Americans, put your debit & credit cards away and pay with cash !

[Tender Branson]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110930/COL07/109300356/Susan-Tompor-fee-use-your-debit-card-just-beginning

[CARLHAYDEN]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110930/COL07/109300356/Susan-Tompor-fee-use-your-debit-card-just-beginning

Or, there's a simpler way.

Find a financial institution (Bank, Credit Union, etc.) that doesn't charge these fees.

I had multiple accounts at a major bank (one of them for 22+ years) which I closed.

[Franzl]

Not affected as I have German cards from German banks...but I didn't see anything on credit cards in that article. They're practically all I use whenever they're accepted and I don't want to pay cash. I don't like debit cards' direct link to my bank account.

[phk]

This is just ATM cards, I think, unless news changes.

[Sbane]

I think it's only debit cards. So yeah, use cash I suppose or a credit card and make sure you pay it off.

[bgwah]

Bank of America is sure trying to prove that they are, in fact, pure evil.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Bank of America is sure trying to prove that they are, in fact, pure evil.

More like stupid. This is as dumb a move as Netflix.

[Cincinnatus]

I have a debit card through my credit union.  Not worried.

[greenforest32]

I have a debit card through my credit union.  Not worried.

[You kip if you want to...]

A fee to use your debit card? I could understand a credit care, but what?

Basically a tax from the private sector.

[angus]

http://www.freep.com/article/20110930/COL07/109300356/Susan-Tompor-fee-use-your-debit-card-just-beginning

Good!

Okay, that was overkill.  I wouldn't want people to start to have fees, but anything that encourages cash spending is okay with me.  Man, I hate being in line behind debit card users and check writers.  It slows things down too much. 

I use strictly cash.  Go to the ATM about get a three hundred dollars and keep it in my wallet.  When I start to get low, I go to the ATM again.  I've had a "debit card" with my account for years, and have never used it other than at the ATM to get cash. 

ALDI used to have a cash only policy until about a year ago.  That was nice.  The line moved through so smoothly back in those days.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

This is going to increase credit card use, not discourage it. The legislation doesn't affect credit cards. It would keep being profitable for companies to hand out credit cards even without fees.
Some of the transactions that had been done with debit will move to cash, but most will move to credit.

Credit card debt isn't enough of a problem already, we have to pass laws to encourage it.

[angus]

This is going to increase credit card use, not discourage it.

Possibly.  Some will start using cash, and some to credit cards.  Still others will just accept the five-dollar debit card fee.  (I assume that there is always a subset of folks that would prefer to use some sort of plastic/electronic payment rather than cash, and that subset will still use credit or debit cards.)  But the actual percentage of folks paying with cash is likely to go up, don't you think?

I do use credit cards to buy stuff on-line, or if I go into my wallet and simply don't have enough cash.  Say, we go to Wal-Mart and we see a nifty new vacuum cleaner on sale for 40% off.  It's made from space-age polymers and has enough suction power to lift an elephant.  And my wife decides we really need it.  And it's on sale for $199.99.  I wasn't planning on buying anything other than fish food, an air filter, some LEGOs, a bottle of cognac, and pound of cheese, so I only have about eighty dollars in my wallet.  I'll use a credit card.  In fact, I don't think it has ever occurred to me to use my debit card in such situations.  Not sure why.  But it would immediately occur to me to use a credit card. 

It happens from time to time.  So I'm the guy that holds up the line one time in a hundred.  But that's not the same as planning on using a debit or credit card constantly.  And I always pay my balance in full, and never pay any sorts of fees or penalties with those, and I do it on-line so there's not even the cost of a stamp or envelope. 

I do agree that credit cards are a bit too easy to get, and the result is that we have lots of folks living beyond their actual means with those.  That issue probably deserves its own thread. 

[opebo]

I use strictly cash.  Go to the ATM about get a three hundred dollars and keep it in my wallet.  When I start to get low, I go to the ATM again.  I've had a "debit card" with my account for years, and have never used it other than at the ATM to get cash.

How often do you run through $300, rich guy? 

ALDI used to have a cash only policy until about a year ago.  That was nice.  The line moved through so smoothly back in those days.

What the heck?  There's no way ALDI had a cash only policy - the majority of their customers only have EBT and no cash income.

[angus]

Aldi near my house did.  I remember people complaining about it.  I actually never paid much attention to that fact till I heard someone complaining, then I did notice it.  Now, they have the little PINpads at the checkout lanes.  It moves faster than most, though. 

Burned through 200 today and it's not yet even 7 o'clock.  Back when I was single I could go to the ATM and take out fifty and expect it to last nearly a week.  Nowadays, I always get 300 at a time and I probably do that a few times a week.  Being a family guy is rough in so many ways. 

[opebo]

Burned through 200 today and it's not yet even 7 o'clock.  Back when I was single I could go to the ATM and take out fifty and expect it to last nearly a week.  Nowadays, I always get 300 at a time and I probably do that a few times a week.  Being a family guy is rough in so many ways. 

You have an enormous income!

[Peeperkorn]

Burned through 200 today and it's not yet even 7 o'clock.  Back when I was single I could go to the ATM and take out fifty and expect it to last nearly a week.  Nowadays, I always get 300 at a time and I probably do that a few times a week.  Being a family guy is rough in so many ways. 

You have an enormous income!

I've some cash and I'd like to move somewhere in the country. Would Thailand be a good option?

[opebo]

I've some cash and I'd like to move somewhere in the country. Would Thailand be a good option?

Heh heh.  Yes.  I will send the bank account information right away!

But seriously, the economy is good here, as in much of Asia.  Still growing after a gang-buster year or two coming out of the very shallow recession.

I think international investors want to come here much more than they are - they're holding off due to the political troubles and the fact that so much appears to hang upon the health of one 82 year old man.  But I have a feeling that the Ancien Régime has a little more to it than just HM.  Southeast Asia is definitely one the very hot regions for the coming decades.. and Thailand is most definitely the center of that regional economy (not the central player, just the center).

I'll look into it further if you like.  To be honest I have thought about looking for some kind of business opportunity here to avoid impoverishment, but also to be honest, its probably not really my style.  While I have been subjected to the humiliation of paid employment, it has at least been in the traditionally higher calling of 'teaching', and I have as yet to sully my hands with trade.

Or wait, did you mean to invest or to become an expatriate?

[Sbane]

If I were you Opebo, I would stay as a teacher. They are well respected in Asia.

[opebo]

If I were you Opebo, I would stay as a teacher. They are well respected in Asia.

Yes, I've noticed, but alas the salary is terribly meager

[Sbane]

If I were you Opebo, I would stay as a teacher. They are well respected in Asia.

Yes, I've noticed, but alas the salary is terribly meager

Can't expect an American salary in Thailand.

[Ban my account ffs!]

If I were you Opebo, I would stay as a teacher. They are well respected in Asia.

Yes, I've noticed, but alas the salary is terribly meager

Can't expect an American salary in Thailand.

Nor in America, these days.

[angus]

Burned through 200 today and it's not yet even 7 o'clock.  Back when I was single I could go to the ATM and take out fifty and expect it to last nearly a week.  Nowadays, I always get 300 at a time and I probably do that a few times a week.  Being a family guy is rough in so many ways. 

You have an enormous income!

Oh, stop.  You're the most privileged brat on this forum. 

I'm just a cog in the machinery. 

[Peeperkorn]

I've some cash and I'd like to move somewhere in the country. Would Thailand be a good option?

Heh heh.  Yes.  I will send the bank account information right away!

But seriously, the economy is good here, as in much of Asia.  Still growing after a gang-buster year or two coming out of the very shallow recession.

I think international investors want to come here much more than they are - they're holding off due to the political troubles and the fact that so much appears to hang upon the health of one 82 year old man.  But I have a feeling that the Ancien Régime has a little more to it than just HM.  Southeast Asia is definitely one the very hot regions for the coming decades.. and Thailand is most definitely the center of that regional economy (not the central player, just the center).

I'll look into it further if you like.  To be honest I have thought about looking for some kind of business opportunity here to avoid impoverishment, but also to be honest, its probably not really my style.  While I have been subjected to the humiliation of paid employment, it has at least been in the traditionally higher calling of 'teaching', and I have as yet to sully my hands with trade.

Or wait, did you mean to invest or to become an expatriate?

Speculation.

What are the chances (and cost in dollars) of buying an old farm and living by yourself?

My choice has been Colombia, but i could listen to other offers...also thais = cute boys.

[opebo]

Speculation.

What are the chances (and cost in dollars) of buying an old farm and living by yourself?

My choice has been Colombia, but i could listen to other offers...also thais = cute boys.

I did not know you were a gay!  The farming business here is on a major upswing, so farmland values are rising fast, but anyway foreigners are not allowed to own land, so it is moot.

Do you actually want to farm?  If you just want to live in an isolated place I'm sure there are very comfortable farmhouses you can rent for next to nothing - people (particularly farangs married to Thai ladies) are always building fine homes in the country and then finding out they don't want to live there because it is too boring, or because they have to go home, or because they can't get used to it, whatever.  

I think you could rent something like that for like $50-100/month, or even get a free house-sitting deal.  Then the remainder of your monthly budget would be minimal - maybe $3-5/day for food, eating out.. buy an old motorbike for $200 and you're set.