Cash Is King

I have written earlier about how I tried to live without cash for a week, using only credit cards, debit cards, checks and barter system. But recently I met a gentlemen who is the other extreme. He is a a highly educated and highly paid executive with a top MNC and travels extensively both within India and abroad.

While we were talking over lunch he confessed that he cut his cards in 4 and returned about 5 years ago. I was wondering how he is living now a days as for most transactions especially if you are travelling abroad you need a credit card number to book hotel. To this he mentions that all his travel abroad are business trips so he will use one of this strategy:

1. Ask one of the colleagues travelling with him pay for his hotel bills and get reimbursed and most of them oblige as they are happy to make points on their credit cards.
2. Simply ask the company travel agent to book hotel and send the bill to company directly.

Though I found it to be a little painful. His logic is  simple that since he does not uses a credit card or debit card either for official or personal expenses he never overspends. Like when he goes to shopping with his family he will carry cash with him and this way will not overspend on items he does not needs. So this way he stays in his budget and never pays a rupee in interest to bank when he overspends. He also mentioned that he has learnt this the hard way as he did a lot of overspending when he had credit cards and now just does not owns any credit cards. Also since he pays cash a lot of shopkeepers are willing to offer him discounts that they do not offer to people paying by credit cards.

Now this is just totally opposite of my views as I like to spend all my money by means that are accountable as I believe that this way all tax evasion and avoidance can be controlled and is better for economy and country..

I personally will find it very hard to take cash everywhere to spend but it is working very well for him.

What do you say?