My dad was the sort of man who would always have £100 worth of notes in his wallet - “in case of emergencies” he kept enough money in his wallet to get a taxi to Australia and back. My dad wasn’t a particularly rich man, neither was his dad, but they both kept their wallets nice and healthy-looking. My salary is twice what my dad’s was, but my wallet’s empty - what’s changed?

It’s certainly a generational thing, to keep plenty of money out of the bank - money isn’t a real thing anymore, it’s a number on a screen or a bit of plastic in your pocket. There’s almost something a little bit romantic about real money nowadays: there’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your wallet full-to-bursting, but nobody does it anymore?

I’m more worried about ID theft and having my PIN nicked than having my wallet pinched, so why is it my card that I keep on me at all times and not a bunch of tenners (the money, not the choir singers…)?

Money is so much more available nowadays than it used to be: I don’t have to go to my bank to withdraw money to go shopping. In fact, I don’t have to withdraw any money at all; I can “just use my card”. I could spend my life savings without even glimpsing the Queen’s youthful face staring up at me from her reddish note.

I’d struggle to find somewhere on my high street where I couldn’t use my card instead of paying with the ‘real thing’ whereas in my dad’s day he’d struggle to find someone who knew what a ‘card’ was!

So which system’s better? Well, it’s defiantly more convenient for me to just carry around a bit of plastic, although I look a little less flash and generous than my dad used to. Which is safer? The obvious answer would be carrying a card, but I’m actually not so sure, I’ve never been mugged but I have had my pin-number stolen, so who knows. What makes you spend more money? Funnily enough, I’m actually more careful with my cash when I use my card because I can’t see it going down - I’m worried I’ll over-spend. But maybe that’s because I’m used to drawing money out purely to spend it on stuff I don’t really need…

Why is there never any money in my wallet? Because I don’t get paid enough.

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