What Is Happening to Cash?

What has happened to cash?  Oh I know it’s still around but sometimes you wonder for how much longer.  My father used to instill in me the requirement to always have cash on hand because you never knew when you would need it.  I’m not talking about the kind of cash you kept under the mattress but rather always having some in your pocket in case of emergency.

Of course over the years with credit and now debit cards you always have the ability to use them in times of need but more recently we are using them to purchase just about everything.  At your favorite convenience store you might have four people in front of you making small purchases and everyone is using plastic, especially those under say age 50.

It seems more and more we are heading in the direction of a cashless society.  If you have been to a pro sporting event recently you probably noticed that cash is often useless…you can’t even use it to buy a soda or beer.  Many arenas and stadiums have eliminated cash as a way to purchase goods something that we could not have imagined a decade ago.

My 33-year old daughter lives in Hoboken and once a month or so she comes home for a visit.  At some point she will ask me for cash because she needs it for something small.  When I ask why she needs $10 the reply is “I don’t have any cash on me.”  She and many from her generation simply don’t carry any which I scratch my head over.

To me there is nothing like a folded stack of money with the big bills on top and singles in the middle…you can also do it the opposite way to feel more secure. From my days working on the boardwalk I keep all the bills facing in the same direction.  I’m more and more prepared that in the near future this new trend of only using plastic will continue but I’ll always believe that “cash is king.”