What’s maximum amount of cash normal to carry in public?

In your experience or time in carrying paper cash or using cash to pay for things, what would you consider “normal maximum amount” of money a person should ever consider carrying in their wallet? My friend recommended to me no more than $600 in cash? He said any person carrying $600 or more on them in public is a possible risk because they could end up getting robbed or mugged for carrying that large of amount of money on them in public?

what about you? If you were to withdraw paper cash from the bank to be able to have cash to carry with you: What’s the most/maximum amount you would consider normal to withdraw and carry with you in person?

 

For at least the last decade, the simple answer is zero. With debit cards, why do I need bits of paper and lumps of metal to loose and make holes in my pockets.
Both Jane and all three of our grown up children are in the same situation. We sometimes joke, that before long, beggars in London will need to carry card readers.
An ever increasing number of businesses, including transport do not accept cash.

 

Governments and businesses love people using plastic. It makes counting money, making change, getting mugged, losing your money somewhere almost obsolete. Printing and coining paper and metal is a huge waste and harms the environment. Needing 24/7 security to watch over your Guilders is crazy.

I would only use plastic if I could. But there are still transactions that are best done in cash.

 

LOL

Do you like my new extra secure debit card. With the 3 digit code also scraped off the back, to anyone other than me, it is just a piece of scrap plastic.

 

What’s maximum amount of cash normal to carry in public?

Depends on how much you can afford to lose.

 

Wha

What's the maximum amount you can afford to lose?

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The notch breaks the inductance loop, so it no longer works contactless.
If you find me on your compost heap, you will have to work out which bank did it.
Clue, It will probably be Visa or Mastercard. The banks hate loosing all the money due to fraud, but the card companies give them no choice, since contactless costs them less to process.
If they discover what I am doing, particularly if the banks start cutting notches, I REALLY will be found floating face down in the river.

 

Depends on how wealthy or not wealthy you are.

 

I've faced many a situation, where the bloody card readers refuse to work when there's either a power failure, or a network error, and your payments won't clear. In these instances good old fashion cash, still the king of the money game, will always get you what you want. You should never rely on digital alone. An analogue backup is a wise thing to keep on standby. Holes in your pockets is a minor inconvenience easily prevented by a nice leather wallet.

That said, to answer the OP, 200 bucks has so far kept me well covered in situations where plastic fails.

 

You know, you still have to pump oil to make plastic for the cards...

 

But one card lasts 5 years.

 

Perhaps I am lucky living in London, where their are ATM machines everywhere. Their are several clearing companies in the UK, so if the system went down, I could use another shop. I have separate personal and business accounts with different banks, so I am always covered.
A friend of mine who has recently retired, was a director of HSBC, mentioned that the drawing of cash from ATM machines has dropped by 90% over the last two decades. Everyone just uses their card.

Like you, Jane used to keep some cash for emergencies. She has been guilty of money laundering on more than one occasion when she forgot that it was in her pocket.
She still keeps some cash, but it is in the safe. LOL

In several branches of Tesco's, cash payments are now down to about 2%. Our local superstore takes around 2.5 million a week, so if everyone started using cash, they would not be able to cope, particularly with the change. 20 years ago, they were collecting around £2,000 a day in coinage from the bank.