:

I personally will use my cash all the time, and only recently paid for a $3000.00 purchase in saved cash.:eyepop:

Leon:thumbsup:

[Boozlefoot]

Hear hear!

Fully agree with you Leon!

I have the joy of working part time in an old family business, where we still "write up" purchases in longhand on real paper, and it then goes to "the girl", who transfers it into the sole computer for the account to be drawn up. Receipts are also handwritten. No scanners, though we are allowed a calculator for pricing - and the items have a price tag stuck onto them. Is it old fashioned? Yes it is, and that is the beauty of it.

[leon]

Just something different, but on the same tune of progress. it still amazes me to see bar-codes on an apple. :rolleyes:

Leon :thumbsup:

[marc4darkskies]

Given the runaway inflation right now I'm surprised anyone would prefer to carry cash. Just filling the car with petrol and going to the grocery store for for a week or two of supplies for 2 or 3 people could easily set you back hundreds! Do you really want to carry around a fat wallet full of cash and a pocket full of change? Not me. I've had a $10 note in my wallet for 2 years now! The only thing I like about cash is it smells nice! :lol:

[raymo]

I too will not use self serve checkouts. I sold my little caravan last year,
and was paid $12,500 in cash, and sold a scope and mount for $1400, so
cash is not quite dead yet.
raymo

[Shasta55]

Funny subject for an astronomy forum. But I agree with the majority anyway. We are retired and also use cash for budgeting without running a ruler over every spend. Set amount per fortnight from pension. What's left is spending money for the following 2 weeks. Super/savings for bills & holidays. Surprised to hear some ANZ's don't do cash at ATM. Our local one spits out $100's thankfully. Have used self checkouts, but they are a pain when you want $500 or so and it spits out 25x20's :eyepop:
P.S. If we do lose access to cash, I doubt it's totally about control. I've read that 80% of the $100's ever printed generally don't stay in circulation. They are likely squirrelled away by greedy people avoiding assets testing, and getting belted by inflation. :screwy:

[leon]

Have to agree Marcus it dose have that special smell, and it looks good when you throw a heap in the air, like you have seen on telly.:rolleyes::rolleyes: :lol:

Leon :thumbsup:

[sharkbite]

Translation from a Mesopotamian newspaper when the shekel started to take over:

"If some people want to rely solely on cash transactions, let them. But don't take away Barter for the rest of us. My Pig can't be forged. If i'm robbed, my pig will squeel and come home. They can't steal all my pigs in one go either. If my pig is accidentally burned i can still eat him. I don't need to have a government agency print my pig, and i dont need to go to the bank to pick him up...I can't drop my wallet full off pigs and lose my weeks pay...
If the shop doesn't have any change i can still trade my pig for more stuff. I can share my pork with a homeless person. Sure, i can use cash for large purchases, but for everything else please leave me the option of trading my pig."

[leon]

Have to that is pretty spot on, like it.

Leon

[dikman]

I think he's telling porkies........

[sharkbite]

well it was a rough translation from a clay tablet.....

personally i think it is more likely to have been goats.:lol:

[astronobob]

Can't do nothing about the coming 'cashless society',, But That Said, cash will slowely dissapear and only at the same rate the people using it dissapear,, thats a given, frankly.
Theres a hell-of-a-lot of 'over 50's using cash, so be it in part, but a lesser amount of 'under 50's & doubt many 20y olds are using much if any.

The banks, governments, finance intitutions stock-markets, trade etc etc all over the world and the rest of changing techknowledgy know that they are waiting for cash-use to 'die-off' - all part of the 'Changing Times,, and dare I say, controll - ultimately of the spending because the will be able to every transaction. but thats ok for me, because I wont be around then...

Knd Rgds