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sheilavw said:I remember hand writing cheques in Sainsburys, then at some point I just needed to sign because they printed them in a machine2021 Decluttering Awards: ⭐⭐🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇🥇 2022 Decluttering Awards: 🥇
2023 Decluttering Awards: 🥇 🏅🏅🥇
2024 Decluttering Awards: 🥇⭐
2025 Decluttering Awards: ⭐⭐0 -
When I was a kid it was cash, because children only had savings accounts with passbooks. When I turned 18 I got a debit card and a credit card, only major retailers took cards and it was slow, but it got quicker and more widespread. I have probably written no more than five cheques in my life and I do not think any for twenty years.
I have not used cash for five years and for five before that cash use was infrequent, now it is rare for me to use a physical card as I tend to pay nearly everything using my phone. I would suspect that in another 5-15 years we will not even need a card or phone to pay, our transactions will start to become fully biometric, it will just be a finger print scan (subsurface ultrasound scan), or an iris scan. As much as some people like to complain cash is dying and will likely be little more than a relic in five years time, possibly totally dead within a decade.0 -
MattMattMattUK said:When I was a kid it was cash, because children only had savings accounts with passbooks. When I turned 18 I got a debit card and a credit card, only major retailers took cards and it was slow, but it got quicker and more widespread. I have probably written no more than five cheques in my life and I do not think any for twenty years.
I have not used cash for five years and for five before that cash use was infrequent, now it is rare for me to use a physical card as I tend to pay nearly everything using my phone. I would suspect that in another 5-15 years we will not even need a card or phone to pay, our transactions will start to become fully biometric, it will just be a finger print scan (subsurface ultrasound scan), or an iris scan. As much as some people like to complain cash is dying and will likely be little more than a relic in five years time, possibly totally dead within a decade.
Being younger than many members here cannot remember as far back, started working properly in 1993 and whilst I and all the other new starters were paid monthly by bank transfer a good number of the long standing staff were paid weekly in cash. Always found the waxed paper envelope that they stapled closed through the notes odd.
Went to uni in Scotland where the £1 note was still fairly common in the late 90s, always brought a few home to England as when you handed them over most mistook them for £5. The one that annoyed me though was the removal of the 0.5p coin. Whilst initially sweeties became 2 for 1p rather than the original 0.5p each that quickly ended.
Found it surprising going to the US in the 2010s that the old click clack machines were still being used... already had one card that wasnt embossed back then but the staff insisted on using the machine despite it only capturing the outline of the card.
These days dont carry my wallet either, just use my phone for payment. Did mean on one occasion checking into a hotel was more complex as forgot to bring any cards but Im sure in time that will be corrected too.0 -
DullGreyGuy said:MattMattMattUK said:When I was a kid it was cash, because children only had savings accounts with passbooks. When I turned 18 I got a debit card and a credit card, only major retailers took cards and it was slow, but it got quicker and more widespread. I have probably written no more than five cheques in my life and I do not think any for twenty years.
I have not used cash for five years and for five before that cash use was infrequent, now it is rare for me to use a physical card as I tend to pay nearly everything using my phone. I would suspect that in another 5-15 years we will not even need a card or phone to pay, our transactions will start to become fully biometric, it will just be a finger print scan (subsurface ultrasound scan), or an iris scan. As much as some people like to complain cash is dying and will likely be little more than a relic in five years time, possibly totally dead within a decade.DullGreyGuy said:Being younger than many members here cannot remember as far back, started working properly in 1993 and whilst I and all the other new starters were paid monthly by bank transfer a good number of the long standing staff were paid weekly in cash. Always found the waxed paper envelope that they stapled closed through the notes odd.
Some of the companies near me used those envelopes when I was growing up, particularly the tool making companies. I remember finding one on a Saturday morning in the school holidays when I was 12, still sealed and full of money. I was walking my neighbours dog and it was on a path so I took it home, it had the name of the company on it and a man's name, but no address, I found them in the yellow pages. On the Monday morning I walked up there (with my parents permission) on my way to play football, went in to reception and went to hand it in, the receptionist called in the manager who then went and got the man named on the pay packet. The man burst into tears, gave me a huge hug followed by a twenty pound note and then asked the manager if he could use the office phone to call his wife. That was something I did not really understand properly for many more years.DullGreyGuy said:Went to uni in Scotland where the £1 note was still fairly common in the late 90s, always brought a few home to England as when you handed them over most mistook them for £5. The one that annoyed me though was the removal of the 0.5p coin. Whilst initially sweeties became 2 for 1p rather than the original 0.5p each that quickly ended.DullGreyGuy said:Found it surprising going to the US in the 2010s that the old click clack machines were still being used... already had one card that wasnt embossed back then but the staff insisted on using the machine despite it only capturing the outline of the card.DullGreyGuy said:These days dont carry my wallet either, just use my phone for payment. Did mean on one occasion checking into a hotel was more complex as forgot to bring any cards but Im sure in time that will be corrected too.
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I remember taking a huge mixed bag of coins and notes to a post office and swapping them all for a postal order, which I then posted across the country in exchange for some hideously (compared with today!) expensive computer hardware (I believe it was a 20MB hard drive that cost about £150). This was probably 1996 and a year or two before TSB decided to tantalise me with the offer of a chequebook and credit card.
Older me would have told younger me not to lean on that credit card too much!0 -
booneruk said:I remember taking a huge mixed bag of coins and notes to a post office and swapping them all for a postal order, which I then posted across the country in exchange for some hideously (compared with today!) expensive computer hardware (I believe it was a 20MB hard drive that cost about £150). This was probably 1996 and a year or two before TSB decided to tantalise me with the offer of a chequebook and credit card.booneruk said:Older me would have told younger me not to lean on that credit card too much!0
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I had my first credit card (Access) in 1982, which was originally used for petrol purchase only. My husband had had a charge card (American Express) for a number of years previously.Personally, I never found cheques cumbersome to use, in fact I still use them occasionally. I think of them as a “Money-Saving” device, as they give a pause for thought (“do I really want this thing?”). I also use cash from time to time, especially when making a low-value purchase from a small independent retailer as otherwise the credit card charges eat their profit.
As you may have guessed, I’m a bit older than some who’ve commented here, and I find it bemusing to see people paying for things with their mobile phones - how does that work, then? What happens if there is bad mobile signal, or the phone is lost, stolen, broken or runs out of charge?“Tomorrow is another day for decluttering.”Decluttering 2023 🏅🏅🏅🏅⭐️⭐️
Decluttering 2025 💐 🏅 💐 ⭐️3 -
I remember until quite recently my Nat West cheques had pictures of birds on them! I still use a cheque to pay my milkman, he puts a bill through about once a month (I only get 3 pints a week) and I put a cheque in an envelope in the empty bottle. I also pay my ground rent twice a year by cheque which I post off
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DullGreyGuy said:
Went to uni in Scotland where the £1 note was still fairly common in the late 90s, always brought a few home to England as when you handed them over most mistook them for £5.These days dont carry my wallet either, just use my phone for payment. Did mean on one occasion checking into a hotel was more complex as forgot to bring any cards but Im sure in time that will be corrected too.Lidl had a problem a few weeks back when the machines were not accepting contactless, luckily I had a real card with me - stick it in the slot and type in the PIN
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