*DISCLAIMER: Information in this blog is for educational purposes only. Nothing should be construed to be financial or legal advice. For financial or legal advice, please see a professional advisor*
“Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)
WE have all heard the saying, “Cash is king.” What that means is that it’s better to buy things outright than use credit to purchase things, and go into debt. I agree with that 100%, but since the Covid pandemic, we have been seeing memes online where people are associating the mark of the beast with a cashless society, and some even go as far to cut up all credit cards and debit cards, and only do cash transactions using paper money. The thinking is that cash does not leave a digital trail of your purchases, and so it’s easy for the government to track you and your purchases, when you go cashless. For those of us however, who want to limit the use of credit and debit cards for other reasons, there are at least seven situations in which cash is NOT king.
1. When Making Online Purchases
With many businesses closed due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions, many businesses have managed to stay afloat using an online format for business and financial transactions. A lot of times too, online is the only way the consumer can obtain products due to store closings, and limited in-store inventory. Since the pandemic, online retailers such as Amazon have seen a boom in business, as more and more people shift to online shopping. If you do not have a credit or debit card, there is no way you can participate in online shopping. They certainly cannot take cash through the internet, and will need some kind of digital interface which will collect your cash digitally, whether it’s a debit card, paypal account, or some other kind of digital wallet which is linked to your bank account. Digital wallets are the new way to pay without cash, using your smart phone, and include programs such as Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Wallet, and Paypal, which allow you to pay for purchases with a debit or credit card, without revealing your debit or credit card information to the merchant. So yes, you can pay for items online without using a credit card, as long as your cash exists in a digital format, as paper money does not work online.
2. When you Want to Build Your Credit
You certainly won’t ruin your credit paying cash for everything, and no one has ever gotten a bad credit rating paying with cash. What ruins your credit is if you do not pay your bills, even if you have no credit card, for example, if you do not pay your phone bill or medical bills. Credit is built when you pay your debts on time, and pay them off. I’m not saying go into debt to build credit, but if you use a credit card for purchases, and pay them off when due, it’s like paying cash, as you owe nothing, while at the same time building credit. If however you cut up and close your credit cards, and do not use them for whatever reason, you cannot take advantage of the benefits of building credit while owing nothing, using credit cards. Paying off one’s credit card balance each month will help one to keep the Biblical principle of “owe no one anything” while building credit (Romans 13:8).
3. When you Want to Earn Cashback Rewards
Cash is NOT king, when you are missing out on cashback rewards from credit card purchases. Not only can you pay off your entire credit card balance each month interest-free, but you can also earn points for purchases made, for things you would buy anyway with cash. These points can then be traded in for travel miles, purchases, and so on, depending upon the program. I usually save up my points all year long, then use them at Christmas for purchases, without me having to dip into my pocket for extra money for Christmas purchases. Imagine, buying Christmas gifts for your entire family, with no out of pocket costs! Last year I bought a mini fireplace with reward points, and nothing out of my pocket. Amazing!
4. When Purchasing Big-Ticket Items
Cash is not king, if it means walking around with large sums of money. As a matter of fact, you draw attention to yourself as a money launderer suspect, when you walk around with wads of cash. Imagine purchasing a car carrying a briefcase of money, rather than a check or debit card. Not only does it look suspicious, but you are also attracting thieves to yourself. Paying for small items here and there with cash is fine, but when it comes to big-ticket items it can be a problem, and a security risk. Even when traveling internationally, you have to declare $10,000 or more cash on you. Be safe, and use safer instruments, where you are still paying cash, but not in cash. If you lose your check you can always put a stop payment on it, or if you lose your debit card, you can always cancel it, whereas if you lose your cash, it’s gone. No one can trace it back to you.
5. When Disputing Purchases
Cash is NOT king when you have to dispute purchases, especially if you do cash purchases using checks or a debit card, or direct bill-pay. If too much money is taken out of your account for automatic bill pay, or your bank account is debited incorrectly, that’s a loss of your own personal money. If there are unauthorized charges or withdrawals from your account, again that is a loss of money until you dispute it, and depending on your bank, it may take time to get reimbursed. I rather use credit cards for online purchases, because incorrect charges do not impact my personal money, when they are disputed. Many banks and credit card companies now offer where you can sign up for alerts whenever your bank account or credit card is used. This is however a feature of online banking, and you can’t get this service using ‘passbook savings.’ Even if you do not sign up for online banking, your bank account is still online, whether you want it there or not, so might as well take advantage of the benefits of online banking, to monitor accounts.
6. When You Think it’s Cash When It Isn’t
Some people do not want to use any type of credit or debit card for purchases, because they do not want to leave a digital trail of purchases. Credit and debit cards contain microchips which banks use to track the use of your card. It tells the bank the location of the transaction, purchase amount, and merchant. It does not tell the bank what you purchased. Your merchant however may be keeping track of the things you purchase, even if you use cash at the store, so that a cash purchase on your end, becomes a digital purchase at the point of sale. When you sign up for store rewards, merchants can keep track of your purchases in their stores digitally. If you visit their website, even if you purchase nothing, merchants can send you targeted ads while you are online, to entice you to by things online or in the store. So yeah, if your main purpose of not using any type of credit or debit card is to not be have your purchases digitally monitored, Big Brother still finds a way to watch you.
7. When You Believe Cashless is the Mark of the Beast
Cash is NOT king in a cashless society, where paper money is no longer legal tender, and does not exist. If you believe that going cashless is a sign of the mark of the beast, then no, you cannot use the cash you hoarded up for transactions. Cash will be just as useless as a blank piece of paper – worthless. Even if you wanted to go undercover and use cash to purchase things, you cannot, because no one will want something which isn’t legal tender. We saw that in Europe when many countries gave up their local currencies in exchange for the Euro. People had to bring in their local currencies and exchanged them for Euros in order for continue buying and selling. It’s the same way with a cashless society. Convert your cash to digital currency in order to buy or sell. If you can’t buy or sell with cash, then cash certainly is not king.
Even if we do retain the use of cash on some limited basis in a largely cashless society, and if the mark of the beast is linked to buying and selling, no corporation is going to want to do business with you – cash or otherwise, if you do not have the mark (Revelation 13:17). Cash can always be seized, and once you spend it, it’s gone, and the government can always block you from earning it. Hoarding cash as a safeguard against the mark of the beast doesn’t work, because if cash is rendered useless, your money will not be accepted. Money is created by governments, and thus is man-made. It’s printed on government presses, and is the currency of this world. At one time we used to use gold and silver as legal tender, but now we use paper money. Just like how you cannot go into a store and make purchases with gold or silver without first converting it into cash, it’s the same way with paper money. You cannot make a purchase with paper money unless it’s deemed legal tender. The trend towards converting cash into digital money and cashless isn’t going away. As a matter of fact, companies are working on implantable microchips which can be used to pay for things. Microchips are here to stay.
“The time is come, the day draweth near: let not the buyer rejoice, nor the seller mourn: for wrath is upon all the multitude thereof.” (Ezekiel 7:13)
Conclusion
Cash is king when you can pay for things without going into debt, but it isn’t king when you limit yourself to only using paper money, and miss out on the benefits of digital cash transactions. Cash is not king in a cashless society, because it does not exist, but even if it does exist in a limited way, governments can block your ability to earn it or use it, along with digital transactions. So hoarding cash is useless if you want to avoid creating a digital money trail, because even your simple money transactions are sometimes eventually converted into a digital form, and the government controls the use of money in whatever form you use it.
If you liked this blog, and found it helpful, please don’t hesitate to leave a comment below, or contact me for more information about smart money moves in a spiritually bankrupt world.