Cash? What's Cash?

I rarely use cash for anything. I am a credit card or debit card guy primarily because I like having all my expenses payable at once when a statement arrives. I don't spend cash and I rarely write checks except for vehicle registration renewals, property tax payments, etc. Besides, checks are expensive and I'm amazed that so many people scribble those things out as often as they do. I may be on my 2nd box of checks since I opened an account in 1997.

Question of the Day:

When did you last use an ATM machine and how frequently do you use one?

This may come as a shock to some of you, but as far as I can tell, the last time I used an ATM was June 12, 2006. I track all my transactions in Quicken, even ATM withdrawals. That date actually surprises me!

Now granted, it does help that my mother occasionally slips $20 in a letter she sends me. But that cash is spent very slowly. I simply abhor the ATM fees which at a nearby machine runs $1.50 per withdrawal. If used an ATM once a week, I'd be paying $78 a year in fees! I can't help but wonder how many people use an ATM twice a week, or three times a week.

Ridiculous. And how much is a box of checks these days? I don't have a clue.

All I can tell you is I have about $120 in cashback rewards sitting in my Discover card account to use at a variety of online merchants. I should be rewarded for every dollar I spend, not charged for it.