Pros and cons of paying With Cash
In this day and age, with debit cards, credit cards and the magical method of “payWave”, cash is becoming less and less prevalent in our daily life. This has proceeded to the stage where a local phone company has come under fire after one of their stores refused to take cash for payment of an account. We have alternatives for almost everything. The direct debit that automatically pays my power, the special car to pay for fuel, we can even pay parking meters with our mobile phones these days!
But is cash really the old fashioned method of paying it’s portrayed as, or could it be useful in helping us spend our money smarter? Let’s have a look at the pros and cons of paying with real-life, tangible cash.
Pro’s
- You’ll never be able to lose more than what you have on you. If you have $20 cash stolen, it’s nowhere near as detrimental to your finances as if your credit card is stolen and they have spent thousands.
- You are more aware of your spending. Instead of just swiping where it’s easy not to take notice of the amount on the screen, handing cash over means you’re looking at the physical dollars instead of just a figure on a screen which has far less attachment to most people.
- You’re less vulnerable to marketing. Stores and companies are far less likely to ask for your email if you’re paying with cash, which means you’re saved from those annoying emails that fill your inbox with specials you don’t need to be spending your money on.
- No opportunity for your data to be shared and therefore no risk of privacy breaches to your personal information or accounts. This is a big advantage over paying by credit card after recent data breaches at Target and other major retailers.
Cons
- You can’t track your payments on a mobile banking app. These apps can really help when it comes to tracking your spending, but if this is an issue, just make sure to request and keep receipts when you pay with cash.
- Most credit cards have consumer protection against fraud and warranties for fake or faulty products. So if you buy something that isn’t what you paid for, you’re covered, whereas once you have deposited your cash there’s no way of getting refunded for dodgy purchases.
- Some purchases require credit/debit cards. This is the reality of our era, and there’s no way around paying for the likes of hotel rooms and rental cars with credit/ debit card. I suggest getting a debit card if you solely pay with cash to avoid issues in these situations.
- You can’t get a refund for stolen cash, whereas if your credit card is stolen and has been used for purchases against your knowledge, you can usually get this refunded by your credit card company.