Cashless Society

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=ocrenter][quote=spdrun]

You want to stay the greatest, don’t you? You want to stay the richest?

No. Greatness is subjective.

Wealth? I want to be comfortable and relatively free.

I’m not competitive in the sense that my country has to be at the top of the pile.

I’d take less wealth for more freedom and less control.[/quote]

China will not be great if it doesn’t make the next leap forward in the 4 stages of development (economic, technological, social, political).

Xi seems to set to keep China’s development within the confines of the economic and technological only and block the social and political growth needed for china to mature and truly be Great.[/quote]

I agree OCrenter, but that’s how we think. If that’s the case, we can just sit back, relax and watch them fail. Nothing to worry about.

The Chinese may prove us wrong. For example about the Great Firewall, everyone included Bill Gates said it would crumble in no time. But look at it from the Chinese viewpoint. Why should they let American Internet companies operate extraterritorially and reach into China, build customers and brands without licensing or abiding by Chinese rules? Now in hindsight, the Great Firewall allowed them to develop their own high tech. They could have failed and ended up with backward technology, but they didn’t. Some of their companies are now the most valuable on earth.

In many ways, money and tech are freedom. Money and tech enable you to do things.
India and the Phillipines have democracy but that lack economics.

BTW, the Chinese political system is very much the same as our electoral college. We have democracy at the lower levels with direct elections, but the political elites respresented in the college elect the President. The electoral college does not need to abide by party or popular will. Our electoral college could act like the CPC if it wished to.

[cvmom]

[quote=FlyerInHi]I carry cash because when you go out with friends, it’s best to have cash so you can a split the bill. Always be prepared with cash otherwise you will have few friends.
[/quote]

I haven’t done this in several years since the advent of Venmo/Square Cash/Paypal. Has made the bill-splitting, paying for piano lessons, etc. much simpler. Also I love having a record to go back to if needed (especially when dealing with kids!) and it is so easy/quick to do. Really have almost no need of cash ever.

[scaredyclassic]

i just bought a watch for 1,400.00. on a credit card. hard to visualize sending a check over to the uk for this fine glashuette germany piece of workmanship. hopefully, i will be wearing it until my demise, whenever that may be..

is that a stupid use of $? perhaps for you.

for me, i am happy to possess this small object, grateful for swift int’l trade, and amazed to have saved almost 1k off retail. in the tourneau in san diego, its 2360 plus tax, so over 2500. they might knock 1 or 200 off, but i doubt it. maybe 4 cash.

[spdrun]

I haven’t done this in several years since the advent of Venmo/Square Cash/Paypal. Has made the bill-splitting, paying for piano lessons, etc. much simpler. Also I love having a record to go back to if needed (especially when dealing with kids!) and it is so easy/quick to do. Really have almost no need of cash ever.

Unless it’s tax-deductible, why would you want a record? If you pay cash to a restaurant that you know, they’re more likely to give you a discount and/or perks. Cash makes small businesses happy. No transaction fees, tips get paid directly, maybe lower other expenses, who knows?

I’d probably pay the piano teacher in checks since I’d need to 1099 anyway.

[FlyerInHi]

You only need to issue 1099s if you own a business.
Even real estate investing is not business if it’s a hobby.

[ucodegen]

[quote=scaredyclassic]i cant think of literally anything i dont buy with a credit card.

even my 2.00 double espresso.

it would COST me a lot of money to transact in cash. i spend maybe 35k a year on the 2% back card, so id be losing 700.00 by carrying cash.

still, i carry $100 for old times sake.

the only thing people will need cash for is legal weed, yard sales, and panhandlers.[/quote]
The way it actually happens with credit cards is an interesting study. Credit card charge transaction fees from 1% to 3% to all vendors accepting credit cards. Some credit cards also have yearly/monthly ‘management’ or ‘membership’ fees. Credit card companies have also fought any attempt for vendors to have different prices for credit buys vs cash (ie discount for cash transactions).

Therefore the 2% cash back might not be that great a deal with all things figured.. though it is a question as to who gets the shaft. Either way, the credit card companies come out on top.

[ucodegen]

[quote=FlyerInHi]You only need to issue 1099s if you own a business.
Even real estate investing is not business if it’s a hobby.[/quote]
You also may need to issue 1099s if you are part of an LLC, or if you are part of an investment club.

[sdsurfer]

[quote=FlyerInHi]I carry cash because when you go out with friends, it’s best to have cash so you can a split the bill. Always be prepared with cash otherwise you will have few friends.

Plus I like small independently owned restaurant, not chains. I don’t pay with a credit card at small businesses because it costs them money. And I think the waiters like cash. I don’t think my favorite Thai restaurant wants CC.

There are also some things to buy on Craigslist for home remodel/furnishing. I just bought a 5×4 vinyl window for $50. I rent out my places fully furnished.[/quote]

I’m glad you see it this way and I do too. I figure every little bit counts for a small business and they sometimes get strongarmed into the merchant aspect because the card companies work so hard to promote their rewards and use of cards while cash does not have a marketing campaign. I figure if I can save them a few bucks by paying in cash then it’s an additional way to support small businesses.

[poorgradstudent]

There are a lot of places who slap a 50 cent fee on card transactions so I carry cash just to avoid that. Also, it’s still the easiest way to split a check for a group outing. Throw enough cash on the table and let everyone else worry about their cards.

I also like using cash instead of running a tab, especially at places that hold your card.

[FlyerInHi]

I didn’t verify this but my chinese friend said Alipay and WeChat Pay don’t charge payors or merchants which explains the very fast adoption rate even by street vendors.

Very interesting.

[FlyerInHi]

Interesting WSJ video.

[FlyerInHi]

So Apple will now accept AliPay in China
https://www.ft.com/content/b738c326-0bc7-11e8-8eb7-42f857ea9f09

I upgraded to the latest iOS because I tried to backup my iPhone and there was an error message. I’m now annoyed that it keeps on wanting me to set up Apple Pay.
Time to ditch Apple for something else. I see the desperation to get customers on a mobile payment platform.

[FlyerInHi]

I tried the Mcdonald’s App. Very good. It allows you to skip the line.
Also, as soon as say pickup in store or drive through, your order number is immediately posted in the order screen. Very good in busy tourist areas.

I wish Home Depot had the same. HD’s online order is fine. But in store pickup is so slow and inefficient.

We could save so much time with cashless and we all know that time is money. I hate slow people who can’t use waiting time to make up their minds and get payment ready. Some people take a couple minute just to pull out credit cards.

[spdrun]

Meh, those people will find a way to slow down the line even with an app. Maybe make idle chit-chat with the counter person when they pick up their food… don’t be such a misanthrope, enjoy fortuitous human interaction.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=spdrun]Meh, those people will find a way to slow down the line even with an app. Maybe make idle chit-chat with the counter person when they pick up their food… don’t be such a misanthrope, enjoy fortuitous human interaction.[/quote]

haha, I know that my dad likes to shop at Trader Joe’s because the clerks chit-chat. He goes to Costco too… but I noticed that he buys cheese at Trader Joes for several times more money. It’s cheaper to buy at Costco because, well, cheese can be kept a long time.

Trader Joe’s encourage their clerks to talk and make idle chit-chat with customers. It’s “fake” but people love it.

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