We have an emergency fund. S has had an emergency fund since he started college and it only grew when he started his career. He wasn’t phased for himself during government shut down several times early in his career (due to Congress dysfunction) because he had his emergency fund he could pay all his bills out of.
S and fiancée have been in the work force for over a decade and each has accumulated significant assets. I’m sure they will figure out ways to manage their finances responsibly together. Both are very smart and collaborative and share similar financial values.
I always remember 9/11, driving to a class 90 miles away on a partially empty tank of gas, and fearing that ATMs and the card reader at the gas station wouldn’t take my card. Terrifying. I keep a bit of cash at home for that reason, and keep a spare $20 in my wallet most of the time. Between farmers market and garage sales on Saturday, I go through a certain amount of cash most weekends. I avoid tip percentages these days as well by paying cash.
Being married and having to justify every pair of cheap jeans bought as we had joint accounts, was not easy, though our joint frugality certainly paid off in time. But keeping separate accounts would have been wise for the small inheritance I received during the marriage that was lost in our community property divorce. I had no clue at the time, and neither did he. I am glad my kids have some separate money in their relationships.
Well as we can see, different strikes for different folks! When I refer myself to having some cash I’m talking about I usually have $20 in my wallet. That $20 May last 2 months because I will usually use CC.
We don’t have a huge stash at home - 4 digits or more as some do here but we could scrape up some if needed.
But you know what? If I didn’t have two $1 bills in my purse this afternoon, I would have been OUT OF LUCK when I stopped at the neighborhood lemonade stand some kids had! $1 for the lemonade, $1 for a tip. Now of course that tip discussion is for the other money thread….
I prefer to have about $100 in 20s in my wallet. Some places do NOT accept cash. Sone places I go much prefer or only accept cash (eg chinatown, sone farmer’s market stalls). I just feel better having cash, CCs and now an ATM as well (Schwab so I’m reimbursed for ATM fees).
The only place I can think of needing cash in the last several years is for the tip on my pedicure. Our farmers market stalls all take Venmo. I had to teach the Mr. How to Venmo because I got tired of paying for his stuff. I still have teenagers, so I never have cash. Someone always needs it for something.
My nail place prefers all cash. Farmer’s market is mostly cash, but some vendors use Square (sometimes with a minimum purchase, which seems reasonable). Other misc uses too.
I have a cash category in our expense tracking (done by chunk - withdrawals/autopay, Visa, checks, cash). Many months there is zero cash withdrawal. We do get cash for our vacations, and usually there is enough leftover for a month or two afterward. No surprise that the trend over the years has been fewer checks (sometimes none, unless mowing season), far less cash… but of course lots more autopay and Visa (which includes Applepay).
I have seen places that have a $10 minimum for credit cards. Happened recently on vacation with a couple of places. (buying a muffin for breakfast for example) I will also pay cash for gas if they do a lower price for cash.
The credit card companies don’t like when merchants do this, but their fee structure (e.g. $0.xx + a percentage of the sale, where the fixed $0.xx is a large percentage of a small sale) sometimes creates an incentive for merchants to dislike small credit card purchases.
As @blossom noted above, some merchants prefer cash because it is easier to evade taxes or do other accounting shenanigans. Cash is not costless to deal with (counting, security against theft, ensuring that sufficient denominations to make change are available), so it is not like the full amount of the credit card merchant fee is saved by taking only cash.
We’ve had joint accounts since we got married. Everything - accounts, cars, house, kids - are “ours”.
While I know people do it, I’ve never quite understood how it would work if finances were separate, but then dad stayed home with the triplets (exaggerating for effect!) So dad has no income/money? Only mom? What happens if one spouse loses their job? How do we vacation if my spouse has more money than I and want to go somewhere that I can’t afford? Can I say don’t eat ice cream on my couch?
If spending styles are wildly different, then there are bigger issues. Finances are just one topic/area that people need to discuss and be on the same page to be happy life partners.
I know a couple that has been married over 30 years who have opted for at least 3 buckets of assets—theirs (largest), his and hers. They were fighting about how much he was always having to contribute to/bail out family members so they decided such things could only come from his pot. She could do what she wanted to with her pot of money—girls trips/nights, help her family/friends, etc. It works for them much better than when everything was one big “ours” pile. For us, we haven’t had those problems nor discussions nor depressed assets.
First marriage, once we had kids, and maybe even before then we merged most money - we were young and didn’t have much, (and we got divorced anyway). We did not have similar ideas re money, and it caused us issues for sure.
Second marriage, we started out making the exact same amount of money, but didn’t choose to have joint accounts (I didn’t care either way). Now we have 1 joint account - I part large amounts in and husband takes amounts out for bills every month. When I need to replenish, I do.
We split almost all big expenses, but we don’t fight over money. In reality, we are both big savers and have similar goals when it comes to money, and either way could work for us. Husband would happily admit I have helped him do better with money than he would have done without me. (“No you don’t take money from retirement to pay for college,” “yes you do need to put extra in retirement as allowed over 50 type stuff,” for example).
I still have teenagers, so I never have cash. Someone always needs it for something.