Here's What Happens When You Never Carry Cash

Some people have a tendency to pay for purchases with a mix of credit cards, debit cards, and cash. I'm not one of those people; I tend to swipe my credit card just about everywhere, whether it's to fill my car up with $40 worth of gas or buy a $1.50 bottle of water at a local convenience store.

In fact, I used to make it a point to hardly ever carry any cash on me. But then I ran into an issue that's since made me change my tune.

The problem with never carrying cash

A recent survey from Finder.com found that 45% of Americans would not shop at a cash-only business. But the reality is that there are some businesses that only accept cash, and you never know when you might come across one. So it's a good idea to carry some cash for a situation like that.

But that's not the only reason to keep cash in your wallet. You never know when a business that normally accepts credit or debit cards might suddenly be unable to do so.

A while back, I was at my local supermarket doing my family's food shopping for the week. I had loaded up a cart and was headed to the checkout aisle when an announcement came through that the store's processing systems had gone down, and they couldn't accept credit cards or debit cards until things got fixed. At that point, my only choices were paying in cash or writing a check.

Seeing as how I write maybe two checks a year, not shockingly, I didn't have one on me. But I also didn't have nearly enough cash to cover the week's worth of groceries I was buying.

Thankfully, I happened to run into a friend at the store who had recently hit the ATM and only had a couple of items she was buying herself. She paid for my groceries and I sent her a Venmo transfer to cover my haul. But had she not been there, I would've been forced to abandon my shopping cart at the store -- and explain to my kids why dinner that night was plain noodles.

Aim to have some cash on hand

One of the reasons I don't like carrying cash is that I tend to spend it less mindfully. On the other hand, I check my credit card balances frequently, so I'm more aware of what my spending looks like when I use my cards.

But that incident taught me that it's a good idea to have some cash on hand. And since then, I've also made a point to keep a little extra money in my checking account so that I'm able to hit the ATM and replenish my supply of cash as I need to.

Of course, the incident that happened at my supermarket was pretty rare. I've shopped at that store countless times without ever having an issue using my credit card. But you just never know when you might end up needing cash, so for the most part, I try to carry anywhere from $50 to $100 with me at all times.

The reality is that based on grocery prices today, $50 wouldn't go very far in helping me cover a week's worth for my family. But $100 might get me closer. Think about a level of cash that you're comfortable carrying around, and keep it on hand for those one-off times when a credit or debit card can't be used.