I only spent cash for a day and ended up saving big

But in recent years in a post covid world, it seems more and more shops have been turning away cash and instead only taking plastic.

With the rise of card-only venues popping up all over the UK, it has seen debate surrounding the future of cash.

Some suggest that cash could one day fade away and become a thing of the past, whilst others think that without physical cash, the economy would collapse.

Whilst no one knows what the future of the economy currently holds, we can see if the rumours are true and if it really is harder with just cash.

I was ready to see what a cash only world was like. (Image: Getty)

I only spent cash for one day and this is how it went

As someone who typically opts for a quick contactless tap when out spending, I did at first find the idea of only spending cash slightly daunting.

Although, when I was younger, I was encouraged to keep to the cash to help me understand spending and economics, but now with online banking just a tap on the phone I find the card a quicker way of means.

But I do also find that the card-only option means I’m more than happy to spend slightly more than I would if I had cash.

Taking that into account, I prepared myself and headed to the cash machine ready to start the day and see if it would be as difficult as I thought.

With £60 safely in my purse, I headed to the cinema with pre-booked tickets for National Cinema Day in need of a coffee and ready to spend some cash.

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Heading to the attached Starbucks and ordering my usual I felt the need to first ask if they accept cash, in fear that like many other big retailers, they turn it away.

But I was pleasantly surprised when the friendly barista happily took the cash with no complaints or concerns that could hold up the line behind me.

After enjoying my coffee and the film, I headed off to the local shopping centre to see how far cash could really take me.

Shops Vs Cash

Whilst shops and physical forms of cash aren’t exactly a ‘no go’, it does seem they are pushing for a card world.

With hoards of card-only tills apparently offering quicker service and fewer queues, however, I found that to be the opposite in this case.

I happily wandered up to the ‘cash and card’ till with only one customer in front of me, unlike the many others who had chosen the card-only lane.

Cash in hand, I gave the staff member the correct amount of money for my new items and received the change with no fuss.

So far the day was going well. (Image: PA)

Whether luck was on my side or the world was really still pushing for cash, I seemed to not have any real trouble with my cash.

Shop after shop happily obliged and took the cash instead of waiting for the card machine to warm up and beep.

In need of some lunch, I went to a café first ready to enjoy a meal, only to be turned away at first glance with a ‘card only’ sign awaiting customers.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t a once-only occurrence, after wandering around for nearly 15 minutes in hopes of finding a place that took cash, I eventually ended up in a local pub knowing they took cash.

Going to the bar to order my meal, I realised that I had become used to ordering off of pub and restaurant apps and nearly forgot to pick up my drink, I could practically hear the bells ringing ‘shame’ around me.

I ended up saving money in the end. (Image: PA)

Is this the end of cash?

Throughout my cash-only day, if there was one thing I noticed that a normal shopping day didn’t include, it was my need to ask if they accepted cash.

With a weird and almost nuisance feeling coming over me every time I headed for the till and asked if they accepted the money in fear of being turned away, something you’re rarely likely to find with card payments.

If I learnt anything from my cash-only day, it’s that if you really want to budget, then cash is the way.

It seems the physical form of money helps to make you realise how much you can spend and makes you question if you really need that thing in your basket.

So, whether you are on a budget or noticed that you have been splashing the cash a bit too much recently, then maybe cash is the answer.

As for if cash will one day be a thing of the past, only time will tell.