<p>ALways wonder how hard it is to break large bills. Few merchants want to give all the cash our of their register as change.</p>
<p>There’s still $500 and $1000 bills circulating. </p>
<p>I don’t even like to carry 100s.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It’s also a good way to attract negative attention from authorities as that denomination tends to be associated with large criminal empires like drug smuggling networks. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s probably a reason why many merchants and even municipalities state they won’t accept bills above or below a certain denomination…even with legal tender rules. That and fears/trouble of increasing likelihood of receiving a counterfeit note due to the high denomination and thus, criminal incentive to counterfeit it. </p>
<p>Came across plenty of businesses which say they won’t accept $50 or $100 for both lack of change and fear of receiving a counterfeit note. $20s and below are the preferred denominations. In reverse, many municipal buses state clearly they don’t want pennies, half-dollars, or dollar bills. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>That’s not common as if one deposits such bills in US banks, they are to take them out of circulation per treasury regulations passed in the late '60s. </p>
<p>Not to mention one cited reason I kept reading for the US government’s refusal to issue new banknotes in denominations greater than $100 is to avoid making it easier for money launderers and other criminal organizations to sneak/launder money around. </p>
<p>I routinely get my cash in 50’s and 100’s and don’t have trouble breaking them. I hate having a bunch of 20 or under bills. We charge gas (hate waiting in line to pay) but use cash for groceries, Walmart,etc.</p>
<p>@sryrstress, we use a few different credit cards rather than cash. We average $2,500 in cash back per year (and that doesn’t count my wife who stubbornly uses an AmEx card with points). That might be a sign that we spend too much, but if we were going to spend anyway, we might as well get between 1 and 6% cash back. </p>
<p>6%? Thats great! What card is that? We juggle the ones that give 5% back on different things each quarter (who can remember on what, though) and defiinitely get free money where we can.</p>
<p>never had trouble breaking bigger bills in the U.S.</p>
<p>… Europeans on the other hand, seemed to hate to give change. Even if you pay for something that costs a few euros with a 20. They will ask if you have a smaller bill.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>A cell phone can be the cheapest way to get a phone, even compared to “universal lifeline” service land lines. Of course, this is just basic prepaid voice and text messaging:
<a href=“Prepaid Compare”>http://www.cellguru.net/prepaid_compare.htm</a></p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Internet access can enable finding lower cost ways to buy some necessities, so it is not necessarily a waste of money for a low income person who has difficulty getting to the public library when it is open. Of course, whether the internet access is used to save money on other things or is used as a luxury is another matter.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Yup. For many of us, it’s how we find and are able to keep any employment at all. (ETA: I am not and have not been on welfare in several years. However, when I was, one of my jobs was a first-come first-serve photography job. I had to have a cell phone with a data plan so I could get emails instantly. The job way more than paid for the data plan. I’m just saying that one shouldn’t paint with a broad brush. There are also programs like Safelink.)</p>
<p>But I suppose it’s just better if we give up jobs all together. Then no need for a cell phone 
</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Haven’t there been some studies where the stress of growing up in poverty and otherwise unstable home environments causes children to be less able to delay gratification? I.e. saving for tomorrow may not be the preferred route when one’s past life experience is full of situations where there is a high risk of there not being a tomorrow.</p>
<p>I agree with acollegestudent. While there are some low cost minimum use or emergency use only phones, how likely is it that this is what those with very minimum incomes are using. Romani explains why there can be a benefit to having a phone with a data plan, It would be great if all were using their phones for this reason, but it may not be the case. </p>
<p>And internet ? This is NOT a necessity!! You want internet- go to the library. Or if you have a phone with data plan like omani, find a free hotspot and surf the internet. Don’t buy a computer and pay for internet if you cannot afford it. And cable is a pure unnecessary luxury. My kids don’t have cable. they stream what they want to their computers. </p>
<p>Sure, its easy to rationalize away why something that really is a luxury somehow becomes a necessity. Thats what keeps people from living within a budget. </p>
<p>I’ll probably get slammed for this, but I did wonder at times when I saw expensive spinners on a junker car… was that the best use of one’s money?</p>
<p>Missed the ever-shrinking edit time to fix typos. Romani explained why a phone with a data plan can be helpful for those who truly can afford it (it is a luxury, not a necessity). If everyone with a cellphone and data plan was using it the way Romani describes, that would be great. </p>
<p>There are may who live in poverty and need assistance. Here is one example: <a href=“http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/mily-living-deplorable-conditions-getting-help-it-/nfYFy/”>http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/mily-living-deplorable-conditions-getting-help-it-/nfYFy/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/community-helping-woman-clean-yard-save-family/nfXYx/”>http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/community-helping-woman-clean-yard-save-family/nfXYx/</a></p>
<p>It is a really sad situation but, they have EIGHT dogs?? Even if you cant afford to spay your pets (and there are services that offer this for little or no cost) one does not have to keep 8 dogs if one cannot afford them.</p>
<p>This woman, a widow with out a HS education an working 2 part time jobs, will be getting help with budgeting. But if only we could help more like this in need. </p>
<p>
That rotating 5% thing is too much like work for me, and as bad as my memory is, getting other family members to remember is beyond hope. So, that’s a non-starter for my family. I also know people who shuffle cards for the sign-on bonuses; it seems to work well for them, but again, too much like work for me.</p>
<p>So, here’s my middle-of-the-road but lucrative approach to credit cards.
- I set them to pay off the balance in full automatically. Paying interest wipes out any gains.
- A Pentagon Federal Visa card pays 5% back on gasoline. I tie it to a ExxonMobil magic wand thingy (SpeedPass IIRC is the technical term) that treats the purchase as though it were cash (some stations have a higher price for credit), and every now and then Exxon will have a discounted price. We have three magic wands and three cars, so this adds up to a hefty sum every month.
- Amazon Visa for Amazon purchases (3% back on Amazon purchases, 1% back on everything else).
- American Express Preferred Blue Cash. This one has a fee ($75), but I easily make it back. There’s a version that is fee-free; it’s easy to figure out which version works best for your spending habits. 6% back on groceries at a grocery store (recently limited to first $6000 of groceries, which is a bummer with our voracious teens, but that’s still $360 cash back). 3% back on department stores and some other categories. 1% back on everything else.</p>
<p>I recently opened a CapitalOne Quicksilver account for its 1.5% cash back, but they start with such a low limit that I can only use it for incidentals. I recently took a vacation that I would have loved to get 1.5% back on, but I would have exploded through the credit limit.</p>
<p>Good luck – I think this plan is a good balance between getting cash back and not being driven crazy by the game of “use this card for this, that card for that, throw salt over your shoulder and click your heels three times.”</p>
<p>Thanks, ixnay,</p>
<p>We don’t pay for the privilege of a credit card. One exception-- DH paid for an AmEx Delta card to get the windfall MQMs but will cancel, not renew. </p>
<p>We have enough credit cards so wont be getting any more. Plus our credit is frozen (after a breach several years ago) so dont want to go through the hassle of unlocking/ thawing it just to get a card. </p>
<p>So I’ll try to watch for the revolving 5% deals and use things like Mrrebates and ebates and things like that. Discover has extra plans where you can get $50 gift cards for $25 of their cashback $ and such, but I usually just apply the cashback to our bill. And we are fortunate too to always pay off cr card bills in full,and I wait til the last day or to for it to apply so basically get a few weeks free interest ont he $. Works for us.</p>
<p>HEre’s a quick and easy wy to check multiple card qquarterlt savings:
<a href=“2nd Quarter 2018 5% Rotating Cash Rewards Credit Cards”>http://www.mydollarplan.com/5-cash-rewards-credit-cards/</a></p>
<p>And I know my costco amex gives more for gas and restaurants and travel. </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Disagree with this.
Not everyone has easy access to a library. Many cities around here have one, with limited hours, and no public transportation. I’ve seen studies that children without access to internet in their homes are at a severe disadvantage academically due to the fact that they don’t have the same tools as other children. Many, many teachers make assignments now with the assumption that every single student has internet access in his/her home.</p>
<p>You can get basic internet here for $30 or less a month. </p>
<p>There are many people who simply cannot afford the monthly internet service. And there are many who survive just fine without internet. It is a generational thing, IMO. It is a luxury, not a necessity. Children are at more of a disadvantage if they don’t have clothes or food. Internet is available at most schools, I would think Many people have to choose whether 30/mo goes to food, electricity or internet. I would recommend the first 2.</p>
<p>I know people who don’t have internet because they can’t afford it. Sure, they can get along with only using it sporadically at the library, but every day they are falling further behind. There is a huge cultural and informational difference between those of us who have instant and constant access to the internet and those who don’t. Think of all the things you do with the internet every day and what it would be like not to have it. The “information superhighway” is not just for entertainment, it’s changing the country, the world and culture every day. Internet access is not the equivalent of cable TV, it’s much much more. And for some people, cell phones are the only way to get access to the internet on a regular basis. </p>
<p>My fiance is required to have internet at home and a smart phone for his job. They cut him a check quarterly to compensate him, but it’s $20 and doesn’t begin to cover the cost… It is obnoxious because that ends up being quite the expense. But he is on call for the IT department at a bank, and the alternative is that he could have to drop everything and drive to the bank at a moment’s notice, which I guess would be even more obnoxious-- to me and the bank, which would be down for the 30 minutes it takes for him to drive in plus the time to fix the problem. I like to think I make up for it with the online sales and coupons I find, and we’re able to use the internet in place of cable, though that’s really trading one luxury for another. We haven’t had real cable in a long time and I miss it.</p>
<p>More and more cities are providing free municipal wifi. That is the way to go.
That said, immediate access to the “information superhighway” is still not on the same “need” level as food, clothing and shelter.</p>
<p>As an aside, when my s’s volunteered at a homeless shelter for mothers and newborns, building and maintaining a computer lab for the residents, teaching computer skills, etc, they spend an amazing amount of time constantly removing inappropriate sites from the computers… Just sayin’</p>