Originally Posted by old guy

I think a cash less society is drawing closer and closer !
We are being trained ( nudged ) in that direction ? Question, What percentage Are you guys using cash or card ? Change shortage in your area ? Are you being asked for exact change or a card ?
Next we’ll be seeing sings of “ For the safety of our employees we carry no cash “
I personally use cash as much as possible, don’t want my cc in every store I purchase something from. Now I know all of you young guns think I’m crazy but have any of you been involved with a data breach or had your ID stolen ? Not fun.
IMHO for what it’s worth ( not much ) it’s just another way of tracking / monitoring, and in a free society ....... well you get it
I hope Americans never get the call to turn in our cash and now all transactions are to be done electronically.
Remember the fewer choices = fewer freedoms

Originally Posted by JLarson

I hear you on this. I use card almost exclusively at this point for 2 reasons - first, cash is a hassle. I have to access it, withdraw it, and carry it, the first barrier to which is that my company deposits it directly in my account. Second, my credit card pays me to use it. It's not immense, but every few months I get a nice chunk of cash to use on something responsible, like car parts.

I balance this by using intermediaries - online purchases I make almost exclusively via PayPal and through as few vendors as possible. In person purchases made with credit card tend to be fuel.

I know also that my driving on many highways can be monitored since I use EZPass (in fact in my part of PA right now, the only option is to be overcharged by unmanned toll booths or use EZPass). I also know that Google surveils those of us who use Google Maps, that the Location setting on my phone can be used to track me, so on and so forth. If I'm asked if all of this bothers me, absolutely.

Can I do anything about it? Sure, but that too is a big hassle. I can move to South America, destroy my cell phone, buy products in person only with cash, drive a 40 year old truck with no electronics, and so on. I won't say that everything we do is being monitored, but I will say that it's not far off.