I’m always surprised when I look in my wallet and see paper money. I have it so rarely that it almost seems like it shouldn’t be in there. I rely mostly on my debit card, and occasionally on my credit card. The world seems made of plastic. You slide your plastic card through a plastic machine and then pick up your grocery bags, also made of plastic, filled with food containers that are plastic. Everything is sterile, factory-made, and impersonal.
Have you ever watched “Little House on the Prairie” or “Anne of Green Gables” and seen the characters go into the general store? Everyone knows everyone’s names, and business is conducted on a personal level. Sometimes I wish we could go back to those days, where things were so much more simple, and sometimes I wish we could go back to only using cash for our purchases.
When you use cash, there seems to be more of an outreach and a connection formed with the cashier. Now, I’m not saying I want to become best buds with every cashier who rings me up, but I do like the interaction between one human being and another. The act of handing over money and receiving change seems to be grounding in a way, taking me out of our high-tech world and bringing me back to a time when people really talked to each other. Maybe I’m just waxing poetic and a bit nostalgic, but there’s a sense of belonging to the human race that comes along with the use of cash.
It does have its downfalls, of course. I find it a whole lot easier to track my spending when I use my debit card—I pull out my receipts, compare them to the online banking website I use, and I’m aware of everything that entered and left my account. Cash is difficult to track, if you don’t glom on to those receipts. But it feels nice when you rub it between your fingers, almost velvety.
So, how about you? Do you use cash or card for your purchases, and do you think I’m off my rocker for feeling nostalgic over the occasional five-dollar bill I find in my purse?
Related Blogs:
The Long and Winding Road of a Dollar Bill
Does Your Store Refuse Credit Cards?