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it drives me nuts standing in line behind someone making a 2 buck purchase with a credit card.
many times it has to redial a few times as well as taking at least 2x longer compared to slapping down two bucks. on an active checkout line that eats up alot of employee time.
i wish all stores had min charges. it is not even understandable to me how someone could even leave the house with no cash.
I think the OP has an issue with not being able to spend that extra cash once it is in hand. There is nothing wrong with what the OP is doing by not carrying cash because many people do that because cash can disappear so quickly.
If OP is serious about controlling spending, the buy in bulk is the best bet. $2.20 a day adds up. I would choose something more healthy than a bagel (yeast, flour, sugar, etc.) in the first place and brown bag it but then, that's how we became debt-free and healthy.
I used to work for a credit card company. Technically, stores aren't allowed to do that as it violates their agreements with VISA/MC and their processers or whatever. Confirm with your CC that that's still the case and if you want to go to this extreme, you can always point it out to the business. You could even threaten to report them (I think there are fines if the CC people investigate and verify).
But really, just get $20 out as you need it and pay with that.
Or if you want to go passive aggressive, have them make it, then tell them you only have CC, and then walk out instead of taking $ out. Rinse/repeat until they just let you use it.
Merchants pay per sale on CC purchases. For small purchases in a small business, it is costly.
I support small business so based on that alone I pay cash to the small merchants I use regularly. I know about the violation of minimum dollar requirements but again, I am more about supporting the merchant to I wouldnt dispute it, esp. for a regular shop I visit. (I was tempted once though when $50 was the min. and the gifts I wished to purchase came to $47.80. They wouldnt back down so I left. Credit was all I had to pay for them.)
I also like the cash so I can tip more easily for those coffee purchases. For $2 I doubt I want to wait for a slip, sign it, and add a few pennies for a "tip".
I carry cash anyway, esp. "walking around money" for day to day small expenses.
Dont be douchey or greedy OP for a business that takes care of you daily; use cash.
I used to work for a credit card company. Technically, stores aren't allowed to do that as it violates their agreements with VISA/MC and their processers or whatever. Confirm with your CC that that's still the case and if you want to go to this extreme, you can always point it out to the business. You could even threaten to report them (I think there are fines if the CC people investigate and verify).
But really, just get $20 out as you need it and pay with that.
Or if you want to go passive aggressive, have them make it, then tell them you only have CC, and then walk out instead of taking $ out. Rinse/repeat until they just let you use it.
But seriously, just pay cash.
It's no longer part of the merchant agreement. Amex gave in first, then Visa and Mastercard caved. There were threats of law suites and in fact laws in the CCARD act and Frank Dodd act were headed in that direction anyway.
Pay with cash. We have this issue with a Chinese take-out place here. They do not take credit cards, period! Their food is superior so people don't mind paying the cash. No one is forcing you to use the store in your building but it is very convenient.
You must be made of steel to eat a bagel every day. If I did that, they'd have to carry me out!
... I just feel that if I were able to use my card to buy a bagel and juice for $2.20 instead of taking out $10 due to the $5 minimum I would have even more money saved...
it drives me nuts standing in line behind someone making a 2 buck purchase with a credit card.
many times it has to redial a few times as well as taking at least 2x longer compared to slapping down two bucks. on an active checkout line that eats up alot of employee time.
i wish all stores had min charges. it is not even understandable to me how someone could even leave the house with no cash.
I'm with you here. If i leave the house with less than $60 on me I feel naked almost.
I'm the opposite of the OP. Best way I've found for ME to save money is to use cash. I find that handing over the green paper is more painful than swiping a card. It's not that i don't have good discipline with credit and debit card (I have several rewards cards i take advantage of) but that mentally it's harder for me to part with actual cash in my hand. I tend to want to hoard it. That;s not to say I won't used my debit card, but if there is an item that costs $80 and i only have $40 on me in cash, I won't buy the item. I'll either go get the cash, or just not make the purchase at all.
My G/F is the total opposite of me and rarely has more than $5-10 on her at all times. It's funny because we try to compare each other's "systems" and justify why we choose to do it that way and recently she's had some issues doing some transactions that would be much simplier with cash (coupon with gift card and debit/credit card) that required a manager to intervene. We've also been stuck in line behind others who do some various transaction that takes longer than just handing over a $5 bill and getting $2 back.
Just the other day I found myself in line (the only one open) waiting to pay for my 79 cent washer with a $1 bill behind a guy who had some issues paying with a card.
I'm not saying cash is better, but I never understand the "i don't ever carry cash" mentality.
With the ice storms and blizzards we get in the northeast, we sometimes lose power for a day or two. What do you do if you go somewhere that can only take cash due to the storm (has happened before here). That's also a reason to keep a stash of paper hidden at home...just in case.
to each his own, but in the OP's situation, i'd just carry a $5 bill or so. I know i miss out on some rewards here and there, but not having to worry each time Home Depot or Staples has some sort of data breech is a reason in itself.
$2.20 a day? That's over 500 bucks a year. Imagine the nice Christmas gift you could buy for that, for yourself or someone you love.
Figure out something you can prepare at home, and take to work with you, and as a bonus, you'll have solved the problem described.
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