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Post by thomasallencummins on Aug 19, 2008 11:17:50 GMT -5
We've all done it. We're driving along and come to an intersection where someone is standing in the median with a sign asking for donations to their personal cause. Mostly they are asking for spare change just to survive. Others are collecting for the Fire Fighters axillary. One thing I've noticed about this phenomenon is that these days I rarely have cash or change to give away. I buy quite allot of what I need via a credit card or debit card. The moment I could buy a hamburger with plastic spelled doom for my cash carrying ways.
But what about the poor who subsist off of spontaneous Charity? Do they begin carrying credit card readers?
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ram
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randomly avoiding mainframes
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Post by ram on Aug 19, 2008 14:19:31 GMT -5
Count me too as a big debit card user. I really only save change for the laundry machine and for the odd small purchase.
I sometimes feel guilty when I pass by a pan handler and realize I have no money to give him. I do remember once giving away a $5 bill because that was what I had in my pocket. If ever the day comes when physical cash becomes obsolete (and that's a big IF), then I have no idea how pan handlers would react. I just don't see them going away, because I'm sure there have been beggars since the dawn of civilization. Maybe in a cashless society, there will be fewer of the kind of pan handlers who are just looking for some easy money? But that would still leave the ones who are genuinely on the edge of survival; how desperate would they become?
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Avatar
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The Crank from the Tank
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Post by Avatar on Aug 21, 2008 11:27:19 GMT -5
I prefer cash myself, although I use my debit card if I don't have enough on me.
--A
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ram
Magpie
randomly avoiding mainframes
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Post by ram on Aug 25, 2008 13:00:41 GMT -5
I guess using just the cash you have on hand helps to control spending. Also if you happened to drop some money, it's better than losing your debit card. (That's happened to me.)
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Avatar
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The Crank from the Tank
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Post by Avatar on Aug 28, 2008 15:56:53 GMT -5
Oh, I carry my debit card...I just use it to draw cash and then pay with that.  --A |
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Post by thomasallencummins on Nov 25, 2008 13:53:51 GMT -5
It happened to me again the other day but I just happened to have a few bucks on me. And now of course as the holiday season is upon us there are Salvation Army bell ringers everywhere. I guess I need to hit the ATM before I go shopping for the next month or so.
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