Saturday, June 11, 2005
Not a cashless society
It's partly my fault... foolishly, I left my MasterCard in London. Well, I lost it in the flat a few days before flying out (lost while buying a ringtone with my flatmate). So I brought my Switch card over, cos the website hints that Maestro is accepted all over the place.
Is it bollocks.
Reality is, Maestro (Switch) is accepted here and there, namely in Wal-Mart and the odd shop here and there. But you can't rely on it. So instead, every 10 days or so I have to withdraw a load of cash (from a cash machine inside Wal-Mart; I don't fancy my chances at a drive-thru bank) and then use notes all week.
And it's really interesting, cos every time you I buy something, I have to hand over the physical cash. You get such a feeling for what you're spending. Back in London I'd put my Switch card into the tube station ticket machine in the morning, and spend an invisible 5 pounds. Buying a round in a pub, another ten pounds or so. Lunch at Boots? There's another 3 pounds, and add another 20 on if I trot to Oxford Circus and buy a T-Shirt or two.
But now, I see it disappear in real-time. And I think I'm spending less. Even taking the exchange rate and the "expenses" into account (which aren't that good really... I get expenses here while paying for ongoing stuff in London - shame it's not the other way round!) it's still less of a payout. I think I subconsciously start each day as being a new accounting period. So if I get to the evening and have spent a lot during the day, I'll cut back a bit. If I'd done it all on Switch though, I might be less aware at that day's outgoings.
The downside of course is that I can't actually order anything online. Or reserve hotel rooms. Or pay on plastic in shops. I found myself buying off Amazon.co.uk cos they take switch, rather than using Amazon.com here, crazy eh.
And what is it with $1 notes!?!? They're worth about 55p and they're paper! So you end up with a pocket-full of these basically pointless notes! Coins, everytime.
Is it bollocks.
Reality is, Maestro (Switch) is accepted here and there, namely in Wal-Mart and the odd shop here and there. But you can't rely on it. So instead, every 10 days or so I have to withdraw a load of cash (from a cash machine inside Wal-Mart; I don't fancy my chances at a drive-thru bank) and then use notes all week.
And it's really interesting, cos every time you I buy something, I have to hand over the physical cash. You get such a feeling for what you're spending. Back in London I'd put my Switch card into the tube station ticket machine in the morning, and spend an invisible 5 pounds. Buying a round in a pub, another ten pounds or so. Lunch at Boots? There's another 3 pounds, and add another 20 on if I trot to Oxford Circus and buy a T-Shirt or two.
But now, I see it disappear in real-time. And I think I'm spending less. Even taking the exchange rate and the "expenses" into account (which aren't that good really... I get expenses here while paying for ongoing stuff in London - shame it's not the other way round!) it's still less of a payout. I think I subconsciously start each day as being a new accounting period. So if I get to the evening and have spent a lot during the day, I'll cut back a bit. If I'd done it all on Switch though, I might be less aware at that day's outgoings.
The downside of course is that I can't actually order anything online. Or reserve hotel rooms. Or pay on plastic in shops. I found myself buying off Amazon.co.uk cos they take switch, rather than using Amazon.com here, crazy eh.
And what is it with $1 notes!?!? They're worth about 55p and they're paper! So you end up with a pocket-full of these basically pointless notes! Coins, everytime.
