Overheard my neighbor say cash is 'basically untraceable' and got me thinking

He was bragging to his buddy about paying $800 under the table for a used lawn tractor because 'no paper trail.' But the thing is, I use cash to stay on budget and avoid debt, not to hide stuff. Does using cash for everything make you look shady to people, or is that just their hangup?

2 comments

2 Comments

angelafisher11d ago

I actually read a piece a while back that said something like 80% of all US currency is within like 20 feet of a drug deal or organized crime, which is wild. Makes me wonder if that neighbor even knows how much cash is really out there, you know, not just hiding stuff. But for regular people like us, cash is just a tool - I use it to keep from overspending on snacks at truck stops (don't judge). People assume the worst because of movies, but that's their problem, not yours.

jason95811d ago

Wait, hold up. @angelafisher, that 80% number can't be right, can it? I mean, I know cash gets used for shady stuff, but eighty percent of all the bills in circulation being within 20 feet of a drug deal sounds like a stat somebody just made up to sound cool at a party. That would mean pretty much every dollar in my wallet is rubbing elbows with some cartel guy in a movie scene, which is just nuts. I'm with you on using it for truck stop snacks though, that self control thing is real.