The phrase ‘cash is king’ is not as relevant now as it used to be as a recent study shows over two million adult Americans rarely use paper currency.
Thus, we have several good reasons to still carry cash: Some credit cards, digital payment systems, and related benefits:
- Credit building
- Convenience for purchasing goods online
- Potential for rewards
Some cities and municipalities have passed ordinances that compel merchants to accept cash. Our observation finds that having cash has some benefits when paying for your day-to-day purchases. Here are five reasons why:
1. Better Budget Management
The ability to distinguish between what is a cash purchase and what is a credit purchase makes it difficult to spend beyond one’s means, which is especially important to those who are constantly under financial pressure. The concept of putting money into envelopes for the various expenditures is known as the envelope system, to put money into the right channel this can work for you.
“What was interesting was the fact that cash is used as a way of managing spend which can be a way of over spending,” says Rod Griffin, Experian’s senior director of public education and advocacy. “This was especially true for when I had only cash on me as I was strictly limited to only spending the amount I had on me…
If your goal is not to use cash for a long time, but still would like to freshen up its use in your transactions, you can switch to cash only for a while. Handling cash physically using one’s hand also makes one aware of expenses at the end of the month when counting the money.
2. Maintaining Privacy
“There is this concern that through cashless society, everybody ends up under financial scrutiny, which may eventually bring about a financial surveillance state,” opined Peter Earle of the American Institute for Economic Research. “You are operating under the watch of banks or the government; there is less privacy.”
3. Avoiding Late Credit Card Payments
Paying one’s credit cards past the due date is one of the most important things that should be AVOIDED. When one fails to pay the purchase amount with the credit card in the agreed time, they attract other charges including penalties and interest charges on the balance. This way avoiding those extras charged on other forms of payment on the products we use in our daily lives.
4. Receiving Discounts
Numerous times, merchants incur a charge from credit card companies for every transaction completed. Some of them may offer a lower price than when paying through an optical cashier’s check, thus cutting down on the amount spent.
5. Directly Tipping Service Workers
Difficulty in determining whether it gets to the worker or not is experienced when one opts for tipping through apps or credit cards. Giving in form of tips and in cash ensures that you express your gratitude in the manner that would have the intended recipient benefit from it.
Conclusion
Although most of the credit card disadvantages are apparent, it is still advised that one should have a credit card since paying with cash has certain advantages. According to Tarnovski, it is important, first of all, to have a credit card and pay it back on time in order to have good credit record for further financing requirements.
“It simply means everyone’s circumstances are very different but it’s crucial to have different financial ‘weapons,’” Griffin explains. “With cash, that is one, credit is another.”