So the taco place was open..but their credit/ debit card machine was down. Emergency $20 bill to the rescue. The tacos tasted even better...Knowing my EDC saved the day

Yes! Always carry cash, and have an emergency stash at home. Amounts will vary with circumstances and needs, but never be without.

Cash is by far the most flexible and often-used item from my EDC.

One of the EMP based disaster movies reference here showed a dad trying to get money out of an ATM to be able to buy supplies for his family.
No dice.
I've started carrying enough cash to get a room and meals for at least a day at all times.
Having had my identity stolen, perhaps with the aid of credit card copied at a business, I've also started paying with cash for as much as possible unless I swipe the credit card myself.

I usually carry $60. I should probably carry more. Except, that same $60 has been sitting in my wallet for years. Guess I don't run into too many emergencies.

I use cash much more than plastic -- gas, food, sundry items. When I have less than $100 in my wallet it's time to stop by an ATM.

I've added a spare set of keys to my EDC along with twenty bucks

I always have an excess of cash. But that's not because I use it often. Instead, it's because I always use my credit card (paid in full every month, so no interest - it just accrues bonus points). However, all my friends want to use cash at lunches, so they pay that to me while I put everything on my credit card. So I end up having to clear the excess cash out of my wallet on occasion, just so I can fold the silly thing. I haven't had to withdraw cash from a bank or ATM for ... decades. I have no clue with my PIN is, of if my ATM card is still any good.

I go back and forth on if carrying change is necessary...

“I do not regard myself as a dead shot, but I am a pretty dangerous man with a wet towel. But all in all I think my favorite weapon is a twenty-dollar bill." Raymond Chandler

Just had a discussion on 'cash' today. I am on the Board of our HOA and my association manager just called me with the good news that an owner who was way behind on HOA dues has just come to his office and settled up - he dropped off about six grand in cash. This caused our manager to call me and he's checking with the police here to see if there is anything that this may relate to. We are glad to have the account cleared up but that much in a pile of C-notes was unusual to say the least. He wasn't even concerned about a receipt but our manager insisted and got him to sign off too.

I've got a small stash at home for whatever and usually carry at least 200 every day tucked away and 40 - 60 in my 'spending' money clip. The tucked away money has been very useful several times and it's a life long habit (as I got older the amount went up). I too tend to use cash for the day to day purchases and the card or a check only comes out when necessary and/or I need to track it. I may be really old-school but I've always kept a few rolls of quarters on hand too. Two in the house, one in the car and one at work right now. Quarters can go in vending almost anywhere and that has been really good for me more than once.

Paul -

I carry $100 minimum daily, usually $200.

The BBC reporter John Simpson's magic cure for third world bureaucracy delays and obstacles:
"we are rich and willing to pay".

qjs

As I recall, there is a country (Norway maybe?) that is almost in a panic because the citizens have almost stopped using cash - and apparently this causes great concern about a country that produces no currency - are at least currency that is not used.

I just came back from Germany (work) and the vast majority of my spending is via my business credit card (always using the security PIN), but there are many restaurants that are cash only, and at least at one time I went to a large electronics store in Frankfurt and they only took a German debit card or cash - they would not accept a credit card ... so I didn't buy from them (not a political statement - just didn't want to use up my cash).

I'll also mention that the percentage expectations for tips are MUCH less in Germany - closer to 10% or less than the typical 20% in the US. Again, no political comments here - just facts.

Great people. Very sad what happened to their cities many years ago (I kept thinking about the Billy Joel song "We Didn't Start the Fire"). They hide it well - it looks older than it really is. (sorry for the drifting from topic)

Call me old fashioned but my tipping starts at 10%. It goes up or down depending on the service. I have been known to leave a stack of pennies on the bill if it was particularly bad. That way they know I didn't just forget the tip.

I carry a small nylon zipper pouch with ID and ~$100 cash when I go for a walk. That, a small lightweight locking folder (Benchmade Bugout or Spyderco Delica) and a flip-phone (in airplane mode) is my out-for-a-walk kit. I may add a whistle and a small FAK, pocket carry only.

I carry close to $100 in various places when out and about - also credit cards, multitool (or two to three).Also change

OT: I might add a bandaid or three to that pouch, but no change, weighs too much. My pace on the walks around here is close to 4 mph based on time and overall distance traveled. My HR at the top of one incline was measured at 156 BPM (in excess of my theoretical max HR, so much for theory), so weight carried is kept down.

I'm amazed how having the ATM down stops most commerce - or ho having the debit card machines does too...

I cannot recall the last time I used cash to buy anything. I carry $100-$800 cash in my manbag for my wife and emergency birthday gifts. I should probably store a credit card and cash in the car somewhere. However, I will absolutely forget about it. So, I will probably just NOT do that.

I'm starting to carry more - $60 is useful

I'll confess I had never considered keeping rolls of quarters to buy stuff from vending machines: I'd only thought about using quarters in the almost extinct pay telephones. I'll have to check: most vending machines I think now take bills and credit cards; so if the grid is up, the three options should work. I think fewer and fewer vending machines are taking quarters.

Change is useful - I like to keep some in the car.

A couple years ago, I spent a lot of time in cities with parking meters that only took coins. I ended up with around $40 in mixed coins (heavy on the quarters, no pennies) that I keep in the center console of my car in a screw-top tin. My travel patterns have changed significantly, but I’ve made the decision to keep it there.

I opened this thread, not realizing that I had already replied to it in the past, 3-1/2 years ago (Feb 2017). I was going to reply today that I don't use much cash anymore. My old post:

"I usually carry $60. I should probably carry more. Except, that same $60 has been sitting in my wallet for years. Guess I don't run into too many emergencies."

Ha! I still have that SAME $60 in my wallet today! I probably ought to use it, or at least swap it out with fresh bills, before it rots or something.

I haven't spent or gotten change in 4 months -- All cards now ( Less contact)

This topic mirrors a longer discussion in a 6/23/20 topics titled ,”Cash is king”. . Long story short, carry as much as u can , in small bills as UR circumstances allow,. Build it up to say ~ $500-$1000, or more, depending on costs U R likely to encounter in UR area of operation.. $20s, $10s. $5s & $1s, up to about $350 and add extra $20s and $50s & $100s , after U reach that plateau. It took me years to build up to the higher amounts.

Dylan said “ Money doesn’t talk , it swears!” It can save UR life in a mugging , buy unavailable transport tickets or a room in a hotel with a “No. Vacancy” sign fluashing, or a tank of gas at a “. All Out” gas station. And it becomes even more valuable in a blackout when credit card machines stop working. I carry stashes on my person, in my EDC bag and in my car.

I used to carry change for parking meters , vending machines and pay phones, but that was a lifetime ago. Albeit I have some leftover quarters in my car. Today it’s better to make sure U have ten dollars in $1s for the purpose and small tips.

Expanding on the theme, again as circumstances allow, try to build up a cash reserve to cover 1-6 months household expense, loan/ car payments, mortgage & taxes,, to keep at home. I also keep an extra credit card , different from the ones I usually use, in cas mine is stolen or cloned.

"up to about $350 and add extra $20s and $50s & $100s"
1) I'm not sure why $350 represents anything other than opinion... but whatever...
2) Having been in a situation where (hurricane, power failures) cash WAS king, I'll never again keep large bills in my "stash." $5, perhaps $10, but no larger. Didn't like paying $20 for a normal $2.00 block of ice because "My register is down... can't make change..." I could have given him a $5 and taken a small hit. If I had a $5.

I recognize the argument that large bills are easier to transport and keep in your wallet/purse. Fine. But for an emergency stash I'm happy with packets of 1, 5, and 10 denominations run through my foodsaver vac packer. Tight little packets, tuckable in many places. And I like the many places idea.

NAro: The $350 change point is in fact opinion & experienced based. Adding larger bills after that point was/ is intended solely for the “ on person” stash and is, as u guessed,for compactness. The EDC, car, home stashes can vary in bill sizes and amounts, based upon ur experiences and the cost of living in your AO.

I have several caches of medium and smaller bills. They sit there idle for long times, but sometimes you urgently need them and feel so happy you have them. So, during this Corona mess we used cards to pay most things but cash was needed at times.

Our daughter, who is staying with us after giving birth, made a few online orders and some of the delivery guys didn't have enough change. So, I put some medium and smaller bills in the kitchen in case she needed some.

Like you, I carry 2 or 3 multitools of different designs in some of my kits. One advantage is that each type offers some tools that are not available in the other MT. Like one MT has a hammer head, one has a better screwdriver. Or sometimes you just need two pairs of pliers together.

Sorry, back to cash.

There is a roll of coins in the car for parking. But will only carry paper cash on person.