How much cash do you carry on you?

[HeroHog]

One medicine bottle full of quarters (at least a roll) and another bottle, the same size, full of lose change (pennies, nickles, dimes). If I'm lucky, $20 or less in bills.
When I can, I squirrel away $20s in various "pockets" in my wallet, up to $100 in "hidden" $20s.

[Calumus]

I keep two C notes stashed in each car for emergencies, and 6 months worth of living expenses worth in the house. Don't know why I settled on the second; but I've been doing it for about 20 years now. I usually try to keep $80-$100 in my pocket.

[Phyphor]

...About $50 worth of ammo....

Seriously, it just depends on what I'm doing. Usually, $20 or so, more if I need it, but I don't carry a lot of cash.

[sumpnz]

I usually have none, maybe up to $5, on me.  Sometimes I'll have $20-40, mostly so I can save the 6-10 cents per gallon on gas when I fill up using cash instead of the debit card.

Though, when I went to Assam I carried 20 grand on me.  Granted that was rupees, not dollars (equivalent to $280 by exchange rate but possibly 1-3 months of wages to a local).  But if the SHTF in a 3rd world locale, some local currency in a quantity sufficient for emergency transportation and maybe a bribe can be life saving.

[Perd Hapley]

I'm paid weekly, with a paper check, of which I take $20 in cash. I find it's easier to pay most things with plastic. Easier on the cashier, too. Yesterday, I paid for a $3.69 item with a $20 bill, and three quarters. The poor girl used her phone to figure out the change. She said, "You'll make fun of me, but I have to use my phone to do the math," or something like that.

I keep $100 in the car, in case I absolutely need cash. It's a stack of tens, in case someone can't (or claims they can't) break a twenty.

[Ben]

I find it's easier to pay most things with plastic. Easier on the cashier, too.

I agree with this, though I don't know that I like agreeing with it. I'm even thinking of trying out Garmin Pay on my watch. It's all just so convenient. At the same time, and maybe it's age related - I hate - loathe actually, the thought of a cashless society where every purchase is recorded and linked to me.

Also, since others are mentioning home as well as "on me", yeah, I too keep cash in the safe for emergencies or whatever. It sits sandwiched between my passport and a .45 for a quick one-handed grab on my way out the door for going on the lam. 

[Fly320s]

I find using cash to pay is quicker than using a card or other device.

[Ben]

I find using cash to pay is quicker than using a card or other device.

I'm starting to find the opposite and sometimes, when paying cash, feel like I'm the old lady with a checkbook that I always complain about.

At the aforementioned Costco for example, I can stick my card in the reader while they're ringing my stuff up. My wallet is already back in my pocket before they ever hand me the receipt. When I pay cash, it's however long it takes them to give me my change, and all too often if I give them two Franklins for say a $140 purchase, they end up having to call a manager for change. And that's at Costco, where they're pushing a lot of people through every hour.

As mentioned in my post above, if going out to breakfast or something, I find it's the opposite, because I just leave cash on the table when the bill arrives and I'm gone. A busy server might take 10 minutes to come back just to get my credit card, let alone bring it back.

Side note from reading the article in the OP: I was very surprised that there are apparently tons of restaurants in NYC that are cash only. In a big city like that,  I would have assumed they'd be going to "NO cash" type establishments.

There's a place I go for breakfast whenever I'm fishing in Mammoth, and they're I think the only place there that is cash only. They even put an ATM machine in their lobby for convenience. Yet if you read the Yelp reviews, the biggest complaint about the place is "cash only". I've talked to the owner before and she's conservative/libertarian and has the rule mostly for political reasons, as in, "This is America and cash is still valid". On Yelp everyone thinks she does it to cheat on her taxes.

[zahc]

I use Google Pay wherever possible. It's by far the fastest, because it reads faster than the card, there's nothing to sign and no pin to enter, and it's also more secure than using the physical card.

[BlueStarLizzard]

Processing fees.

We have a 5% fee on all card transactions and we tell our customers that if they bring check or cash, they don't have to pay the extra 5%. Bigger companies can eat the cost, but on small charges the fee can end up being more than the charge. Even at our place, where the cheapest services are $20 (and most customers are paying between $50 and $200) the credit card fees really cut into the bottom line.

Small businesses will happily take cash and I'm actually surprised more don't do "cash only". Bounced checks are also a debacle to deal with. Luckily that doesn't happen to us very often.

[Ben]

Processing fees.

Yeah, I would guess besides "political reasons" that would be another reason for the place in Mammoth I mentioned.

Though interestingly, I often ask people at individually owned businesses if they would prefer cash/check over a card. I'm not even asking for a discount, just thinking maybe they'd like cash. This has generally just been on three figure or higher purchases, but >90% of the time they just say, "We'll take the card, no problem."

Of course I'm a shady looking character, so maybe they figure the card is the more secure payment form. 

[BlueStarLizzard]

Yeah, I would guess besides "political reasons" that would be another reason for the place in Mammoth I mentioned.

Though interestingly, I often ask people at individually owned businesses if they would prefer cash/check over a card. I'm not even asking for a discount, just thinking maybe they'd like cash. This has generally just been on three figure or higher purchases, but >90% of the time they just say, "We'll take the card, no problem."

Of course I'm a shady looking character, so maybe they figure the card is the more secure payment form. 

*shrug* Or they're just trying to offer good customer service and think you'd rather use the card. Even I've gotten to the point where I'm assuming a customer will use a card on the larger bills since that's what people pull out most of the time. You see the checks coming, since the check book is obvious, but the cash customers sneak up on you. 

Also, the business owner would probably say "cash", but the people behind the register may not know or understand the situation. I highly doubt my other two coworkers would really "get" any of this... Or at least the one who would get it would forget it if he was supposed to be checking someone out.  Which is why they aren't to deal with customers in the general running of things.

[Scout26]

I keep a few hundred in the car.  I guess I should build a stash in the gun safe also...

[Ben]

*shrug* Or they're just trying to offer good customer service and think you'd rather use the card.

Possibly. More than once I've gotten the, "This'll get you some Cabela's points!" comment. 

[K Frame]

Went and looked at the gun safe stash over the weekend. It's a bit on the short side. Time to build it back up.

I generally built it by making regular withdrawals from the ATM...

Sort of a $20 for me, $40 for the gun safe kind of thing.

[MechAg94]

I always thought that was a good idea, but never quite got there.  These days I have a healthy emergency fund in a couple credit union accounts.  I need to relocate a small piece of that to my safe. 

[K Frame]

"These days I have a healthy emergency fund in a couple credit union accounts."

Same here. But that's a different kind of emergency fund.

There are potentially times when only ready cash will do.

I came to that conclusion on September 11/12, 2001, when pretty much every ATM in Northern Virginia was drained of cash.

[WLJ]

IF someone I don't know asked me how much cash do I carry on me my answer would be "about 10mm's worth"