Card Or Cash? Which Is Best To Use?

Card Or Cash? Which Is Best To Use?

In recent years, the number of people opting to use a card over cash has risen. Therefore, it has led us to review the question of ‘Card Or Cash? Which Is Best To Use?’. Everybody’s opinion will be different on this matter as it is more of a personal preference instead of something which we should be using. So, technically there is no right or wrong answer considering some people may find it easier to use cash and others may find it easier to use a card.

During 2020, the use of cash definitely decreased and the number of card transactions took over. But, this was not necessarily by choice. Some shops began to stop the acceptance of cash payments altogether. The reason for that was to try and prevent the virus from being transmitted on cash. Similarly, the whole aspect of spending also dropped. As people all around the UK were confined to their homes for months throughout last year, making it impossible. But, which is easier overall?

Why Do We Use A Card?

In the past, people would mainly use debit or credit cards if they were making larger purchases. Perhaps if they were booking a holiday, buying a car or something similar which may cost a large amount of money. But, nowadays people tend to use cards for everything, whether it costs £1,000 or even £1. With the evolution of technology and the recent introduction of contactless payments, you can pay with your card using your phone. This is much more convenient than having to carry around multiple notes and coins in some sort of bag. Depending on what type of phone you have you could either use Apple Pay or Google Pay etc. This makes it a lot easier meaning you do not even need to carry around your wallet or any cash, just your phone.

Although being able to pay for items so easily using our cards, is it really the best idea? Having an easier way to spend could lead us to spending more and making more invisible purchases. These are things which we may forget about and then we begin to wonder where the money has gone. SO, even though using a debit or credit card is a great option, it also has its downfalls.

Why Do We Use Cash?

Even though people are opting for cards more at the moment, that does not mean to say that cash only holds downsides. Yes, cash can be difficult to organise and count with multiple notes and different coins but there is plenty of positives as to why it may be even better than cards.

Firstly, spending using cash can help prevent any debts. It is very easy to overspend using a credit card, but this doesn’t mean we should. The last thing you want to do is fall into your overdraft (if you have one) for unimportant purchases. Finding yourself in some sort of debt is not what anybody wants. Especially if they have any essential bills or purchases to make. But, if you have no other option and you are needing extra financial help, here at PM Loans, as a direct lender we can help.  So, if you are only using cash, you are not able to magic extra notes into your purse. Therefore, you can only spend what you have and nothing more.

Not only that but using cash can also help with budgeting and money management. Yes, nobody wants to walk into a shop and break into a £20 for a very cheap purchase but these things are inevitable when using cash. But, using cash allows you to separate your funds into different sections leading you to begin allocating your money, again, avoiding any debt or mistakes.

To Summarise…

As you can see, both cards and cash have their own positives and negatives. Therefore, when deciding which is best to use, it really does come down to personal preference as we mentioned above. Major banks have been influencing people to adapt to a card lifestyle over the previous few years, but it is completely your own choice. Although as we mentioned above, certain shops have been only accepting card payments. Therefore if you are planning make some purchases, we suggest checking online for any changes. This way you are not faced with any unnecessary issues.