GOOD ADVICE FROM THE FORUM

[ladder13]

Never even heard of velle or veno before. Am always asking about cash discount.

I've heard of them. I believe one or both are owned by PayPal.

To ask people who are just running a small community event, not a commercial enterprise, but just volunteering their time at said event, to accept a debit card, or one of those electronic payment systems is ludicrous imo.

Again, who doesn't carry $5 on their body for incidentals.

 

[NFrameFred]

Again, who doesn't carry $5 on their body for incidentals.

Apparently everyone in line in front of me that pays for an energy drink or a candy bar with a credit card, and then spends three minutes trying to figure out how to get the terminal to accept it. Usually along with the mopes in the line picking their lottery tickets and buying their beer and smokes when I just wanna pay for my gas and move on . . .

 

[Skeet 028]

So many of the young folks use the debit credit to pay anything. I have had people want to use debit or credit at gun shows. For some things maybe...but not a gun. Banks reporting cash deposits over a certain amount just seems like government overreach to me. I have always liked to pay cash for things. Cash at a gun show always works well.

 

[ladder13]

Apparently everyone in line in front of me that pays for an energy drink or a candy bar with a credit card, and then spends three minutes trying to figure out how to get the terminal to accept it. Usually along with the mopes in the line picking their lottery tickets and buying their beer and smokes when I just wanna pay for my gas and move on . . .

I find many people just care about what they are doing in that moment. They could care less if they are holding up those behind them.

 

[Xfuzz]

Lawn service that has been cutting my yard
here of the island the last 20 years.

Wife wants about a 15x3 foot flower bed put in,
top soil and mulch...with rock boarders.

Bid......$550.00
When told I can pay in cash...$475.00

 

[BSA1]

Well I am not a youngster but I carry very little cash. Debit cards are universally accepted and easy to use for everyday transactions. Plus flashing cash is a opportunity for a criminal.

However I am somewhat of a Prepper. We see every year how slow and ineffective Government Agencies are to responding to disasters. FEMA recommends keeping a two week supply of food and water on hand. Money you have saved in a bank isn't real and isn't yours plus inaccessible during a power failure. Plus the bank may not have enough cash on hand if you want to close out your account. I remember the old Episodes of The Beverly Hillbillies where the Clampetts wanted to see their millions of dollars in the bank vault. Their money of course was tied up in stocks and bonds and other investments.

What we have is a cash emergency fund at home that every month I contribute to. Two weeks ago I had a F 3 tornado come directly at our house. Fortunately it lifted off the ground before it reached us but it was close enough for me to get great video of it. If it had reached us it would have totally destroyed everything above ground level. Even in a short term disaster such as this cash might have be useful in paying for emergency goods and repairs.

Good discussion about having "rainy day funds" and keeping actual cash on hand.

 

[BSA1]

Apparently everyone in line in front of me that pays for an energy drink or a candy bar with a credit card, and then spends three minutes trying to figure out how to get the terminal to accept it. Usually along with the mopes in the line picking their lottery tickets and buying their beer and smokes when I just wanna pay for my gas and move on . . .

Which is why pay at the pump is so convenient with a debit card.

 

[duane_wade]

We always keep a stash of cash in the gun safe and also keep readily accessible $$ in a savings and checking account. As long as the political thieves can't get their grubby fingers on what is in the bank we're going to be ok

Sent from my SM-G991U using Tapatalk

 

[NFrameFred]

Which is why pay at the pump is so convenient with a debit card.

I get that, but I don't trust it nor do I carry a debit card. I don't trust it because in just the last several months there has been a rash of gas pumps with card readers hacked and false readers piggy-backing real ones in the general area.


I just had to have the one credit card I have replaced after some good citizen purloined the number (from an online purchase, no doubt) to attempt to charge about 800 bucks worth of clothing from an outfit that caters to a younger crowd. Fortunately my company was quick to flag it as suspicious activity and deny the charges. Still didn't have a card for the week it took them to get me another.



It's the way things are going and it won't get better. No matter what security measures they put in place the scum that would steal anything that wasn't nailed down will always find a way to take what's not theirs, especially if they can do it without physically confronting someone. Thieves are generally also always cowards in my experience.


The upshot is that once the public has accepted it to the point where it can't be stopped, a cashless society will complete the job of enslaving us. The implications of a cashless society are sinister.

 

[dave1918a2]

I keep a significant cash reserve. The old $100 bill in the wallet will hardly fill My gas tank. Had to use it when I forgot My wallet a couple of times. Never know when a nice S&W might show up.

 

[Mark 40]

Post retirement, worked at a golf course as a starter and cart attendant part-time for 6 years. Tips could be 1-5 dollars per bag you load for a golfer. BUT.....when the younger customers came in, tips were rare. Most likely because they don't carry cash. Occasionally a young golfer tipped well, but it was very unusual. One guy I worked with got Venmo and when they apologized for having no cash, he'd tell them he had Venmo.

 

[cmj8591]

Two weeks ago I had a F 3 tornado come directly at our house. Fortunately it lifted off the ground before it reached us but it was close enough for me to get great video of it. If it had reached us it would have totally destroyed everything above ground level. Even in a short term disaster such as this cash might have be useful in paying for emergency goods and repairs.

Of course the cash that you had in your house would have been safe.

 

[cmj8591]

I have no problem using debit and credit cards. I think the security issues tend to be overblown. If you use just a little bit of due diligence, you won't have a problem. I am finding that the people most adverse to using them are the ones who really don't take the time to understand how they work so they let their apprehension get the most of them. Yes, cash is still king and will always be but that doesn't mean that we need to revert to 1936. Both systems have their place. One place where I try to regularly use cash is when I tip for a service. Even when I go to a restaurant and use a card, I tip in cash. That way it goes in my servers pocket and they can use it as they wish. There is no cut going to the card company and the server can decide how much, if any gets reported to Uncle Sam.

 

[NFrameFred]

I am finding that the people most adverse to using them are the ones who really don't take the time to understand how they work so they let their apprehension get the most of them.

Wow, condescending much ? As an aside I'm quite aware of 'how they work' and I was an engineer for forty-six years even though I'm from WV. So yeah, I can count and everything . . .

This is one way they work - had an employee who had his debit card hacked and they cleaned his account of almost $2800. The card company assured him they would (and did) make it right - but as it turned out part of the money they used his card for was payment of several hundred dollars worth of parking fines in NEW YORK CITY. The card company followed up since payment of such meant they HAD to know who the perp was since if was he issued a ticket they had to have his plate number and the make of the car, ergo shouldn't have been hard to come up with a name, address, and photo ID of the mope. After being bounced around to different precincts trying to talk to an investigator, one sympathetic detective told them, "Listen, if was 28 THOUSAND we might take it seriously, but our boss is not gonna send us out in the city to try to find this bum for a measly 28 HUNDRED dollars with the caseload we have."

My employee was reimbursed by the bank so he was off the hook.


So it happens quite often, apparently there are people who make a good living at it, and they also apparently know how to work it just enough to where the risk to them is minimal.

 

[BSA1]

Of course the cash that you had in your house would have been safe.

Yep it sure is. It is kept in my walk-in basement gun vault that has a 12" thick concrete roof, all the walls are 12" thick concrete and the door is a heavy Fort Knox Steel Vault Door. It fact it is designed especially as a tornado shelter. It also should be good for fire protection.

But even a gun safe would provide plenty of protection. Tornadoes usually rip everything that is attached to main floor away leaving the floor and the basement contents undamaged.

Tornadoes are our most destructive type of nature we have where I live and some of my preps are for dealing with the aftermath. Other common problems we have had are power outages lasting several days and blizzards with sub-zero temperatures. All three are those of emergencies where cash on hand is important.

Americans on the average are poor savers. There isn't a excuse for not having a cash emergency fund. Just set back a few dollars ($10.00 for example) every paycheck and it will grow quicker than you might think.

 

[Golddollar]

One place where I try to regularly use cash is when I tip for a service. Even when I go to a restaurant and use a card, I tip in cash. That way it goes in my servers pocket and they can use it as they wish. There is no cut going to the card company and the server can decide how much, if any gets reported to Uncle Sam.

Same here. And hopefully when I put a nice stack of Golden Dollars in the hand of a server or bartender they remember that I left a good tip.

 

[mtgianni]

I feel naked without $50 in my wallet. If my wife has $3 she will spend it. I rarely use a debit card other than where required or at the ATM. Credit cards have a delay in the statement and you can report and stop fraudulent purchases. There is no such provision with a debit card. You can have your bank account emptied and all you get is a "Sorry".

 

[Laketime]

Last 9/11 we did a salute to those who lost their lives on that day, 20 years ago, in our little community.

We had appearances by local police, fire and EMS personnel.
Residents who were either of those, or military, were asked to raise their hands.

Flag was raised, God Bless America sung.

Hot dogs, burgers and non alcoholic drinks were being offered for $5 per person, all you can eat or drink. Kids were free.

I was manning the grill with others.

The younger folks were asking if we would take debit cards, Velle or Venmo.

You don't even carry around $5 in your pocket?

My neighbor Joe, the organizer, was forced to take names and settle up later.

I've watched the kids today do that .They pass their phone over scanner and they have paid.

 

[cmj8591]

Wow, condescending much ?

I don't mean to be condescending but that's my experience. Your friend with the debit card obviously had his password compromised as a debit card is useless without the password. The security problems with these systems are more human induced than systemic in nature. People use their birth date or their telephone number or some other easily discovered thing as a password and never change it. They don't take advantage of double authentication that requires that the person trying to access the account has the proper cell phone or e mail. Anything can happen and there is always someone trying to get past the layers of security just like there is always someone who is breaking into houses and stealing the cash from your sock draw. My point is that the more you know about how systems work, the less chance you have of getting taken. The people I know who are uncomfortable using e systems are the ones who either don't know or never took the time to learn how to protect themselves.

 

[Jessie]

I don't know what that job cost him but it's probably close to what most people may have in cash at home. A check that you know is good is close to the real thing. They may prefer cash but happy when your check clears.
Bill paid!