Don't look for a job at the U.S. Mint

A bit of a mindless op-ed post for a Saturday...

I've noticed in recent months that I'm carrying less and less cash in my wallet. Yeah, we bought some Visa stock a while back, but that definitely was not the primary reason for me making a migration to plastic (primarily debit cards).

In particular, I think a lot of people have a fear of using debit cards for everyday/small purchase items (i.e. gum, coffee, etc.) for fear of being labeled as that person who is using credit to by gum, coffee, etc. When, in reality, most people are using debit cards for that type of transaction. In addition, I think some feel like they're "holding people up" when paying electronically for small ticket items, versus whipping cash out of their wallet. I am not one of these people. I'll pay for a $.25 sucker with a debit card, if the establishment accepts it.

I think a number of things came together (in subtle ways) which contributed to this shift:

1) To me, the risk associated with carrying cash is way too high. If you get mugged, lose your wallet, or misplace it, you're out 'x' amount of dollars. Gone.

2) If you get mugged, lose your wallet, etc. and you have fraudulent charges on either your debit or credit card, all you have to simply do is cancel the card and report the erroneous charges to your bank. Nearly every time, they will credit your account for these charges. I've had to do this a few times...with 100% success rate. A much higher recovery rate than losing a wad of cash.

3) Nearly 90% of establishments accept any number of payment processing networks (Visa, MC, Amex, etc.) so coverage is very high.

4) Going to the ATM or using a "cash back" terminal to retrieve $20, $50, or $100 at a time is just a pain in the butt. Too much wasted time.

5) If you're going to create a decent budget for yourself/family, you need a way to track expenses right? Well, if you're constantly using an ATM and paying with cash, how do you track where you're spending money? Very manual and highly inefficient. If you constantly use your credit/debit cards, you will have all merchants/categories/expenses in any easy to consume format for software like Quicken, Quickbooks, or even Mint.com to track these items. Try it for yourself. Open a Mint.com account, suck in your checking account, and watch how quick it is to see how much money you're spending at Starbucks!

6) Avoiding ATM fees. Ever add up how much money you lose each year due to ATM fees? It's not pretty for most people. If you're in a pinch and can't find your own banks' branch, you're going to loose $2-4. Why not just avoid these situations and save yourself a couple hundred dollars per year?

Ok, so I know there will always be those emergency situations in which cash is needed...so have that $20 tucked away next to your library card in your wallet/purse.

I think it's quite clear to see that in 50 years, cash will largely become a thing of the past. For me, it already is!