How practical is it? Gorges Smythe in a comment on yesterday’s blog mentioned he knew someone who only dealt in cash and didn’t use banks. It’s a hassle, but it can be done.
In fact, I’ve known a few people who lived that way. They were tradesmen like carpenters and plumbers. They got away with it by working off the books. Back in the 90s there were a lot of illegal Irish working the trades in the Boston area. When the economy back in Ireland improved a lot of them went back home. Right now I’ve got no idea what the current situation is.
Those guys had a lot of problems. It’s tough to do even simple things like rent an apartment or own a car. There are work arounds, but a lot of them are illegal. Of course, the reason those individuals were working off the books in the first place is that they were here illegally.
Fifteen or twenty years ago I’d run into self employed people living in campgrounds. A lot of them were doing arts and crafts that they’d sell. One guy even had a complete woodworking shop in a trailer he towed behind his RV.
In recent years I’ve met very few people living that way. It’s harder to live strictly in a cash economy. Even people who sell arts and crafts these days take credit and debit cards. Simple plug and play devices connect right to cell phones and most vendors have them.
These days it’s more likely that people generate income using the Internet. Even rather small payments from things like YouTube and blogs make a big difference when you are living out of your van. Many people are like me and have a pension deposited in an account. I’ve also met people who were traveling using income from rental property. One guy’s income came from undeveloped property he rented out to hunters
While I often take out a good bit of cash to handle day to day expenses, I need to be part of the electronic banking system. I suppose I could get by strictly using cash, but I’d have to take a big pile of it with me before hitting the road for months on end. That has risks of its own.
For example, a lot of people on sailboats hide bundles of cash in hidden areas of their boat. That’s great for emergencies. Personally, I never got around to doing that, keeping cash in my wallet. Well guess what? I lost my wallet when my sailboat broke up on a reef and sank. I lost my cash, debit, and credit cards. Fortunately, my lovely wife and I carry one credit card that the other does not carry. That way when they have to be canceled we still have one to live on The year of the shipwreck we got home on my lovely wife’s card.
Normally I keep a card for emergencies, like the time the van needed extensive brake work before we could drive it home.
While it’s possible to live without a bank account, credit and debit cards, it’s tough. It’s one thing if you stay close to home. If you want or have to travel, it’s three times harder to do.
Americans have slowly been getting away from a cash economy. However, there are plenty of places in the world where most things are handled using cash. That often comes as a shock to travelers.
Of course, we are all just one grid collapse from a cash and barter economy.
-Sixbears
They have us right where they want us, my friend!
ReplyDeleteWe didn't invent this system, but we have to find a way to live in it.
DeleteHave maintained a checking account my entire life. Yet rarely keep much in it. Only leave enough in the account to pay mortgage, credit cards and monthly utilities. The balance is kept in cash and stashed.
ReplyDeleteWorking trades my entire life, much was off the books too. Of course this really hurt my SS payment too...and now must keep the bank account to receive that SS monthly.
We did the cash stashing while traveling on the boat. LOL , when we sold the boat found five hundred bucks that I had forgotten.
Also always carried credit cards too. Useful for ordering parts from the U.S. when in the islands offshore. Which happened occasionally.
Now days the card only gets used for Amazon.
I guess most of us need a bare minimum of banking and credit. However, a more can be done "off the books" than people realize.
DeleteI plan on hiding more cash on boats. Even in a shipwreck it's rare that the hull isn't recovered. Just need to figure out a better place. That, and I'm keeping my wallet in the ditch bag, like I did my wife's purse.
I'm 56 and have mainly dealt in cash only for the great majority of my life. I've never had a credit card, or electronic Pay Pal type of account either. I used to pay in checks, but learned quickly that when you pay in actual currency, you feel the pain much more and so slow down foolish spending.
ReplyDeleteI have quite a bit in the bank, but only very occasionally access it. My paycheck is cashed and I use those funds to pay our bills. So far, its worked out, I don't feel any need to change.
Whatever works for you!
DeletePaying with cash does not work for me. When I pay with a card or check, there is a record of it, which means in the back of my mind that I might have to account for my purchase at some point. If I pay with cash, I don't need to explain the purchase to anyone, so I feel much more free to do so.
ReplyDeleteMakes sense to me. I do feel a bit more free to spend cash on small impulse purchases that I would never pull out a card for.
DeleteI use my American Express card for everything.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the day, it's whatever works for you.
DeleteBanking and brokerage accounts everyday worry me the most. I am retired and the money I have saved for retirement could be seized leaving me in a financial mess (like homeless).
ReplyDeleteI'd like to tell you that coudn't happen . . . but it totally could. It's happened at other times and in other places.
DeleteLook into the central bankers next big idea- negative interest rates. You pay them to park your money in their bank.
DeleteWon't that be fun. That's when I'll take all my money to the International Bank of Mattress.
Delete