A couple weeks ago I shared my opinion on cash. In short, I hate it. This past Tuesday my article was highlighted as an Editor’s Pick on MSN Smart Spending, sparking the largest discussion that I’ve ever been (partially) responsible for. Cash is apparently a pretty touchy subject for most people. It’s right up there with politics, religion, and sex.
After 70,000+ views and 260 comments on the Smart Spending site and 10,000+ views on my site, I’m still alive and so is my blog. Going through all of the comments has been pretty entertaining. Since I’m pretty sure you don’t have time to read through all of the comments yourself, I thought it’d be fun to do a little recap of some of my favorites.
Overall, it seems like most readers of MSN Smart Spending don’t have the same disdain for cash that I do (note the 1.5 star rating of the article). It’d be interesting to see the demographics of the people who left comments. I think this comment might be a good explanation for the large disparity of views on this topic.
Brett:
I think this might be more of a generation gap than anything. I can’t say for certain that the posters above are older than me, but I know most people my age (late 20s) and younger don’t see the need for cash. Most businesses that we visit do allow us to use cards (which includes debit, remember, not just credit). If you’re conscious of what you’re spending, you can have good habits with a debit card just as you would with cash. And, all of the points BGS made still apply to debit cards versus cash.
The comments in favor of cash commonly included terms and phrases like “brainwashed”, “cash is king”, “immature”, “Dave Ramsey”, and of course, plenty of elementary school name-calling. My guess is that most of these comments come from older people who have fallen into the trap of credit card debt before — something I have avoided and plan to continue avoiding.
Tom:
The system has brain washed him well. At some point he will end up carrying a “small balance” and the banks profits begin. Money, whether wrinkled, worn, dirty or partially torn is still money. Worrying about how money looks indicates a need for a level of experience or mental toughness that would serve him well in the future.
Another common theme I noticed from the older crowd was fear. I think there were a few mentions of the growing rates of identity theft, and even a few people warning about the impending police state in the United States. What are these people doing with their money that is so secretive in the first place?
Beth:
Cash also has the virtue of being private. Nobody tracking your moves, your likes, your vices, your habits and it slows down the creeping police state
While sorting through all of the differing opinions was fun, it’s always refreshing when you finally come across someone who actually read your article and understands where you’re coming from.
JJ:
Hmmm, it seems some posters have no clue of money mgmt or the rewards of using credit cards (only if balance is paid off every month). Cash is great but leave it in the bank to gain interest. Use your credit cards and get points or cash back. So your money is working for you. This only works if you are disciplined and can pay off your credit card balance every month, therefore, not incurring interest. It’s seems our grad student is being financially smart. But some posters are bashing him or her. Ignorance is bliss but dont complain when that grad student is enjoying much more on the same budget.
Well, that’s it for this small glimpse into the discussion that sprouted out of my article. While reading through the comments, there really seemed to be a generation gap among people who were for cash vs. debit/credit cards. It made me wonder, “Are we ready for a cashless society?”
While I can definitely see some pros to using cash, I’d still rather do without it. As the trend towards ubiquitous computing continues, I’m all for a cashless society, but others disagree.
dannie:
A cashless society is a controlled society.
Should we heed dannie’s warning? Is a cashless society too dangerous? Or maybe we’re all being a little too paranoid, and john’s vision is the path of the future.
john:
Older generations will never understand… every day online banking and good habits are the solutions to replace cash. Just wait and see….
What do you think? Will America ever become a cashless society?
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Absolutely, I believe we’re heading toward a cashless society and this really is a great discussion. I’ll have to browse through the comments when I have time.
Frankly a cashless society scares the bejesus out of me when I foresee a lot of loopholes for abuse, especially if money comes down to adding a few swift ‘0’s’ to a bookkeeping entry.
I tend to be pretty paranoid too - I worry what happens if money is primarily computerized and power disappears for an extended period. It happened in my hometown after a freak ice storm and people had a very difficult time coping without ATMs or credit machines for a few days.
I understand concerns about a police state, but I don’t know if people realize cash won’t exactly give them the anonymity they desire either. I’ve heard whispers of reports on ID chips being installed in different consumer products, with cash being on the target range soon as well. I suppose time will tell.
Thanks for sharing this, BGS. It certainly is an interesting debate for our generation.
Then again, banks could just employ actual security measures at their teller windows. In my case, it seems they just HOPED it was me (at Bank of America, when thieves got $12,000 of my money from their tellers by presenting a fake driver’s license with the wrong expiration date. No PIN was required by BofA, the signature was not verified, and apparently didn’t resemble mine at all.)
Oh, that was awesome. I needed a good laugh (which I did every time I read the words ‘Dave Ramsey.’) It really amazes me how many people missed the point of that article and how many people made it into their own crusade to blame the problems of the world on X. I also loved all the assumptions everyone made about how you manage your money. Yes, let’s all assume the person writing a PF blog while still in college doesn’t have a clue what they’re doing. That’s great…
(I totally agree btw, but then I’m just another stupid, probably not as broke as most of these commenters, recent grad.)
Slinky: It was definitely entertaining to see how many different ways the discussion went in the comments. I have to take some of the blame for the assumptions people made about my money management though. Calling myself Broke Grad Student is an easy target, and it’s funny that they just assume that I’m yet another stupid, broke student with no intentions of working hard to become not broke.
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