4 hours ago, Fielder said:

The cash I carry in my wallet (a few hundred dollars) is a very small amount compared to what's in my bank account. Buying with a card puts the whole account at risk because you are giving away all your personal information to some low wage clerk who is processing that card

Or you can use Apple Pay or Google Pay and be far more secure than credit card alone or carrying around hundreds of dollars in your wallet. Doesn't matter who is working the check-out, they never get your card number and any potential credit card skimmer will only get a one time token that is useless for additional payments.

https://romanglushach.medium.com/secure-mobile-payments-behind-the-scenes-how-apple-pay-and-google-pay-protect-your-sensitive-card-be7a24ddf392

And as for maps, with Carplay in my car, and many others these days, the maps on the phone are quite easy to use. Android Auto also works well too. You get your option of map app (some work better in different region when travelling), and with power from the car, battery life isn't of much concern.

Edited October 11, 20241 yr by kangoat

Yes apple pay and Google pay is safer in the 5% of places that accept them. Safer still is Paypal, but that is not very portable.  Cash works for anything. Cash is safety. Above all, cash is freedom, nobody else but you and the seller can know what you are doing, unless you want to tell them so.

5 hours ago, Fielder said:

Yes apple pay and Google pay is safer in the 5% of places that accept them. Safer still is Paypal, but that is not very portable.  Cash works for anything. Cash is safety. Above all, cash is freedom, nobody else but you and the seller can know what you are doing, unless you want to tell them so.

 

Is Apple and Samsung pay not common in the US, then?

It's everywhere in the UK and British Isles. My daughter never carries cash, she uses Apple pay everywhere. You just tap it on the checkout machine, same as contactless. Even the little sandwich kiosk I know accepts it.

"Cash is safety"... not if someone bashes you on the head and takes it. 

Cash doesn't work for some places in my neck of the woods. Buses are all cashless now and I know a burger place that only accepts cards. 🙂

Cash is safety to me because all that is at risk is the small amount I carry and hundred dollars or two normally. Not important. If someone has my credentials, there could go a hundred thousand dollars or more.

No... as long as you aren't at fault, it's covered by the bank. I presume the same in US.

2 hours ago, Fielder said:

Cash is safety to me because all that is at risk is the small amount I carry and hundred dollars or two normally. Not important. If someone has my credentials, there could go a hundred thousand dollars or more.

Unfortunately, the powers that be aren't going to let us little people use cash for too much longer.  They already have plans for digital currencies, which of course can only be used with electronic hardware and software.  Govts. and mega-corporations want to know exactly what we spend our money on, govts. so they can tax  the proceeds and monitor and control what those pesky citizens are buying, and corporations so they can learn our habits and blast us with focused advertising.

As for the Western world, this will likely be implemented first in Australia, the UK, and Europe, and then eventually the USA.  The USA will resist for a long time and some States will issue their own hard currencies, but in the end we will all be forced to succumb or suffer the consequences.

This is a vital part of the neo-feudal system, also known as "Democracy".

Dave

I think that when Saint John was on Patmos he began to dread the future culture of control which Rome was spreading over the known world:

Rev 13:17 "And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark". In other words, without the official Roman mark, the person in the Middle East would soon not be able to buy nor sell anything. I think John's ponderings on the dangers of the so called bright new future was very wise.

2 hours ago, Fielder said:

I think that when Saint John was on Patmos he began to dread the future culture of control which Rome was spreading over the known world:

Good historical example.  I see the USA and its vassals as similar to the Roman Empire in many ways.

Many people don't realize that in Revelation John was talking about the Roman Empire, not a world 2000 years in the future.

Dave

I typically carry $20 in my wallet for those increasingly rare instances where only cash is accepted. For example, two days ago I had my beard shaped and trimmed, and the barber shop would charge an additional $3 for any charge card.

I also carry a spare car key in case I ever lock myself out... 🫣

My bank now requires two factor authentication, where I must enter a code via SMS on my cell phone. While a bit annoying, it does provide some badly needed protection against any scammer who somehow obtains my banking information.

On 10/13/2024 at 4:26 PM, n4gix said:

My bank now requires two factor authentication, where I must enter a code via SMS on my cell phone.

 

Yep. Had a right game with that, today. My bank has started, from time to time, sending a text message requesting an OTP before you can log in. No SMS the entire day so couldn't log in. Finally, a few minutes go, success. I spent quite a while messing with my phone in case it was a setting that was preventing an SMS from getting through. Wasn't my phone, some other gremlin in the system. First time I've ever had that happen. 

Edited October 14, 20241 yr by martin-w

We have a phone that works perfectly on landline or the internet. With a little converter box to convert the phone plug to usb. It's a real phone made in 1922 by Western Electric. People restore these and sell them online (eBay, Etsy). This one is unrestored and was made by Ericsson, but works fine so they say. Ours sure does.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/204535289317?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28&srsltid=AfmBOoqkS7tfltiaP3jmpo7VO51qLewcU9xf0Kc3ED_Ngx7dGi_Eck8cIEs

 

 

 

3 hours ago, Fielder said:

We have a phone that works perfectly on landline or the internet.

 

And that's Uncle Joe he's a movin' kinda slow... (I don't mean our President).