Why don't we have discounts for using cash?
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they will soon add an additional tax if you pay cash since they cant track your cashflow... 
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MEC did that briefly. All the people that lived out of the city and ordered on-line because they couldn't easily get to a store complained about unfair treatment. No more cash discounts.
From the business' perspective, there is arguably no benefit to offering cash discounts unless you are selling "under the table".
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And since a 2.5% surcharge discourages people from making credit card purchases you loose potential sales because people won’t want to pay the additional fee.
It depends. It may well have disappeared entirely, but I've made plenty of purchases in past from places that had a "cash discount". Of course, one of the prime motives for the omnipresence of credit cards is not just "consumer convenience", but because people will spend more when it doesn't feel like money. So I see fewer and fewer places offering that sort of discount.
Personally, unless a purchase cannot be made any other way in a timely fashion, I will always use cash. I like the way it limits my spending. I'll use a credit card when buying parts from the Thai electronics distributor I buy from. Bad enough it takes 3-4 weeks for stuff to get here. If I had to tack on another few weeks for a money order to arrive there and be processed, I'd never get anything built!
Personally, unless a purchase cannot be made any other way in a timely fashion, I will always use cash. I like the way it limits my spending. I'll use a credit card when buying parts from the Thai electronics distributor I buy from. Bad enough it takes 3-4 weeks for stuff to get here. If I had to tack on another few weeks for a money order to arrive there and be processed, I'd never get anything built!
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I was thinking about exactly that yesterday - how having cash in your wallet makes you much more aware of your spending and thus limits your spending. I was out shopping, had cash in my wallet, and actually used it for a change so was acutely aware of how much I had spent in each store.
That being said, it is often more convenient to use debit or credit as those negate the need to go to the bank machine. I recently switched banks (had been with Royal my whole life until about a decade ago when I switched to BMO, and have just switched back to Royal) so am not as aware of where my new bank's machines are as I was of my old bank's machines. Plus, I get points when I use my credit cards so I tend to use them instead of my debit card, or cash when I do have it in my wallet, and simply pay the bill online when I get home (I regularly make payments before the purchases have actually hit my account). Since I use those points regularly, it is worth it to me to do it that way (my coffee maker crapped out last Sunday, which thoroughly ruined my morning as I was forced to drink instant coffee, and my kettle was starting to act up so I popped out and got new ones that day entirely on points).
I'm with Royal myself. Not out of any great allegiance, but simply because I think it was once conveniently located for me when I had no car, and have had no real reason to change. They used to have "Instant tellers" at all Esso stations (which was my principle reason for gassing up at Esso, even though I had no particular allegiance to them), but have recently replaced them all with ATMs that charge a fee for withdrawals. So my attachment to Esso has dwindled considerably.
My wife constantly tells me about this or that obtained on points. I have things like an Optimum card to get the senior's discount at Shoppers, but eschew all loyalty programs, and decline to collect points on that card, Air Miles or anything similar. They are not "free". Why the heck would a retailer turn benevolent? My view is that all such programs are intended to encourage spending. It's no different than a grocery chain selling grapes cheap that week so that you'll come to the store and buy lots of other things when you come for the grapes. It's certainly not just to be nice. My wife says "Well I'm going to buy stuff anyway, so I might as well collect the points." But I think she buys more than is actually needed because of the points. That's why I like cash. How much can I spend? What I have in my pocket, and no more. I'm not pissing on those who adopt another approach, but this works very nicely for me. It's how I paid off my house in full in 12 years, from a fully cold start with no equity, and saved up enough that I felt confident in retiring, despite a fairly modest pension.
My wife constantly tells me about this or that obtained on points. I have things like an Optimum card to get the senior's discount at Shoppers, but eschew all loyalty programs, and decline to collect points on that card, Air Miles or anything similar. They are not "free". Why the heck would a retailer turn benevolent? My view is that all such programs are intended to encourage spending. It's no different than a grocery chain selling grapes cheap that week so that you'll come to the store and buy lots of other things when you come for the grapes. It's certainly not just to be nice. My wife says "Well I'm going to buy stuff anyway, so I might as well collect the points." But I think she buys more than is actually needed because of the points. That's why I like cash. How much can I spend? What I have in my pocket, and no more. I'm not pissing on those who adopt another approach, but this works very nicely for me. It's how I paid off my house in full in 12 years, from a fully cold start with no equity, and saved up enough that I felt confident in retiring, despite a fairly modest pension.
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Short answer OP, not enough people ask for it. It would take only a few days of people going to a major retailer, asking for a cash discount, asking for mgr if denied (person on till has no say); and walking out if not given.
Problem, I would suggest is from watching shoppers in large urban retailers the majority don't, "shop", they wander aimlessly and impulse purchase; never looking at either the price of the items they put in the cart, or the bill at the till, or even keep the paper receipt.
People on a budget generally grocery shop with a list of some sort, I rarely see that, for eg.
I also suspect the real reason lot's of people don't use cash is you need a positive balance to have cash. Not so with plastic.
Problem, I would suggest is from watching shoppers in large urban retailers the majority don't, "shop", they wander aimlessly and impulse purchase; never looking at either the price of the items they put in the cart, or the bill at the till, or even keep the paper receipt.
People on a budget generally grocery shop with a list of some sort, I rarely see that, for eg.
I also suspect the real reason lot's of people don't use cash is you need a positive balance to have cash. Not so with plastic.
Interesting perspectives... Maybe it is a generational thing. I grew up only ever using plastic, and almost never having cash (considering carrying cash an inconvenience more than anything.)
I live by my budget.
$X - For all expected monthly expenses, including budgeted "fun" spending money (that isn't always spent.)
$Y - To savings, set aside for all expected annual expenses and a "rainy day fund" (or saving for big things like major repairs and renovations.)
$Z - To investments (TFSA, RRSP, and Stocks)
Everything that can be put on credit card is put on the credit card (to get the benefits from points/cashback/etc.) Of course, all that is budgeted, so the card is paid off in full every month. Everything else is a pre-authorized transfer. Any extra money left over is invested or maybe saved for a big "fun" purchase/vacation planned for the future.
Now, if only managing the business' finances were so simple. Ha!
I live by my budget.
$X - For all expected monthly expenses, including budgeted "fun" spending money (that isn't always spent.)
$Y - To savings, set aside for all expected annual expenses and a "rainy day fund" (or saving for big things like major repairs and renovations.)
$Z - To investments (TFSA, RRSP, and Stocks)
Everything that can be put on credit card is put on the credit card (to get the benefits from points/cashback/etc.) Of course, all that is budgeted, so the card is paid off in full every month. Everything else is a pre-authorized transfer. Any extra money left over is invested or maybe saved for a big "fun" purchase/vacation planned for the future.
Now, if only managing the business' finances were so simple. Ha!
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That's basically what I do as well. Why use my money when I can use someone else's for free, and get points or rebates on top of it? The purchases are always budgeted, so it is never financing debt, just carrying charges for a few weeks. I never pay interest on credit cards.
G
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·All it takes is a couple of bad months and they own you.
It would take an awful lot more than "a couple of bad months" for there to be any possibility of an issue. That's how good budgeting (and the discipline to stick to the budget) works.
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Several service stations in our area offer discounts (~$0.02/litre) for cash or debit purchase.
Have you noticed the retailers that offer "cash back"? Ever wonder why they do that? It costs money to handle cash, and retailers that handle a lot are at risk to lose more than they would for a debit or CC purchase. e.g. Theft, internal theft, incorrect receipt or change at register, labour costs to sort, count, transport and deposit, etc.
Have you noticed the retailers that offer "cash back"? Ever wonder why they do that? It costs money to handle cash, and retailers that handle a lot are at risk to lose more than they would for a debit or CC purchase. e.g. Theft, internal theft, incorrect receipt or change at register, labour costs to sort, count, transport and deposit, etc.
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Mine are free.
I have a CTFS (Canadian Tire Financial Services) Mastercard (actually, I have a couple of them). Remember Canadian Tire Money which was free simply for shopping at CT? That is what I collect on that card, although it has been renamed and is no longer Canadian Tire Money. I get it wherever I shop, and get more when I shop at CT or other stores that they own (ie. Mark's Work Wearhouse, Sportchek, etc.). Since I would be spending the money anyway, why not use a card which really does give me free points/money, especially when it can be redeemed not only at CT but also at any other store they own? The card also gets me discounts on gas and extra points if I use their gas bars (I don't, I use Costco for gas).
So when I needed a new coffee maker and kettle I simply popped over to CT, picked out what I wanted, used my points and walked away with the items without having spent a penny.
There's a reason why places that have lucrative points cards are all 5%+ more expensive than other places. The cost to manage them is part of their pricing structure. If you shop somewhere that has a points program but don't use it, you are effectively paying a premium so that other people can reap the benefits of the program.
True. But if you spend more in that place in order to get them you ARE paying for them, even as you don't subsidize others.
Some folks have enough self-control that they carry the cards around and only do business with that retailer when they absolutely need to. But not everyone.
Unfortunately, you are correct. The importance of good spending habits and financial management really are something that needs to be taught from a young age. Perhaps financial management and basic investing should be mandatory in school. It would have been far more useful than some of the other stuff we had to learn. Had I known then what I know now, I would have made significantly different financial decisions after high school.
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