Canadian Freedom Lover wrote:
ToughDiamond wrote:
Oh yes, always wise to have a wad of cash around in case the electronic system fails, and for - ahem - private transactions. Don't get it nicked though, and watch out - they sometimes change the style of banknotes and eventually make the old notes hard to spend. I've never known it happen in the USA, but they changed from paper to plastic money in the UK and it caused me a bit of work. I wish they'd leave things alone. If the USA can use paper money, why can't the UK?
You can also overpay your energy bills to keep a portion of your real savings hidden from prying eyes. Or lend it to trusted family members. Or buy antiques. Could put it into bitcoin, but that might get devalued.
Canada did a similar thing with our money about 10 years ago and switched over to plastic notes, but I believe paper money is still legal tender here. I remember receiving a paper 5 dollar bill as change within the last couple of years, so I guess a handful are still in circulation.
If I remember right, paper money was legal tender in shops until a certain date. After that it got progressively harder to dispose of it at the face value. Eventually it got to a point where the only way was to go to London. You could swap it for plastic locally, but there was a charge for that. Towards the end of one of my long stays in the US, I was seriously worried about whether or not I'd be able to get home from Heathrow. My bank cards had also expired during my absence, and the banks have been known to block cards on the grounds of disuse.
Yesterday, 12:05 am
