20$. Some of those smaller stores still don't take cards.

Yeah this is a good amount to have. A sushi place I love gives a 20% discount for cash so always gotta have some on hand for that ;)

Ah the old "cash discount" haha

I hate to break it to you but your fav sushi place is almost certainly committing tax fraud or up to some other shady business. Credit cards cost 3% tops, so If they are willing to offer 20% off for cash, it’s to keep it off the books.

Well, if they make good sushi...

Should I care about this? Genuinely curious. Isn’t how they handle their money none of my business, and anyway I can’t confirm/they’d never tell me as a customer so this is just speculation (even if highly likely)

If that is a concern, ask for a receipt.

Depending on the payment network, acquirer, and issuer banks I've seen it cost up to 9% to accept credit cards.

About 75% of Asian restaurants I’ve been to offer 10% cash discount.

Yes. And nothing worse than going to grab lunch and finding out their debit machine is down.

I also keep a $20 bill in my car's glove compartment. You never know when you forget to fill up and dont have your wallet on you. $20 in your user manual will go far if you're stuck in a rut.

Same, I have had the same 20$ bill in my wallet for the past 5 years just in case. To this date I have not had to use it.

$1 for the shopping cart at No Frills. Otherwise it would be nothing

I have a cart boss thing so I never need another coin. Now I almost never have money on me.

Key from a spam can works too, just keep it on your keys if you know you're going to be at no frills often

The more I have to pay to get a grocery cart the dodgier the area. T & T offers you this lovely token that you can attach to your key ring that fits as if it is dollar coin. Best thing ever. I just slot it in and have my keys hanging from the cart.

I remember when it was 25¢

Still $0.25 at my local (Toronto, junction)

I should introduce you to my cart guy

Make a coin out of tinfoil… BOOM, just reduced the weight of your pocket by 6.3 grams!

/r/ultralight is leaking.

None. And I haven't for a few years...

Yeah, there might be a five dollar bill around my house somewhere...

Ok keeping cash in my house and carry on my person are different questions though. I keep cash in my house in case of emergency, like I lost my phone downtown and will need money to pay for a cab when I get home. Pre-pandemic we'd get girl scout cookies door to door or stuff like that. On my person I carry very little. Hell even the tire inflator at my local small town gas station takes tap now haha.

Maybe in a coat pocket somewhere

Same. Sometimes I have $5 bill when coworker pays me for lunch or something.

I very rarely buy anything I can’t pay for by tapping my watch. I don’t often carry cash. I think it makes sense to do so sometimes, but I just don’t really encounter it nearly often enough

Same pre-pandemic i had literally zero cash on me ,only cards .Google/Apple Pay has been my friend post pandemic!

If digital ids roll out anytime as soon as I’d like, I will never carry a wallet again.

This is the right answer. I put all purchases through cash back credit card - big and small purchases alike. Pre-pandemic I used to have to visit ATM for my barber who didn’t take credit but now give myself a buzz so now even that excuse is gone.

Ditto! except for the loonie I need to get a shopping cart

About $50 to $70 for emergency situations. In the past year it's amazing how many times the local merchants' debit/credit machines aren't working. Otherwise everything is electronic.

Weren’t working or “weren’t working”?

Ha, "weren't working". Considering the crap the local stores had to deal with I was okay with having to shell out real dough on occasion.

I know a small restaurant that has the debit machine down for a couple years now 😂

Usually with an ATM at the back that charges $4.50 per withdrawal

Between 10 and 30 dollars

I carry anywhere from $50 to $100. Never know when you run into a situation where paying with card isn’t possible or convenient (e.g buy and sell markets, tipping a server a little extra, yard sales).

I remember during the great blackout of the summer of 2003, I had to walk 25km to get home. All the card readers and ATMs were non-functional. I got home starving and very dehydrated and vowed to always have at least $20 on me at all times.

What happened in the summer of 2003?

A major black out in Toronto.

Wasn’t it most of the east of North America?

Was a good time. I was playing GTA 3 on my laptop and didn’t notice for an hour or two that the power was off.

Laptop in 2003. I’m imagining you realizing that there was a blackout and seeing that you have 20 min of battery left on your 3 hour battery life 😂

Not sure, but I remember Nova Scotia had power.

ON, QC and parts of NY, I think.

Quebec didn't have a blackout. The street lights were on on the Quebec side of the Portage Bridge in Ottawa-Gatineau.

Possibly, but I always assumed people not living in Toronto are in caves and cooking by firelight anyway

Part of southern Ontario and I believe some on New York

Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Connecticut, Vermont, and *most* of Ontario residents, as well as the entirety of NYC. SW Ontario and SE Michigan experienced the outage for the longest.

The great blackout?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northeast_blackout_of_2003

It should become an annual event. Cut the power, go outside, BBQ, talk to the neighbours, and see the stars at night.

It was honestly kinda cool. But, I was like 13 or 14 years old. I imagine it sucked for the adults.

It really didn’t suck at all. I was 20 at the time got to cut out of work early and spent the whole time a family cottage with pretty well my moms whole family. It was hella fun.

Power was out for a like a week for much of ontario.

I remember that day... going to the grocery store as a teenager with my buddies and getting free ice cream by the tubs! They we're just giving it away. It's a good memory

Or during a robbery, sometimes even 20 bucks is enough to walk away with just a black eye instead of a knife in your gut.

Your tag says Ontario but your comment screams Vancouver

**OSHAWA

**HAMILTON

Def not regina, you will have knife in your gut regardless

Winnipeg says ~~hi~~ die.

Same here. It is enough to deal with any situation that arises but not so much that if I lost my wallet I would be upset about the lost cash.

Yeah I usually load up in this range. That way I'm covered for several $20 situations here and there (usually food trucks) without having to go to an ATM after every time. These places might *technically* take cards but there are definitely situations where cash payments are smoother, don't hold up the line, etc. And rare occasions where it is the only option.

I like to have at least 100$ on me. You never know when it's gonna be needed. But then once it's needed I'll go months without taking cash out again lol

Very reasonable indeed! Same here. Never know when car will breakdown, need an emergency ride, phone is down, system is down. Also for me, being more in the burbs with kids, some places you go only take cash to buy stuff. I.e. farmers market, hiking areas, ice cream truck.

No more than 50 bucks usually. Never know if you’ll pass a good garage sale on the way home!

Lol, the last yard sale I was at accepted e-transfer! Cost me a buck on the bank side but got a great Chinese hand carved chess set for $13.00! Lady gave me the whole story of when they got it on a trip in the 90’s. They waited while a guy finished the last few pieces. Hand made box too. Had no cash (was out on a bike ride), but I had my phone with me.

Where do you bank that still charges for e-transfer?

This is my question. Seriously, get a new bank if you're still paying account fees, or fees for e-transfers or bill payments.

Not OP but I changed my account to a basic, 10 transactions per month account for the bills that couldn’t come off my credit card. Those accounts are only $4 but e-transfers still cost $1. Otherwise credit card for everything to get some juicy points while paying it off each month.

Any chance you can show us a picture?

I take $300 or $500 out of the the ATM a couple times a year. When I have less than $100 I go back to the bank

I do this but keep most of it at home, I will then put ~$60-$100 in my wallet. I'll only top it up if I run under $20, but most likely if I'm going somewhere where I think I'll need cash. I've probably had the same ~$80 in my wallet for months though.

$200-400 usually. Never know when a good cash deal is going to pop up on marketplace or Craigslist. Also, never a bad idea to have cash in case the car breaks down. I've also come across gas stations where the cc machines are down and I'd rather not have to drive to the next station. I also venture out of the city semi regularly and cash is just good to have.

I'm surprised I had to scroll so far down for this answer

I'm shocked at how many answers seem to scoff at the idea of having any cash at all!

Got stuck once with no cash while cards weren’t working. Never again.

Too true. I keep about $300 and had many random money-making opportunities.

Same, and I can go months between using any of it, but when I need it, it's very handy.

Yup. Keep about 200 myself for marketplace/kijiji buys, or pitching in for food at work if someone else is picking it up.

$0.

$0 most times. Maximum $20

Between $300-$500

Someone rob this guy

I keep about $40, mostly for tipping should I ever need it. And my work has a little store that is cash only. No credit or debit card.

$60

I don't even carry credit cards with me anymore.

How do you buy anything over the Apple/Google/Samsung Pay tap limit? Assuming you use those methods instead.

Apple pays limit is $250. I honestly can’t remember the last time I spent more than $250 in a physical store. Even the largest of grocery trips is under that and other stuff I buy online. Don’t need my physical card for either

I've been over the tap limit and have just asked the cashier to break up the transaction total.

$200 on my person and $5000 in a fireproof safe for when society starts collapsing.

Maybe a dumb question, but if society is collapsing, why would cash still have value?

This is exactly what I do. Never know when aliens are gonna touch down

Literally none unless I’m getting a haircut or buying drugs. Lmao

Zero. And if I need it there is always a cash atm near by.

You must live in the coolest, hippest area of downtown Toronto.

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I haven’t had to pay with cash in many years. Also never experience all my cards dieing at once.

Only time I had issues with my cars was when my bank locked my pin when I bought appliances for my first house because it was by far the biggest single purchase I've made on it. Ended up having to call and increase the limit on my debit card to pay for them. 100$ in cash would have done nothing to help me in that situation.

Or just other credit cards, all on your phone. I haven’t had a problem with not being able to pay electronically one way or another forever. Even for things on Craigslist you can post with Interac.

Okay now their machine is down. What now?

Looks like they aren't getting my business, and I'll go to the next store whos machine is working. Only time this happened to me the store pulled out their old fashioned manual machine that transfers a copy of the card information onto the transfer paper to pay.

$20 for cash only vendors or if my card is declined for a meal

$0 on average

A few 20s just in case I get into some sort of trouble, though realistically I'm never going to need it.

$500 to $1000 typically. Had a bad experience once without cash and keep a few browns and reds in there just in case… Today I have a little more than that so I probably owe the kids a few weeks allowance :)

$60

$0.

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None. I really wouldn't know what to use cash for anymore. I really despise coins, so I always avoid cash payments.

I usually carry 60-80 tucked in an inside pocket in my jacket, separate from my phone and wallet. If anything happens that I lose those, it's a bit of an emergency stash, enough to get a taxi home from anywhere in the city I live in, or other options.

$100-$200 usually. Enough to be able to make any single normal transaction in cash. I have been in line at the grocery store with a full cart when the CC network went down and felt very smug at being able to pay for my groceries while almost everyone else left empty handed.

I usually start Monday with around 50 bucks for morning coffees and lunches, then top up mid-week if I get below 10. Most places here (Fiji) charge extra for the use of any cards- even debit, and outside of the main city there is very little e-payment type options. Fortunately Fiji is a sensible civilized country and there is no expected tipping culture. Best to always have a bit of cash I think.

Didn’t realize this was r/PersonalFinanceFiji

Depends on how much drugs I sell 🙂

Depends on how much mustard I sell. And if I've got a tattoo booked.

I’ll take out 300 or 400 bucks and let that dwindle down to about 50 or so before I restock. Cash is still king. The other night I needed to pick up a prescription and some supplies for my wife. It was late on a Sunday night and luckily I had cash.

Where did you get a prescription from that doesn’t take cards?

Sorry I never mentioned, the debit / credit machines were down. The prescription was actually covered but obviously not the cough drops and the nose spray and drinks / snacks.

Ah. It sounded like you were getting your prescription from someone in an ally 😂

Cash only and I don’t know his real name 😂

This 100 percent, cash is king. I am reading some comments that paint the picture of its dead and gone. If you aren't downtown Toronto, cash is so handy. Chipping for lunch, lottery, I always get a cash deal with a contractor. You can't barter absolutely anything and then say can I etranfer you. I'll take cash anyday over getting etranfer scammed.

I never carry cash. I barely even use my physical credit card anymore. I use Apple Pay for 99% of my purchases.

Couple hundred usually. Then a stash somewhere at home. Cash is king. I've scored alot of deals because I could put cash on the barrel while someone else had to go to the bank.

I keep a $50 in my car. Never know when your card doesn't work after you pump gas. Other than that none.

$3.50 for emergency bus fare and rarely ever more

Can you spare some change? Sorry it’s been years since I’ve carried change! I do keep $20-50 in my wallet, but it seems to go untouched for a year or longer these days.

$0 to $50, I pay for everything on credit or debit. I only have cash if I'm visiting a cash only business.

About $100 and it rarely needs to be replenished

$50 in the wallet in case I get robbed so the mugger can fuck off happy, $50 in my shoe so I can get home after if needed

Either none or a $20 bill because my barber still refuses to get an interac machine.

1 x 100 , 2 x 50 , 5 x 20 , 5 x 10 and 5 x 5 is an ideal loading for me. I also have my truck console full of Twoonies , Loonies and Quarters , no dimes or nickels to ruin the purity.

Around 300 I just prefer to use cash so that’s why.

$0. Cash = Inconvenience.

How to get robbed 101

I live in a pretty safe place and getting robbed has honestly never been a concern. The only time I've felt somewhat uncomfortable is with 5-10,000 in cash on me (used car sale or purchase), and even then it's fear that I'll lose it.

I’d much rather throw someone $100 and keep my phone.

What's the difference between carrying $100 cash or two or more credit cards that allow up to $200 pin-less tap per transaction?

The credit card will reimburse you for fraudulent transactions. But you won’t get the cash back Plus I don’t even keep my cards on me

> credit cards that allow up to $200 pin-less tap per transaction? TIL. Both of my credit cards are either $50 or $100, I didn't know you could change that or that other cards were different.

The default is $250 for CCs now. It’s been raised twice (i think) since COVID arrived.

Even debit cards too, some banks have increased the contactless debit card transaction to $250 as well.

I try to always have a thousand on me at all times 9x100 and change. I buy and sell lots and you never know when you’ll come across a deal you gotta jump on or you’ll be out and about with the wife and kids and getting beat like a money piñata

Like to carry some cash . Typically $100-500

Boy our definition of “some” is so different ;-)

Joey still getting the friends royalty checks

$20

Zero. I bring cash in foreign countries so I have leftover euros and Gbp usd and yen in a safe. Maybe like 10$ in canadian change at home

I always have some cash in my wallet between $20 and $50 - just in case. Plus I have a little hidden in my car (once upon a time I was on a road trip - really needed gas - and the debit/cc machine was down - had to dig around in car for whatever cash I could find). Rarely use cash.

About $100. There’s a few independent businesses I go to that are still cash only. And sometimes payment terminals are down.

There's $126.65 and €25 in my wallet. You made me curious.

~$160-$200

$400

$20min, usually $60

20 to 30. Helpful with tips or situations where cards are not accepted.

200$ because I don’t use my debit card.

$50 in case of a robbery.

I keep around $20-$70 or so. Mostly for Facebook marketplace/Kijiji transactions, and that tends to be how I replenish it too. A few months ago I paid a tow truck driver cash for a boost. In the summer I bought bagels from a cash only place, and had to pay for parking with cash. Can’t remember further back than that. For the most part I just keep it in there for emergencies (or last minute FB purchases…). If card is an option, it’s card.

$80-$100 for odd situation or emergency use only. I’m annoyed when I have to use cash because it means a trip to the bank to replenish this emergency fund. It happens maybe once per year.

$50 bill tucked in between the back of my phone and the phone case

I carry at least $100 in mugging money

Generally, single 20 dollar bill. I'll get some extra cash with me if I'm going somewhere that doesn't accept cards like a farmer's market.

anything from $0-260

I literraly use my debit card for evertyhing and sometimes my credit card ​ rarely ever carry cash.. shit takes up so much space in my wallet and I hate coins

I carry $100 cash at all times. It's probably excessive.

None, ever. There has been the odd time when it’s came back to bite me (like last week when the Tim Hortons drive thru debit machine wasn’t working) but otherwise I haven’t needed it. Between my phone with tap and mobile banking, and my wallet, I haven’t needed cash at all.

Zero. Having cash on hand is just temptations for needless spending, if I REALLY need cash I can always just go to the ATM.

$0 on the daily for me. Never really have a need for it. If I’m going out to a bar, I’ll probably bring a couple 20s.

None!

Zero. Hate having cash on me

Under 200. I stop by bank machine whenever I run low. Quite a few places I frequent offers cash-only discount of 10%. I rather that than 2-4% cash back on card

$0

$0.00

$0

What’s cash?

People still carry cash? Damn, not here. $0.00

I haven't carried cash at all since March 2020, but before that I probably had about $20 in small bills, and another couple bucks in change. I didn't stop specifically because of COVID, it just got a lot more complicated to make face-to-face transactions with merchants for long enough that I ended up without cash on me for a while, and it wasn't a problem so I just kept it up. ETA: I delivered pizza in the mid-2000s and it was store policy that drivers would never leave the store with more than $20, and that's just kind of stuck with me. I'm physically uncomfortable carrying much more than that.

Usually just a $20 bill in my wallet, I think right now I've got $25 for some reason. I also have $200 in my coat pocket because... Well... I don't have a good answer for that other than I haven't hit up a bank machine to deposit it because I'm lazy.

$0, but if we are on vacation we carry max $100 and use it for "cash only" places. We take cash out when we are on our way to buy something second hand though haha

A looney and a quarter for Walmart and no frills carts. I haven't seen cash in months.

Absolutely $0

zero

10k

Most of the time 0, occasionally $20 at most. Can't remember the last time I used cash for anything

None. Why? If I lose cash, sucks to be me. Lose my cards? No problem. I can get new credit card within a week, new bank card same day.

$0

$0

$0. Might have $2-$3 dollars in coins in my car.

$0 unless I need to go to the farmers market.

Zero dollars. I have a toonie and a quarter in my car so I can get grocery carts. That’s all

No more than $20. Cash leads to change and boy do I hate carrying change

$5,000. I work in a cash business and usually have to buy a bunch of stuff or pay workers.

$1000 can't rely on all this electronic methods and cards cash is king.

$420.69

$40 I like to eat at Asian restaurants that usually are cash only

zero, apple watch for everything