What would you do for $1 million? (Photo by Roman Samborskyi on Shutterstock)
NEW YORK — It’s no secret that cashless purchases are a growing trend, but are we getting to the point where people don’t even look at dollar bills as real currency? Almost one-third of Americans believe that “cash doesn’t count” when it comes to spending money.
A survey of 2,000 U.S. adults split evenly by gender and generation revealed that because their bank account balance doesn’t change, 29% of Americans believe that spending pocket cash doesn’t actually “count” as spending money. While this may be chalked up to the recent “girl math” trend on social media, 35% also say that carrying cash makes them feel more prepared, and only 5% claim that they never have paper money on their person.
For reference, “girl math” is a term summing up the belief that paying for something in a way that doesn’t affect your bank balance essentially makes it “free.” That includes using cash and apps like Venmo and PayPal.
Despite the stereotype that younger generations only prefer digital payment methods, the results revealed that baby boomers (24%) and Gen Xers (23%) are twice as likely to “rarely” carry cash than Gen Zers (12%). The younger generations also prefer to carry a larger amount of cash than the older generations. Gen Z and millennials like to have an average of about $82 and $71, respectively, while Gen X carries $57 and baby boomers carry $48. Interestingly, men tend to carry around $78 in cash, while women stick to an average of $51.
Still, all Americans are almost equally likely to carry cash out of paranoia or fear that they might need it (27%) as they are to spend it as “fun money” on quick and cheap indulgences (26%). Interestingly, 18% of Gen Z keep a cash fund because they frequent cash-only businesses, more than any other generation.
Conducted by Talker Research on behalf of Chime, the survey also looked to settle the debate over whether cash is considered to be the best of all payments or whether its reign has come to an end in the 21st Century. The researchers found that cash might be making the comeback of the year as 52% agree that cash is still king, compared to only 25% who believe it’s already dead.
Taking that a step further, if Americans could eliminate one form of payment forever, both checks (36%) and credit cards (16%) ranked above cold, hard cash (12%). Two-thirds of Americans even admit they’d rather find a $20 bill in their pocket than receive a $20 refund on their credit card. Only 27% said the opposite.
Almost three-quarters of Americans (73%) also prefer to tip in cash instead of adding it to their credit card bill. They also prefer to use cash for groceries (22%), dining out (20%), gifts or allowances (18%), and while shopping at small businesses (17%).
Many respondents also prefer to get their cash at the closest ATM (43%) or by going directly to their bank (43%). However, many Americans still worry that they will drop or lose the cash they carry (31%), that it will get stolen (26%), or have concerns that they’ll give into impulses and spend it too quickly (24%).
The worst situations for carrying cash include bringing paper money to an unfamiliar city or state (32%), while traveling alone (31%), or taking it on public transportation (24%).
“Contrary to what many may believe, cash still plays a key role today,” says Janelle Sallenave, Chime’s Chief Spending Officer, in a statement. “Compared to five years ago, 34 percent of all Americans are more likely to carry cash today. Interestingly, 40 percent of men are more likely, compared to only 29 percent of women.”
Overall, 64% of Americans have, at one time or another, experienced a “cash fart” — which is like a brain fart but specifically means they forgot to bring cash with them. Younger generations appear to be particularly susceptible, as only 14% of Gen Z and 18% of millennials say this has “never” happened to them, compared to 39% of baby boomers and 26% of Gen X.
Even so, almost two in five (39%) Americans admit they’ve experienced this within the last month. Those Americans find themselves without cash an average of three times per month and are left with few options.
These experiences have resulted in being forced to use an ATM with a high fee (27%), being unable to purchase the goods or services they wanted (25%), or leaving them scrambling for a quick way to secure some dough (13%).
“Picture this: you’ve made it to the event you’ve been looking forward to for months. You’ve got your loved ones in tow and you’re ready for a great day. You pull up to the first vendor and see the dreaded ‘cash only’ sign, which makes you realize that you forgot to bring cash! What do you do?” says Sallenave. “No one enjoys a brain fart and a cash fart is no different.”
Survey methodology
Talker Research surveyed 2,000 Americans split evenly by gender and generation (500 Gen Z, 500 millennials, 500 Gen X and 500 baby boomers); the survey was commissioned by Chime and administered and conducted online by Talker Research between August 29 and Sept. 5, 2024.
I was born in 1981, so I do remember when cash was the primary way to spend money, but even then, credit cards did exist, and there were rare scenarios (specifically very large purchases) that required credit cards. If I were to predict what would disappear first, it would be checks. Personal checks are just another thing to carry around, and business checks can (for most people) be done using services such as Direct Deposit. I do carry cash, but only for scenarios that require cash, most commonly vending & soft drink machines (although even some of them accept credit cards now). My reason for preferring credit cards is not for security or mental reasons, but because I don’t want a pocket full of metal (coins) that will just build up in a penny jar. Once in a while I do buy something with cash, but only because they do not accept credit cards (such as stands at a fair) or because I need smaller bills like $1s (I’ve never seen a vending or soda machine that accepts $20s!) I have my Social Security money Direct Deposited into a savings account, and then digitally use that to pay my credit card. Also, with all the things we buy or pay online, cash is often not even an option. So both have scenarios that only accept one, but for the things that accept both, just use your preference. But one thing that can get complicated is sharing, meaning giving money as a gift or just paying back a friend for something, or kids’ allowances. But that’s a challenge for other people.