Ugh. Last night I received a call from the kiddo’s mom. She had had some (very) limited contact with a coworker who tested positive for COVID and now needs to self-isolate. Based on when this happened, she can’t return to work until Thursday. What this means for me is that I miss out on three days of work. While I don’t mind being home, I’d much rather be earning a paycheck. I guess I’ll have some extra time to see if I can make a little from my long-neglected Amazon Mturks.
We got our electric bill yesterday. At the same time last year, it was $108.84, and this year it came in at $61.73. I have been setting the savings aside, and I am up to $204.06 for the year.
Hubs had his work DOT physical today. He always dreads getting this done. Last year his blood pressure was up, so the doctor doing his exam put him on medication. He then had to follow-up with his primary. By watching his sodium, Hubs was able to get off the prescription last Fall. Because he is no longer on the medication and brought a copy of the notes from his PCP, he won’t need another DOT physical for two years. He is happy to have one less thing to stress about!
I read an interesting article written by Dave Ramsey regarding the use of cash. It is less than a two-minute read and it really made me think. Here is a copy/paste of the article.
Dave Ramsey repost:
HERE’S WHAT NO CASH ACTUALLY MEANS:
A cashless society means no cash. Zero. It doesn’t mean mostly cashless and you can still use a ‘wee bit of cash here & there’. Cashless means fully digital, fully traceable, fully controlled. I think those who support a cashless society aren’t fully aware of what they are asking for. A cashless society means:
* If you are struggling with your mortgage on a particular month, you can’t do an odd job to get you through.
* Your child can’t go & help the local farmer to earn a bit of summer cash.
* No more cash slipped into the hands of a child as a good luck charm or from their grandparent when going on holidays.
* No more money in birthday cards.
* No more piggy banks for your child to collect pocket money & to learn about the value of earning.
* No more cash for a rainy day fund or for that something special you have been putting $20 a week away for.
* No more little jobs on the side because your wages barely cover the bills or put food on the table.
* No more charity collections.
* No more selling bits & pieces from your home that you no longer want/need for a bit of cash in return.
* No more cash gifts from relatives or loved ones.
What a cashless society does guarantee:
* Banks have full control of every single penny you own.
* Every transaction you make is recorded.
* All your movements & actions are traceable.
* Access to your money can be blocked at the click of a button when/if banks need ‘clarification’ from you which will take about 3 weeks, a thousand questions answered & five thousand passwords.
* You will have no choice but to declare & be taxed on every dollar in your possession.
* The government WILL decide what you can & cannot purchase.
* If your transactions are deemed in any way questionable, by those who create the questions, your money will be frozen, ‘for your own good’.
Forget about cash being dirty. Stop being so easily led. Cash has been around for a very, very, very long time & it gives you control over how you trade with the world. It gives you independence. I heard a story where a man supposedly contracted COVID because of a $20 bill he had handled. There is the same chance of COVID being on a card as being on cash. If you cannot see how utterly ridiculous this assumption is then there is little hope.
If you are a customer, pay with cash. If you are a shop owner, remove those ridiculous signs that ask people to pay by card. Cash is a legal tender, it is our right to pay with cash. Banks are making it increasingly difficult to lodge cash & that has nothing to do with a virus, nor has this ‘dirty money’ trend.
Please open your eyes. Please stop believing everything you are being told. Almost every single topic in today’s world is tainted with corruption & hidden agendas. Please stop telling me & others like me that we are what’s wrong with the world when you hail the most corrupt members of society as your heroes. Politics & greed is what is wrong with the world; not those who are trying to alert you to the reality in which you are blindly floating along whilst being immobilized by irrational fear. Fear created to keep you doing & believing in exactly what you are complacently doing.
Pay with cash & please say no to a cashless society while you still have the choice.
Copy and paste to your page if you like!
Although I do (gasp) pay some things with my credit card (I’ve learned my lesson and NEVER carry a balance) I do tend to agree with him on many of his points. I’m curious what others have to say about it.
I’m surprised Dave Ramsey is promoting cash as a way to avoid paying appropriate taxes; not cool.
I don’t have strong feelings one way or another but haven’t spent any cash (coin or paper) since we started stay at home in March. It’s just seems easier and safer right now to use my plastic. Also, I’m paying more in advance using online ordering tools for groceries and restaurant takeout.
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You make a valid point about paying appropriate taxes. With Dave Ramsey being an evangelical Christian, that is indeed surprising he would sway from those biblical teachings. I also agree regarding it being simpler to use plastic right now.
Please check your sources before you jump on the band wagon to disparage Dave Ramsey. He has never advocated any illegal act, including tax evasion. He did not write the supposed “repost”. It took me all of 30 seconds to uncover this as fake news.
It did seem odd that he would advocate tax evasion.
Not using cash can reduce germ transfer right now, so I understand that. AFAIK, there’s no push to get rid of it permanently. All of that said, I sell things all the time, and most people use VenMo or Paypal or a similar service. Works fine, no cash changes hands, no credit cards required.
I’m not so much concerned about the germ aspect of it. Anytime I’ve used cash (even before COVID hit), I followed with hand sanitizer. I guess I’ve always felt there was an ick factor as to where the money might have been! For many transactions, I do feel plastic is easier. However, if cash were ever to become obsolete, I do think my grandkids would miss getting it in their birthday cards.
Oh, and forgot to mention…fingers crossed to a quick resolution with kiddo’s mom. Both for you & your budget,but also for her family & family’s health!
Thanks!
I’m in Australia and I haven’t used cash for many years now. Its astonishing to me when I see the US still using cheques to pay people or pay rent. Here most people pay with a card or phone, we transfer money for payments/rent/ wages via bank accounts, its a same day transaction generally. Lots of people do still use cash but most use electronic means to pay. I have not encountered ANY problems – his article is scaremongering and encouraging people to avoid tax. I really do not understand why the US is so far behind on this type of thing & am interested to see what others comment.
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Australia’s experience goes to show that it can be done, although I’m still in the camp that I’d miss the option of using cash.
Hopefully all goes well with kiddo’s mom and she doesn’t get it. On the bright side (I guess?) is part of the isolation time had already passed so not having to wait 14 days to get back to work. I’m not sure what to think about the cashless “scare”. I have already for years mostly used card and bank transfers. I rarely even write a check anymore. Besides – what would all these homeless panhandlers and street musicians do to get money if there were no cash?
I think she will be fine. She said her contact with this employee was very brief, plus I know she always keeps her distance from others. I also rarely write any checks. Of those that I do, I’m sure they could adapt to other payment options. Panhandlers and street musicians might have be a bit of a challenge going cashless.
Hopefully you will be back at work with kiddo come Thursday.
As for the cashless thing: We use a mix of cash and credit for our home finances. The categories that tend to get out of control quickly are cash. Even during Covid, we used cash for some things. Admittedly, we were not out as much, so did use less than we normally would. We just used hand sanitizer right after, and washed our hands as soon as we got home. A cashless system would not make my budget happy. At our house we really do spend less when we use cash as a form payment. Also, I do not need every dollar that I “spend” tracked by the banking system. If I want to give some money to someone in need, I just want to do that, no one else needs to know about it.
I hope I can go back on Thursday, too. I’m not used to having so much time off and would prefer to be working.
I can see how people can spend more by using plastic. Hubs is one of them, hence he prefers to use cash! I think the key is using hand sanitizer, washing your hands, and not touching your face. All things everyone should have been doing to begin with. I’m in complete agreement regarding bank tracking and being able to give anonymously. I’m not sure how that would be able to work if we became a cashless society.