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Comment by aftbit | Hacker News Reader

I use cash because it doesn't require batteries, and because my cell phone won't let me use Google Pay, as it's running a custom OS (before that, was rooted) so I'm obviously untrustworthy.

I do use a credit card pretty often too, but I always have a little cash on me and I use it at least weekly.

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> I use cash because it doesn't require batteries

> my cell phone ... running a custom OS

Both very good points. Thank you for speaking up :)

A credit card or debit card doesn’t require batteries either…

Imprint machines are dead; most of my cards don't have raised numbers, possibly none of them have them. Where I live, most of the terminals are either on batteries directly or via a UPS.

If someone is anti-battery, they shouldn't use credit cards here. Although, cash registers are usually on a UPS too.

I meant credit cards don’t require the user to have a charged device.

To pile on the battery issue, we had some very severe storms in my area that took down power for days and internet for weeks. Credit card processing was not possible for gas stations during that time period, but the pumps worked when the power came back on. The only way you could fill up at those stations was with cash. It doesn't happen every day, but it does happen, and perhaps more importantly could be made to happen.

Not that cash is necessarily a lot better. I can't remember what sci-fi character made the observation that "all currency is mutual delusion", but I observe the truth of that. I've thought it was in Hyperion, but have not been able to find it.

And during the severe thunderstorms in Florida when everyone was coming to Orlando, places ran out of gas. We had an EV and charged at home.

Are you going to get an EV too? Yes we keep some cash because we travel a lot and use cash for tips.

> And during the severe thunderstorms in Florida when everyone was coming to Orlando, places ran out of gas. We had an EV and charged at home.

Having an electric vehicle is NOT the benefit you think it is here.

You could just as easily have an internal combustion engine and spare fuel tanks. My car holds about 12 gallons of fuel and I have three 5-gallon fuel jugs ready to do. I use the fuel jugs for my lawnmower to keep the fuel fresh, but the jugs serve just as well during an emergency. And the benefit over an electric vehicle: I can put the fuel jugs into the tank or the trunk and just go.

If your EV is drained... good luck getting it charged when you're given an evacuation order.

Places running out of gas? That's a consequence of poor planning or a just-in-time economy (take your pick) on the gas stations, and a consequence of poor planning or a just-in-time economy on the people buying fuel from gas stations when they should have fueled up before the emergency.

Not everyone can buy fuel jugs. Good luck storing fuel jugs anywhere safe when you're living in an urban environment. It's the same for EV batteries too.

Operative word is “had” which fairly enough could be interpreted as the storm was in the past tense or the car was in the past tense. I meant the latter.

We only had it for six months (SixT month to month car subscription) while trying to decide what our next move was. We didn’t know whether we were going to stay in Florida all year or travel half the year and rent our place out and stay at home half the year or not.

We had just come off of a year of doing the digital nomad thing and flying one way across the country.

> Operative word is “had” which fairly enough could be interpreted as the storm was in the past tense or the car was in the past tense. I meant the latter.

OK fair enough

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