Last year I took my family to a Depech Mode concert, we didn’t bring much with us because of security rules and I didn’t want to be tempted to buy a bunch of stuff so we only brought a bit of cash, our phones, IDs, and ear plugs. After we found our seats my daughter and I stepped back out to get something to drink, and after standing in line for what seemed like a thirsty eternity, we were informed that the venue does not accept cash.

This infuriated me! To not only be charging an exorbitant sum for bottled water and not providing drinking fountains as an alternative, but to put these items behind an exclusively plastic paywall seems unreasonable. The employee behind the counter could tell I was upset, but I wasn’t about to take it out on them… this was beyond their sphere of influence. They pointed out that the venue offered a machine that works kind of like a reverse ATM where you put in cash and get a pre-paid card to use at the venue. The down side to that is, if I needed change… this machine wouldn’t be capable of dispensing it and I would essentially be stuck with a gift card with a balance that I would have no hope of utilizing.

We were parched by the time we got back to the car after the concert, but thankfully we had our travel bottles waiting for us.

Fast forward to an encounter I had today. We had a food truck show up at my job, and the food trucks they book once every couple of months have been delicious, so I had to check it out. When I was next in line I noticed that the person ahead of me was paying with a card so when it was time to place my order I started by asking if they accepted cash (as I’ve been making it a point to use cash as often as possible, ESPECIALLY when leaving a tip), the person taking my order gave me a funny look and I smiled stating “I know ‘cash is king’ but I’ve seen businesses do some weird stuff.” and placed my order.

Its good to know that some small businesses are still accepting cash.

Shop small and pay with cash when you can.