[j1elo]

Today I was able to walk into a grocery store, pay for food, and go home to have a warm lunch (having a gas stove also helped tremendously). The matter was having a 10€ note at home. Not what I'd call "piles of cash".

As an added benefit, no bank knows where I bought and when, which I find is a great advantage over the alternatives. (I also use Gpay; this comes from someone who just found a good middle point without forgetting about the more reliable, physical and privacy friendly option)

[ithkuil]

I think I have 10€ laying around at all times, possibly in loose change between my home and car. I do not always walk around with that in my pocket and I never have more than 500€ at home.

I didn't mean literally zero cash, but once the bulk of your transactions are by card, you don't need to constantly go to the ATM and replenish your cash reserves

[j1elo]

And I myself didn't mean that I happened to have a measly 10€ note at home, I normally have around 300 minimum, to spend organically on purchases.

Of course I get that carrying coins and notes is cumbersome, but if we've managed to live all through the 80's and 90's with it, I think we can manage to keep doing it. 100% digital money is giving up on a huge level of self-determination and privacy that I wouldn't feel comfortable with, but I guess as newer generations grow up already pre-adoctrinated and not being able to compare the before-and-after, in the end society will end giving up.

[ithkuil]

I got my first cell phone as a full bearded adult so I do remember the times where you carried cash and the time you could actually meet people in places without having to constantly update one's position.

I don't think it's just a generational divide.

I do understand the privacy and self-determination problems of a cashless society but I have to admit I'm just to weak-minded to care about that in practice; the practicality of just paying even for just coffee with my phone is just too big for me to care for it.

[diggan]

> the time you could actually meet people in places without having to constantly update one's position

Not sure I understand how that's different than today? You set a time and place, then you meet there, are people doing more than that today? Seems the youngsters understand this concept as well as older people, at least from the people I tend to meet like that.

> the practicality of just paying even for just coffee with my phone is just too big for me to care for it.

Interestingly enough, no matter if you had cash or card yesterday you couldn't get a coffee anywhere, as none of the coffee machines had power and even in the fancier places where they could have made the coffee without power, they didn't have electricity for the grinder itself, so no coffee even for them.

[ithkuil]

> You set a time and place, then you meet there, are people doing more than that today?

no, today people are continuously updating you about their whereabouts and assume you can just change time, place continuously and if you don't have the phone people get lost and panic. Ok I'm exaggerating of course, but there is a grain of truth in this