Do away with cash--- no way. The last untraceable method of payment is not gonna go away.
Isolation 2020
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Do away with cash--- no way. The last untraceable method of payment is not gonna go away.
You just insert your card in the newer terminals I've used, but some (most?) stores ask you to confirm the purchase on the touchscreen. There are some local stores (like hardware, garden supply and liquor stores I've visited recently) that still have the old card readers where the clerk inserts your card, gives you a paper receipt and a pen to sign (ridiculous, since the card companies dropped this requirement years ago), then the clerk prints a receipt and hands it to you.
I never read the stuff when my new Amex card came (who does?) but I just saw that the new card works with contactless pay terminals (guess it has an RFID chip). Have not started looking for compatible terminals at stores, but I will in the future.
Contactless Payments with Your Card - American Express
Find out more about our Contactless American Express International Currency Cards. Designed for quick transactions on the go.www.americanexpress.com
For debit cards... GET RID OF THEM. They are a disaster waiting to happen. My daughter and several friends have had their bank accounts frozen when their cards were compromised. We discussed this in another thread...
Ditto again re debit cards; disaster waiting to happen. I've been using my chip credit card at the self-checkout terminals. Card in pocket, use it, wipe it with alcohol from spray bottle kept in car. I don't often use cash lately.
Viruses don't care--- state lines, political party, faith, race, etc. We'd better all get along.
On news yesterday: 102 year old lady in Italy had virus, recovered, going home. Old ladies are tough! My mom is 97, in assisted living, will likely outlive all of us.
Look along the coast, about the same weather we have here. And you get a bonus; in addition to ticks, you get black flies for free!
Here's something else to do while spending time in isolation: setup electronic payment for your bills. No worries about contaiminated mail... and you might actually have to.... 
"With a negative net worth of $65 billion and an additional $140 billion in unfunded liabilities, the USPS originally expected to run out of liquidity by 2021 without intervention. That has accelerated rapidly because of COVID-19. Fewer people and businesses are sending mail because of the outbreak, which could hasten the decline of the Postal Service and close its doors as early as June, officials warned. "
fortune.com
"With a negative net worth of $65 billion and an additional $140 billion in unfunded liabilities, the USPS originally expected to run out of liquidity by 2021 without intervention. That has accelerated rapidly because of COVID-19. Fewer people and businesses are sending mail because of the outbreak, which could hasten the decline of the Postal Service and close its doors as early as June, officials warned. "
USPS warns it might have to shutter by June as $2 trillion coronavirus stimulus package provides no funding
"Without immediate action by Congress and the President, the Postal Service—a vital staple of American society since 1775—could cease to exist by this summer."
Just do not save your method of payment on the company or banks web site or you may be wishing for contaminated mail.
That is a concern, of course, But can you provide examples where bank accounts have been fraudulently accessed? I have never really looked into it. As mentioned, I know several examples where people had problems using debit cards in stores and online (but they were all resolved). I haven't heard of problems with e-payment of utility bills.
You can use a credit card to pay everything (but the card itself), then you have all those consumer protections as well as getting "points", if your card offers them. Also, don't put all your money into the account used for e-payment, which would limit any potential loss. I think fraud wouldn't be too hard to prove, but the bank might freeze your account during an investigation.
You can use a credit card to pay everything (but the card itself), then you have all those consumer protections as well as getting "points", if your card offers them. Also, don't put all your money into the account used for e-payment, which would limit any potential loss. I think fraud wouldn't be too hard to prove, but the bank might freeze your account during an investigation.
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The issue is not with the bills, but of storing your financial info in company computers, banks included. Capital One is an example, over 100 million and 80K had their bank accounts accessed. If someone is that lazy that its to much to key in 20 or so digits, just keep them on a thumb drive and copynpaste them at bill time if they are confident in their own security measures
But each to their own. I'm sure they will be complaining when something happens.Side effect of using a credit card for things I've always used cash for: fewer trips to the ATM to get cash. Avoids door handles (if indoors) and touch-screen for PIN etc. I'm not happy about credit card transactions being tracked, but I think it's a good tradeoff for now. The real question is - when all this is over, will people like me go back to cash?
On another topic, I noticed signs on the Garden State Parkway that say: No toll collectors. E-Z Pass or bill by mail only - something like that. I'm cheap so I avoid tolls, but I'm curious: bill by mail means they read your license plate and bill you. So if you go through a $1.50 toll, do they send you a bill for $1.50? Or do they add a "processing fee"? From their web site, it sounds like no processing fee. How much does it cost them to send out a bill for $1.50?
On another topic, I noticed signs on the Garden State Parkway that say: No toll collectors. E-Z Pass or bill by mail only - something like that. I'm cheap so I avoid tolls, but I'm curious: bill by mail means they read your license plate and bill you. So if you go through a $1.50 toll, do they send you a bill for $1.50? Or do they add a "processing fee"? From their web site, it sounds like no processing fee. How much does it cost them to send out a bill for $1.50?
The cats are just being polite: they know who opens the cans/pouches of food.
As some studies begin to show results, things may be getting ready to go downhill, but this is the result of just one study. Hoping others dispute it.
Virus Transmission Study PDF
Virus Transmission Study PDF
Just do not save your method of payment on the company or banks web site or you may be wishing for contaminated mail.
Chance of picking up virus from a paper envelope is very small. All my mail goes to PO box; I open in post office anyway to reduce junk I take home. Wearing gloves, I slit open outside envelope/packaging, put mail in plastic bag I brougt with me, leave. Carefull not to touch inside counter in post office.
Cloth Gloves stay in car, on dashboard where exposed to direct sunlight. I wash hands as soon as I enter house. Carefull? You bet.
Credit card bills paid by phone each month; no way I'm giving corporate acess to my bank account with automatic bill pay.
If the Federal Reserve says this paper ain't worth crap it will go away because it reality it ain't worth crap with nothing to back it. They maintain the illusion it is by everyone agreeing to honor that it is.Now barter or trade will never go away.I have fifty beaver skins and you have a horse,lets trade! But your money is only worth the paper it;'s printed on the day the economy crashes amnd the Reserve refuses to honor it. When you see prices going up it really means your dollar is worth less.
Thanks, good article. Previous studies (JAMA, The Lancet) seemed inconclusive about whether this virus could transmit as airborne particles or was emitted only as larger droplets. Contact transmission well established. Best to assume worst case transmission, asymptomatic individuals can shed virus. The viruses are doing their job. We must do ours.
Take care all; stay carefull, stay well, outlast the period of viral spread.
Masks are now being recommended by some pundits regardless of your status. It makes sense. I do feel uneasy not knowing if the person close to me has it despite the absence of symptoms. And vice versa. Could be just a bandana.
Give me liberty or give me death. We're all going there anyway. Some don't deserve to be free
Victor Frankl, a Holocaust survivor, wrote a memoir years ago. In "Mans Search for Meaning", he told the stories of people who chose to die rather than survive performing immoral acts. Death is sometimes a rational, moral choice. There are people who have already told medical personnel to give the ventilator to someone else.
The worst situations bring out the worst and the best in us.
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