This evening I decided to leave my house and go to a coffee bar that is about 3.5 miles from my home. That is a distance to go just to work on a blog but I wanted to get out of the house and wanted something that would make my juices flow. When I arrived to the coffee establishment I noticed a note on the door which said that effective February 1, 2018, the business would no longer be accepting cash. I found that to be odd and while I do not normally carry cash on me I had cash on me today and planned on paying for my very expensive tea with the cash in my wallet.
After I placed my order I asked about the cashless policy and was told that it was a result of the number of robberies that had been occurring in the area. If you live in Atlanta you know that the city itself has a lot of crime. A lot. Unfortunately, most inner cities have a lot of crime. This particular coffee bar is located in the West Midtown section of Atlanta near Georgia Tech University. The coffee bar is frequented by a lot of students, faculty and every day workers such as myself. I actually used to live in this area, in literal walking distance to this coffee bar, and I am all too familiar with crime in this little block. The funny thing is I wasn’t all that afraid to live over here. I’ve lived in Boston and Washington, DC, both cities, and both with their share of crime.
From 2015 to 2016, I rented a one bedroom apartment and because of the way my apartment was set up I had to walk my dogs outdoors in order to let them go to the bathroom. The only grassy area was near this exact coffee bar so I would walk down there solo and let them do their business and then go back to my apartment to get ready for work. Clearly, not a lot of people were on the streets at 5 a.m. but I was never afraid of walking them at that time in the dark even with the knowledge there was one particular clothing store near my complex that seemed to always have a smash and grab robbery. Sometimes I would have thoughts about encountering the smash and grabbers during my walk but they generally seemed to do it when absolutely no one would or could be outside during that time.
Unfortunately, the crime in the area lead to the unfortunate death of a restaurant manager. In November 2017, store manager Chelsea Beller was shot and killed in a robbery. http://thecount.com/2017/11/19/barcelona-wine-bar-chelsea-beller-murder-update-robbery/
The suspects were later apprehended but there is a fear that is already present regarding cash and businesses. While I am certain that most people in today’s society use a card in order to make purchases there are enough who don’t and won’t be able to make such purchases anymore because of the state of criminal affairs in the world. So will our entire society become cashless due to robberies and crimes? And we are not talking about any old robbery. This is a robbery that resulted in the death of someone over something senseless.
Does the thought of carrying cash on you make you concerned or are you one of those people who never carry cash anyway? There are pluses and minuses to paying with a debit/credit card vs cash.
The good things of paying with a credit or debit card are the following:
- It’s easy to keep track of what you spend. The business can keep an accounting system of their income and you, as the buyer, can keep track of what you spend (your expenses). This can be done by looking at your checking account statements and/or your credit card statements.
- It is less likely that the business will be robbed. Who is going to go into a coffee bar and steal the loose tea and coffee? Of course if you are a clothing retailer then anyone can go in and rob the store for its clothes but I haven’t heard too much in the press about armed robberies of clothing stores.
- If you have a reward program on your debit or credit card you can earn points that can lead to gift cards. My debit card has a reward program. I generally will use my points in order to get movie tickets or gift cards for gas for my car. While I am a fully fledged working adult, I appreciate these perks.
- You do not have to have the hassle of trying to find cash by going to a bank, ATM, or going into a store to make a purchase just to get cash.
The not so good things about paying with a debit card or credit card are the following:
- You are a person who does not keep track of their finances. Swiping your debit and/or credit card can cause you to lose track of what is in your bank account. I know that swiping a debit or credit card doesn’t feel like real money is being spent . I have been in those situations where I have been beyond shocked that I have no money left over. I am currently the person who consistently checks her checking account statements. I am not even talking about being obsessive because I don’t consider it to be obsessive. I consider it a way of life, like getting up in the morning and taking a shower, eating, and brushing my teeth.
- You end up in more debt than you are in. If you use a credit card you may think those minor swipes are nothing but they are adding to your debt if you have any. I’ve been in thousands of dollars of debt and a couple of swipes ends up a couple of extra hundred dollars I did not need or intend to accumulate. Over time those extra couple of hundred end up another thousand or a couple of thousand which is not a good thing.
- You end up with over drafts. My over drafts at my credit union runs me $30 a pop and I’ve popped a lot over the years. One time I popped to the tune of about $200. Because I am such a good customer my credit union took all the extra pops off which saved me a ton of money I didn’t want to spend.
- You become too reliant on the credit or debit cards for everything. My grandmother (nana) always used to tell me and my sister to keep some cash on us. And cash is a good thing when you have lost or misplaced your debit or credit card as I have done several times. One time I lost my entire wallet with everything in it. I have no idea when and where it happened but it did. I have been that person who is driving around with less than “E” on my gas tank and no money to pay for gas. One time, by the grace of GOD, I was able to scrape together $6 in mostly loose change which was enough to get me home. I then transferred some money into my daughter’s account and used her debit card to gas up my card. The next day I visited the credit union and got cash to tie me over until I could get another debit card. All I know is that event made me terrified.
Clearly there are a lot of businesses that will continue to accept cash and since a lot of people use their debit or credit cards to make purchases this may not even matter. However, I commend the businesses who may require customers to use cards rather than cash. The lack of cash or complete elimination of cash at a business may help to save an employee’s life. I also wrote this in terms of thinking about what works best for you. You may be a cashless person and do an excellent job of keeping your financial affairs in order. There is nothing wrong with using plastic to pay for things so long as you don’t end up in debt or broke. While using plastic may cause some to lose track you may not be one of those people and have an eagle eye on all of your purchases. Be diligent in your finances no matter the method!