I love online banking.  I loathe bank fees for this and that, if you have less funds than what hasn;t cleared yet, you get slammed with fees.  I'm starting to look at my card with less sympathy.  Because my account was very low and went into the red for a few days I have been using cash only.  It felt good, even though I had minimal cash.  I knew exactly how much I could spend and I was more aware of unnecessary items at the store.  

The downside of cash only is getting out of the car to make utility payments.  Maybe I will compromise and make set payments online but for my everyday purchases use cash only.  Or I can set one day to make all the payments with cash.  It will be time consuming and gas consuming too.

Does anyone here uses cash only or a combination of the two?

 Hi ... Hubby and I use cash for almost everything we buy - food, gas, ect ... We pay all our bills online but two - water I call them to save the gas/trip and he pays rent, on the way home from work, for a receipt. Cash has kept us both all-knowing on what is available to spend (expecially him). We use envelopes maked with what the cash is for and laways seem to have some left by next pay-day ... we sometimes use this 'left-over' to go out for a pie-and-coffee dessert date.

 I use cash only, no checks. I have a foodstamps debit card and don't use that, either, as I can get the cash equivalent deposited in my bank account.

 We pay our monthly bills online for free.  We use cash envelopes for food, toiletries, household products, laundry, meds, haircuts.  It is a great way to stay on budget for us. 

We use a combination of cash, credit cards, and payments by check. Gasoline and small purchases we pay by cash. Larger purchases (generally over $100) and catalog/online shopping we use credit cards for but pay them off in full when the bill arrives. Credit cards offer consumer protections that cash and debit cards do not. We also keep a list of every credit card purchase with a running total for the month so there are no surprises when the bill arrives. DW does that on the computer but one could use a paper list just as easily.

Utilities and such we pay by check because stamps are cheaper than gasoline. We keep enough in the checking account to pay the routine stuff and when a bill arrives, I sit down, write the check, and it goes out in the mail the next day.

We have so far shied away from automatic payments because none of the businesses will accept responsibility for their own accounting errors. For example, if the telephone bill is $75 and the company makes an error and bills $750, we would then be bouncing checks all over the place, and at $50 each (the bank charges $25 for a bounced check, as does the recipient's bank). If that happened because of someone else's error then I would expect them to "make me whole" again. Unless and until they will, I will not participate in automatic billing. And, I will admit I'm somewhat old-fashioned and I like having the paper trail that checks provide.

Even the tellers at my bank say they won't use automatic payment from checking accounts to pay bills. As efficient as it is, there are still too many holes in the system and too many ways things can go wrong. We prefer looking at a hard copy receipt and having my documentation in hand. When we don't receive a bill when we know its due, we start looking immediately and don't leave anything to chance. Utility bills vary from month to month and we track that diligently. I combine exercise and bill paying by walking my payments inside the post office one mile away. We cash a check at the bank for all of our shopping. No ATM cards either. If it sounds like accessing our money is too difficult, its because we do that on purpose. It forces us to be mindful about our money.

Cash for most transactions, but I keep a prepaid debit card because this small town has few stores.  Between eBay and electronics sites, I can do better ordering many goods and services online, than I can driving 10-15 miles to the nearest shopping center, WalMart, or home improvement store. The debit card runs $1 extra per purchase so I must budget for that.  Certain cards will allow bill pay online with no or reduced fees.

Cuz, of course, has to bank because of the business.  He, though, has opted out on all of his credit accounts, has paid off several, and is working on the rest.

 DH and I do a combination of cash, credit and checks.  I, too, don't do automatic payments as I don't trust them.  I prefer cash for the day to day purchases as I am more mindful of what is being spent.  I use checks to pay all bills - no doubt about them being paid.  I use the credit card for large purchases and online purchases.  We earn points towards gift cards and gas cards.  However, the money is subtracted from my checking immediately so when the bill arrives I can pay it in full.  If I ever carry a balance then the credit card use will stop.

I'm sure you will find a method that will work best for you.  Just make sure you always get receipts for any cash payments made and check them for accuracy before leaving the establishment.

Dear All, Just a counter-vailing bit of experience:  I've used debits from my checking account to pay phone & electriccity bills for what seems like forever, & havenever had any errors made.  From what peoople say above, I msut be awfully lucky!  Yours in Him, Deb

We do a combo. Set payments come auto out of our checking accounts (and like Deb, we've never had a problem but we use a local bank with great customer service). I pay by check things that only take checks (daycare, garbage service). I do some auto payments through the vendor to my checking (one credit card allows me to pay online but I only use that card infrequently).

For cash, I like it for places I go "in person." Grocery store, gas, haircuts, entertainment, supplies. This keeps my budget in check as I can overspend in these areas.

I tried all cash and found I was wasting my gas and time running all over town (and I mean 6-8 miles across town) to pay the cable bill, electricity bill, phone bill, etc. Easier to use my checking account. A stamp costs less (and online payments now are free) than my time and wasted gas.

We have a system that works for us but we have found that having a set amount of cash for certain budget areas is good for us.