[$tinkle]

has anyone ever pressed the issue of a commercial establishment to refuse denominations over $20? is this some sort of right they reserve? i've taken advantage of this when airlines started charging for pop by [correctly] assuming they didn't carry around $98 in change.

anybody ever get stuck b/c they were only rockin teh benjamins?

 

[LOOnatic]

anybody ever get stuck b/c they were only rockin teh benjamins?

Yeah at the stripclub but hey, i'm a big tipper...

 

[jimmydean]

They lack faith in god, I guess.

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Cash is becoming obsolete and that's what the credit card companies want. Their goal is to insure that both the consumer and the merchant end up working for them. When you use your debit or credit card, the merchant is charged a processing fee. In some cases, the fee can be as high as 4 or 5%.

Credit card companies don't like it when you use cash because it cuts them out of the loop. It's a fvcked up system where they get to charge the merchant a fee for helping them make money. Unfortunately, if you don't accept credit cards, then you might as well not open your doors.

Good rule of thumb : if you can't pay cash for it and it is not a house or a car, then don't buy it.

 

[$tinkle]

i'm part of the problem: the only cash i spend is washing off my bike @ the carwash or throwing nickels @ the homeless on the offramp

 

[dante]

Cash is becoming obsolete and that's what the credit card companies want. Their goal is to insure that both the consumer and the merchant end up working for them. When you use your debit or credit card, the merchant is charged a processing fee. In some cases, the fee can be as high as 4 or 5%.

Credit card companies don't like it when you use cash because it cuts them out of the loop. It's a fvcked up system where they get to charge the merchant a fee for helping them make money. Unfortunately, if you don't accept credit cards, then you might as well not open your doors.

Good rule of thumb : if you can't pay cash for it and it is not a house or a car, then don't buy it.

Debit cars carry a much lower fee, more like 0.25% or something similar (a flat $0.07 to 0.10?) to the merchant. However, some of the Credit Unions around here are starting to limit the amount of debit transactions you can make each month, and CHARGE YOU if you go over it. It's not that you can't use the card, it's that you have to specify "credit" when you make the purchase (so that it screws over the merchant) as opposed to the lower-cost "debit" transaction.

Screw that, places around here are offering sizable (5-10%) discounts for paying with cash, so I usually try to do that when I go shopping at the local places. Chain stores can kiss my ass.

 

[$tinkle]

Chain stores can kiss my ass.

as romantic a notion as this is, i would increase spending by 20%+ if i abided by this (after including time & fuel).

and do you hold the same philosophy for franchises of chains? or mom&pops who sell nat'l brands (i.e., your lbs)? there just doesn't seem to be a bright line to keep on one side. outside of farmer's markets & supporting single moms, the idea of 'buying local' seems to be a myth.

sam walton's great-grandkids need to summer in lichtenstein, too. i guess i don't automatically pooh-pooh chains when i remember that they too used to be a mom&pop joint.

except for jenson; they can suck it.

 

[dante]

as romantic a notion as this is, i would increase spending by 20%+ if i abided by this (after including time & fuel).

and do you hold the same philosophy for franchises of chains? or mom&pops who sell nat'l brands (i.e., your lbs)? there just doesn't seem to be a bright line to keep on one side. outside of farmer's markets & supporting single moms, the idea of 'buying local' seems to be a myth.

sam walton's great-grandkids need to summer in lichtenstein, too. i guess i don't automatically pooh-pooh chains when i remember that they too used to be a mom&pop joint.

except for jenson; they can suck it.

I said *when* I shop at local stores... ;-) Most of my grocery shopping is done either at a discount grocery store (which actually *is* both locally and employee owned) or at the local meat deli. Both of which are actually cheaper than the chain grocery stores.

No, I was referring to ordering pizza or chinese food, local restaurants, bars, etc. They are usually the only places that give discounts for cash.

 

[blue]

Thread topic=fail.

I thought that United States currency was legal tender for all debts. Some businesses or governmental agencies say that they will only accept checks, money orders or credit cards as payment, and others will only accept currency notes in denominations of $20 or smaller. Isn't this illegal?

The pertinent portion of law that applies to your question is the Coinage Act of 1965, specifically Section 31 U.S.C. 5103, entitled "Legal tender," which states: "United States coins and currency (including Federal reserve notes and circulating notes of Federal reserve banks and national banks) are legal tender for all debts, public charges, taxes, and dues."

This statute means that all United States money as identified above are a valid and legal offer of payment for debts when tendered to a creditor. There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in pennies or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency (usually notes above $20) as a matter of policy.

http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/legal-tender.shtml

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

Debit cars carry a much lower fee, more like 0.25% or something similar (a flat $0.07 to 0.10?) to the merchant.

That only applies to merchants that process high volume transactions. Smaller accounts get the same rates as a credit card. Believe me, I'm currently trying to work this out with my blood sucking payment company. They are Hell bent on screwing me and making it sound like they are doing me a favor. Rat Bastards.

 

[BurlyShirley]

That only applies to merchants that process high volume transactions. Smaller accounts get the same rates as a credit card. Believe me, I'm currently trying to work this out with my blood sucking payment company. They are Hell bent on screwing me and making it sound like they are doing me a favor. Rat Bastards.

How is business by the way?

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

as romantic a notion as this is, i would increase spending by 20%+ if i abided by this (after including time & fuel).

and do you hold the same philosophy for franchises of chains? or mom&pops who sell nat'l brands (i.e., your lbs)? there just doesn't seem to be a bright line to keep on one side. outside of farmer's markets & supporting single moms, the idea of 'buying local' seems to be a myth.

sam walton's great-grandkids need to summer in lichtenstein, too. i guess i don't automatically pooh-pooh chains when i remember that they too used to be a mom&pop joint.

except for jenson; they can suck it.

Not a myth. Buying local keeps your money circulating within the community for a longer period than shopping at big box stores. However the number of smaller businesses is declining, leaving the consumer with less choices where they can shop.


Why Jenson ?

 

[AngryMetalsmith]

How is business by the way?

Good enough to where that percentage is getting my attention.

 

[$tinkle]

Not a myth. Buying local keeps your money circulating within the community for a longer period than shopping at big box stores.

i can see this w/ services, but not so much made-in-china products (in practice i mean). theoretically, we can crush the big boxes by taking our business elsewhere, but playing it out for even a week & you'll see most 'mericans don't have the wherewithal to see it through. i include myself in that shameful group.

Why Jenson ?

cust svc, fcked up orders, delays, excuses, gen'l incompetence. it's a tragedy that an (assumed good) organization got too big to succeed.

they're pretty much what you'd come to expect from a telecom/sat provider, so it's disappointing when the stories of failure are legion. i think there's even a thread or two every few months that rags on 'em.

i'll shop ebay stores & performance for parts, lbs for service, and cl for stolen schyte.

 

[manimal]

Screw that, places around here are offering sizable (5-10%) discounts for paying with cash, so I usually try to do that when I go shopping at the local places. Chain stores can kiss my ass.

same here...we are cash only minus major purchases. people think we're crazy 'cause we have little envelopes everywhere labeled "gas money", "kids haircuts", "date night", ...etc.
paying for gas w/ cash is a bit inconvenient but at least we know when we've used up our gas budget for the month

 

[Secret Squirrel]

same here...we are cash only minus major purchases. people think we're crazy 'cause we have little envelopes everywhere labeled "gas money", "kids haircuts", "date night", ...etc.
paying for gas w/ cash is a bit inconvenient but at least we know when we've used up our gas budget for the month

I guess Eliot Spitzer had a 2'x2'x2' fedex box for his "Date Nights"...all in ones, baby...all in ones...

 

[dante]

same here...we are cash only minus major purchases. people think we're crazy 'cause we have little envelopes everywhere labeled "gas money", "kids haircuts", "date night", ...etc.
paying for gas w/ cash is a bit inconvenient but at least we know when we've used up our gas budget for the month

We're not quite that... responsible, but if we can get a discount I'm all for it. We have a local "community dollars" where you get a 20% discount if you use community dollars instead of real dollars. Works great, especially for those places/items that are cheaper than the big chain grocery stores anyway.

Plus I know my ground beef all comes from one place, as opposed to "product of USA, Canada and Mexico" (all on a 1lb package).

 

[Serial Midget]

From my perspective - credit transactions are no more costly to process than cash. In many businesses reconciling cash transactions costs more in labor than credit or debit fees for similar transactions. I personally never carry cash - debit or Costco AMX.

 

[Transcend]

I use credit for just about everything. I pay it off under 21 days, and love the massive amounts of bonus points I get for everything. Last year I racked up a ridiculous amount of air miles from flying (about 120k) and then another 75k or so from credit card purchases (including said airline tickets, hotels, food and other travel expenses). It's win win for me.

I have 1 mastercard, 1 amex and one visa and use them according to who can get me more free stuff and location.