Cash is king

[Camino LS6]

So I'm going to try to operate as much of my life as possible with cash transactions.

I'd love to see this done by many on a scale to humble the banks. But I'll satisfy myself by keeping as much as humanly possible out of their dirty hands.

[balthazar]

Already there. Love to be paid in cash ( I just like the crinkly sound of it :wink: ), prefer imminently to buy with cash.... but I just signed up for one of those cash-back business credit cards. From rough calculations, I should be able to make around $550/yr back. Don't do ATM or debit.

[Camino LS6]

I'm just so tired of anyone other than me knowing anything about my money or having any sort of access to it or control over it.

That ends now.

[Justin Bimmer]

Camino, I understand your frustration with the mega-banks and all the financial crap that they can put people through, but have you ever considered joining a credit union? They are much different than banks and are usually federally insured. You should really look into one that you qualify for.

[SAmadei]

Camino, I understand your frustration with the mega-banks and all the financial crap that they can put people through, but have you ever considered joining a credit union? They are much different than banks and are usually federally insured. You should really look into one that you qualify for.

Not only that, but it seems to me that PA has lots of credit unions. We don't have many in South Jersey, yet its where I got my last auto loan (The CU was actually up north, but still good to deal with).

[FAPTurbo]

I bank with a Credit Union. They're good people who have great customer service and are easy to deal with. My credit card is a Visa through them too, so I get that same good service there, too. I also don't pay ATM fees whenever I use another credit union's ATM.

[Camino LS6]

A credit union might be a possibility, but only when it is essential that things not be done with cash.

Otherwise, I want nothing to do with financial institutions.

[loki]

A credit union might be a possibility, but only when it is essential that things not be done with cash.

Otherwise, I want nothing to do with financial institutions.

have to change to all coins then. the mint is no bank.

[Camino LS6]

That makes little sense.

I have to be able to function, so I'll just be leaving the artificial world of checks and electronic finances behind. Sticking to physical money will do what I want to do.

[loki]

That makes little sense.

I have to be able to function, so I'll just be leaving the artificial world of checks and electronic finances behind. Sticking to physical money will do what I want to do.

of course it does.... central bank mean anything? i know how impractical and, illegal, that would be for big purchases.

[A Horse With No Name]

+1 on the Credit Union thing. My Miata is financed through the Honda Credit union...great people. Thinking our next car may be a Volvo C30...will have fun financing that through Honda as well.

Chris

[Camino LS6]

Right now, living a cash-based life is looking like the promised land to me.

Just have to get beyond today.

[Intrepidation]

More bank conspiracy theories? Maybe you should invest on gold bars.

Or maybe go with a local bank. My bank is local and I couldn't be happier with them. Debit card > cash because I hate getting change back only for it to get lost in the car or the house somewhere.

[Camino LS6]

Conspiracy theories?

No, just long-suffering experience.

I did bank with a local bank, it just got merged six times.

I'm simply taking back control.

[daves87rs]

I understand you...you just want to keep it simple, with less BS.

I'm trying hard to do that with my credit card...I'm tried of their BS.

As soon as I'm done paying them off, I'm pretty much done. (still have to keep a just-in-case card)

If I don't have the money, oh well...

[balthazar]

>>"Maybe you should invest on gold bars. :rotflmao: "<<

Have you seen the price of gold over the last few years ?? $1200/oz currently & still climbing. Good advice (it's still below it's inflation-adjusted peak circa 1980).

-- -- -- -- --

>>"Debit card > cash because I hate getting change back only for it to get lost in the car or the house somewhere."<<

It's called.... a pocket. Where do you put the debit card ??

-- -- -- -- --

I would love to live completely 'off the books'- including avoiding banks. Any interest you get today is a joke, and frankly I have more faith in the security of my safe than FDIC. However, in these times I am putting income as #1. If a biz credit card can earn me $500 in cash-back for doing nothing different than I do right now, I'm there. Whatever pay I can get as cash, all the better. Everything's for sale, I can do that for you, cash only, go.

[Intrepidation]

Have you seen the price of gold over the last few years ?? $1200/oz currently & still climbing. Good advice (it's still below it's inflation-adjusted peak circa 1980).

It's called sarcasm, have you heard of it? Hence the The ridiculousness of the suggestion is the tip off.

It's called.... a pocket. Where do you put the debit card ??

Loose change is smaller than a wallet, believe it or not, and falls out more easily. My old wallets had little change pockets, but why lug around exact change or get 2 dimes and a penny back that you're stuck with (and that buys you nothing) when it can just, you know, stay in your account. Although, my bank has coinstar, which is free for bank members, which is cool.

I will say this. I use my debit card and not credit cards. Too easy to get into debt. better only only spend what I actually have.

Plus, if you're carrying $200 in cash and get mugged (hypothetical), you're out $200, whereas a call to (my bank anyway) and/or the credit card company and they will freeze the account, reimburse your money lost if any, and issue you a new card.

I mean yeah, banks can and are assholes at times (not and issue as of yet for me, but Camino's incident is just another example of it), but I'm not going to start putting everything in a safe.

On a side note, &#036;h&#33; man your posts are a bitch to multiqoute.

[Drew Dowdell]

I treat my credit card as a cash card that gets me free trips.

I agree with you about the ursry of the banks...but I'm not going to far as to take myself completely off the grid. I'm just going to game the system to my own advantage.

[Justin Bimmer]

Also, not having a bank account is just going to put up all kinds of red flags with the IRS.

Expect to be audited every year.

[balthazar]

>>"On a side note, $h! man your posts are a bitch to multiqoute."<<

:smilewide:

10-4 on the gold: missed the sarcasm/ didn't read that way to me.

-- -- -- -- --

My bank is a nice, conservative little Hungarian entity, they have maybe 5 or 6 branches. Have never been sold/merged. I don't worry about them.

Bond is right- you cannot take yourself off the grid- but minimization is a good idea, IMO. Not as easy to do as it is to say, tho. But I'll bet you one will find cash transactions more & more common esp thru the next few years...

Edited December 6, 2009 by balthazar

[Intrepidation]

It's ok, sarcasm can be hard to detect through text.

I prefer small stable banks like the one I'm a member of, and apparently Balthy is as well. They seem to treat the customer better and don't get themselves into giant, economy crushing debts, like big banks do.

[loki]

They seem to treat the customer better and don't get themselves into giant, economy crushing debts, like big banks do.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fractional-reserve_banking

second paragraph.

By its nature, the practice of fractional reserve banking expands money supply (cash and demand deposits) beyond what it would otherwise be.

money the bank doesn't have, aka debt.

of course not all banks do this extensively.

lower in it

Some Austrian School economists claim that fractional-reserve banking, by expanding the money supply, will lower the interest rates compared to a hypothetical full-reserve banking system.

which is shown by the puny interest savings is getting now adays.

[Camino LS6]

I treat my credit card as a cash card that gets me free trips.

I agree with you about the ursry of the banks...but I'm not going to far as to take myself completely off the grid. I'm just going to game the system to my own advantage.

Completely isn't going to happen - but as much as possible is.

I get what you are saying about gaming the system, but I'm sick of games.

[Camino LS6]

Also, not having a bank account is just going to put up all kinds of red flags with the IRS.

Expect to be audited every year.

My bank account isn'r going anywhere, I've had the same account since I was a teenager. However, only a minimum amount will ever be parked there, no significant money I ever have from now on will be in their coffers. I will only use it for things that must be paid by check. I see no reason to allow them to use my money and limit my access to it with their limited hours, and BS policies. They've ticked me off more times than I can count, so at this point, I will simply use them instead of them using me.

[Drew Dowdell]

Completely isn't going to happen - but as much as possible is.

I get what you are saying about gaming the system, but I'm sick of games.

See, I've turned it into a competition to see how much I get out of a particular company for the least amount of cost. I do it with shopping, I do it with banking. My only exception is Walmart. I boycott them as much as I can.... but sometimes they're the only place open when I need something.

If you do end up getting a savings account, I suggest you look into Ally Bank. They are the new name for GMAC bank and they pay about as good as you're going to get on any savings account. They don't do checking, but you can get a money market account through them that you can write checks with..... but it's limited to I think 6 transactions a month..... so you could only use it for big things.

[Drew Dowdell]

My bank account isn'r going anywhere, I've had the same account since I was a teenager. However, only a minimum amount will ever be parked there, no significant money I ever have from now on will be in their coffers. I will only use it for things that must be paid by check. I see no reason to allow them to use my money and limit my access to it with their limited hours, and BS policies. They've ticked me off more times than I can count, so at this point, I will simply use them instead of them using me.

Geez... who do you use? Even big old PNC Bank isn't *that* bad.

[Camino LS6]

Wachovia.

[Justin Bimmer]

Wachovia Wells Fargo.

[Camino LS6]

Yeah, I think that is merger #6 since I've had the account.

[Robert Hall]

I have checking & savings accounts w/ Chase (had for over 20 years, from when it was Bank One) a checking account w/ Wells Fargo, and savings accounts w/ ING and E*Trade. Generally, I prefer WF over Chase (not just because I work for WF, sort of). I try to avoid cash (use debit and credit cards) and actually going into the bank..I avoid writing checks whenever possible, about the only things I have to pay w/ check monthly are the yard and pool service, everything else, I do electronically. Checks, money orders, etc seem like artifacts of the 20th century, kind of out of place in the modern world.

Edited December 6, 2009 by Cubical-aka-Moltar

[Camino LS6]

And I want to do things in the exact opposite way.

[Intrepidation]

I think you should start by finding a better bank.

[SAmadei]

I think you should start by finding a better bank.

Yeah, get out of Wells Fargo. They will make Wachovia look like heaven.

Without going into details, WF helped drive my father into the grave. They ignored bankruptcy proceeding, lost payments, documentation and nearly foreclosed on his house. They mucked up his bankruptcy to the point where the discharge was delayed nearly a year... he got it three days after passing away. Then when we tried to sort out the problem, they put us at square one and screwed us over for a lot of money.

This was before Wells Fargo Wells Fargo, not Wachovia Wells Fargo. Merging WF and Wachovia is only pure evil, and you want out. Trust me.

[Camino LS6]

Seems I've been cursed with two of the worst banks to deal with.

[Intrepidation]

SO find another bank. That would be the first thing I would do.

[daves87rs]

Wachovia.

Well, that explains a lot to me...

[Drew Dowdell]

I still say go with a credit union. But if you pick a regular bank, PNC is the least bad of the big ones I've dealt with.

[Camino LS6]

I'm going to look into it.

[daves87rs]

I have checking & savings accounts w/ Chase (had for over 20 years, from when it was Bank One) a checking account w/ Wells Fargo, and savings accounts w/ ING and E*Trade. Generally, I prefer WF over Chase (not just because I work for WF, sort of). I try to avoid cash (use debit and credit cards) and actually going into the bank..I avoid writing checks whenever possible, about the only things I have to pay w/ check monthly are the yard and pool service, everything else, I do electronically. Checks, money orders, etc seem like artifacts of the 20th century, kind of out of place in the modern world.

I've had Chase myself for a long time....they also seem to be the most stable bank as well....

[Robert Hall]

Speaking of banks, Chase doesn't do business in Pennsylvania (branches, etc), does it? I have Chase from my Bank One account days in Ohio from 20 years ago...

[A Horse With No Name]

I still say go with a credit union. But if you pick a regular bank, PNC is the least bad of the big ones I've dealt with.

+1 again on the credit union thing.

MUCH better than banks, IMHO.

Chris

[daves87rs]

At least most of the time, anyways....