Money for loop

Ski in NC said:

In my area, some of the best marine mechanics do not take plastic. They will drive you to an ATM!!

Tie up to the fuel dock and ask dockmaster about a boat problem, he has numbers for several independent mechs that each have a specialty. These guys are very good, very fast, and very reasonable. And they don't take plastic. Although I think some might be getting with it lately.

Cash still works with them.

You can call a dealer or large service company, they of course take plastic, but also have a reputation for super heavy billing.

Click to expand...

Maybe it is where I travel and how I live....it is not about ME and my spending habits...it is about the guy I need something from and CASH is the only thing that works.

Also as said before.....cash discounts to do add up for some of us and not everyone has rewards type CCs.

As I posted before...look ahead and see the possibilities.....the easier it is for you to replenish...the smaller the amount on hand you need.

I know my threshold ....just know yours.

Cash "talks."

markpierce said:

Cash "talks."

Click to expand...

For those talking cash, a couple of specific questions then:

Assuming you fill with 250 gallons of fuel (within reason for the OP's boat), do you carry cash to handle that or how do you pay?

Assuming you have the Selene 53 of a poster above and fill with 1000 gallons, do you carry cash to handle that or how do you pay?

BandB said:

For those talking cash, a couple of specific questions then:

Assuming you fill with 250 gallons of fuel (within reason for the OP's boat), do you carry cash to handle that or how do you pay?

Assuming you have the Selene 53 of a poster above and fill with 1000 gallons, do you carry cash to handle that or how do you pay?

Click to expand...

No, you don't pay all your fuel buys with cash. But it is a good idea to have enough cash to do at least one fuel buy with cash, maybe two. If the plastic works, then fine, use it.

Recently I've seen people having their phone scanned to verify their train ticket (this was in Europe). Don't trust this as one's battery can die at any moment. I trust paper. Paper works for me.

Ski in NC said:

No, you don't pay all your fuel buys with cash. But it is a good idea to have enough cash to do at least one fuel buy with cash, maybe two. If the plastic works, then fine, use it.

Click to expand...

So that means $1000 or $4000 on the two examples I've given.

markpierce said:

... Don't trust this as one's battery can die at any moment. I trust paper. Paper works for me.

Click to expand...

I totally get this now.

"Cash" is just a regurgitation of the paper charts arguments. It's the same logic and traditional way of looking at the world.

I think if using cash (paper charts) works for you, then you should continue to use them. Personally, I think that the day when cash (paper charts) is (are) removed from use, the world will be a much safer and better place.

Jeffrey S said:

I totally get this now.

"Cash" is just a regurgitation of the paper charts arguments. It's the same logic and traditional way of looking at the world.

Click to expand...

Not at all. Some places / people don't take plastic. My boat mechanic doesn't take plastic. Got tired of the occasional out of town scum trying to screw him by stopping credit payments to negotiate a cheaper bill. While credit cards offer the consumer very good protection, they make it easy for unscrupulous consumers to screw very small businesses. If you want the best mobile mechanic around here plan on paying cash. Or you can go with number 2 (who is very good) and pay 25% more on your plastic.

Secondly, I never tip on plastic. Some restaurants charge horrible percentages to their employees to recover their tip money from credit card payments. I tend to frequent the less expensive restaurants and feel most of those who wait tables work hard for their money. Want to make sure they get all of what I want to give them.

Ted

The mechanic I like in Charleston doesn't take credit cards either. He'll happily accept a check. Any business who only takes cash is most surely the unscrupulous player in the game. They're the ones who aren't accepting a trail of what was done and the payments received for doing it. We all know that they're most surely not reporting most/part of the income too thereby screwing all the rest of us honest taxpayers.

Just like paper charts, the arguments aren't worth getting into. The die has been cast and there's no stopping the inevitability of paper charts (cash) disappearing from use. There are too many disadvantages.

Jeffrey S said:

Any business who only takes cash is most surely the unscrupulous player in the game. They're the ones who aren't accepting a trail of what was done and the payments received for doing it.

Click to expand...

I can't believe you posted that. I get a receipt from my mechanic every time he does work for me. Only taking cash has nothing to do with conducting business and giving receipts.

Just like paper charts, the arguments aren't worth getting into. The die has been cast and there's no stopping the inevitability of paper charts (cash) disappearing from use. There are too many disadvantages.

Click to expand...

Funny, I heard that from the bank back in 1984 when I opened my first store. The cash and checks are still here, but they're gone. I do agree though that paper charts are all but history.

Ted

>Any business who only takes cash is most surely the unscrupulous player in the game.<

I see them as the most responsible and Patriotic as they lower the cost of doing business for folks.

No company PAYS taxes , they simply collect tax money (for free) for the dead hand of government to squander.

Not paying taxes reduces the cost of doing business for both the business and all its customers.

Fueling up ? The first question is what is the pump price , and what is the CASH price.

At big marinas its frequently the same price,
at the fuel dock by the fish house , the difference can be huge .

O C Diver said:

Not at all. Some places / people don't take plastic. My boat mechanic doesn't take plastic. Got tired of the occasional out of town scum trying to screw him by stopping credit payments to negotiate a cheaper bill. While credit cards offer the consumer very good protection, they make it easy for unscrupulous consumers to screw very small businesses. If you want the best mobile mechanic around here plan on paying cash. Or you can go with number 2 (who is very good) and pay 25% more on your plastic.

Secondly, I never tip on plastic. Some restaurants charge horrible percentages to their employees to recover their tip money from credit card payments. I tend to frequent the less expensive restaurants and feel most of those who wait tables work hard for their money. Want to make sure they get all of what I want to give them.

Ted

Click to expand...

In Florida if they are paid the very low restaurants server wage it is actually illegal for them to take a fee out of the wage even if it is from card charges ( but your right some owners still do it just like the pooling of tips is not legal by wage and labor laws )

Credit card companies don't always treat vendors very well and can charge some pretty steep fees for accepting CCs. Many times, fuel prices are kept low to stay competitive, so there isn't always the margin there to NOT want to give discounts for cash (or check). In addition, LOTS of marinas are in pretty rural areas and are small business ventures for the owners, fuel purchases are big ticket sales for them and fees add up quickly. a $0.10/gallon discount for 200-500 gallons means both a nice discount for us and better profits for the business. It's a win-win.

As to the original topic, I have never done the loop, so I can't speak DIRECTLY to the OVERALL amount you should take. However, from someone that has been robbed while we slept in a big city marina, I would be careful about the amount you carry at one time. Your comfort level may vary from mine and you can always recharge your cash funds at ATMs or bank branches throughout the trip. If it were me, I would carry enough to buy fuel, food, and possibly enough for a motel stay and car rental for a week should you lose your wallet or have an emergency and are in a more remote area. Plus for lots of tipping of people along the way. Maybe $1000 or so?

We travel frequently and carry cash.

Yes we have credit cards, and we use them as well.

Our rule is simple...

If we can swipe the card, or can see the person actually swipe the card we tend to use a card.

If we have to hand over a card and the person disappears with it, we tend to use cash. The only exception to that is a very nice restaurant. The way I look at it is that a waiter that is getting a $50 tip for dinner is less likely to steal my card because he's making good money anyway.

That way we have very few problems with our cards being compromised.

As far as the concern about being robbed, its non existent. Think about it. Your wifes earrings, or your watch are probably exponentially more valuable than any amount of cash you might have in your pocket.

ksanders said:

Your wifes earrings, or your watch are probably exponentially more valuable than any amount of cash you might have in your pocket.

Click to expand...

Clearly you haven't seen my wifes earrings.

Ted

O C Diver said:

Clearly you haven't seen my wifes earrings.

Ted

Click to expand...

Oh Ted! I was speaking metaphorically , but the whole carrying cash thing as a risk is overrated.

Say you've got even a thousand dollars in your pocket and get robbed.

Replacing that cash is going to be the least of your worries.

Of course you do not want to add to your risk by publically pulling out a wad of bills in a bad neighborhood, but in reality I don't go to bad neighborhoods anyway.

ksanders said:

Oh Ted! I was speaking metaphorically , but the whole carrying cash thing as a risk is overrated.

Say you've got even a thousand dollars in your pocket and get robbed.

Replacing that cash is going to be the least of your worries.

Click to expand...

Absolutely. I don't carry cash because I don't want to be a target. However, I'll gladly hand the cash over. Replacing all credit cards and driver's license and everything else in your wallet is far more troublesome. Or laptops or computers with information on them. Or jewelry that has more meaning to you than it's value. So when looking at security, don't just think cash.

As to cash vs. card and discounts. First, the equation has changed as the price of fuel has come down.

For me, I get 2% back on all credit card expenditures for fuel. When fuel was $4 per gallon that was 8 cents so a 10 cent a gallon cash discount was good but not that great. On 1000 gallons it would save $20. However with fuel at $2 per gallon that becomes a $60 savings to pay cash as the 10 cents a gallon is 5%.

Now for the retailer. The average fee being paid is 1.6% for credit cards and 1.2% for debit cards. Some large marinas are paying less. At 1.6%, we make the same calculations. At $4 per gallon the marina gets $36 less on that same 1000 gallons giving a 10 cent per gallon cash discount and $68 less at $2 per gallon.

With gas prices dropping you're going to see marinas changing from a 10 cent per gallon cash discount to 5 cents.

Regardless the cash does not get the marina more money. For the large corporate marina it makes no sense. But for smaller marinas it does avoid some of the other hassles with cards. It avoids disputes, even though they'd be denied. It avoids the potential the card is stolen. It avoids credit card hold backs due to volume where they might delay some payments to small companies. As long as it's not counterfeit then cash is here and now. That does bring one worry into the equation and that is counterfeit bills can wipe out a lot of profit.

There are also many other available discounts on cards or credit. Boat US and other organizations. Quantity. The point is to ask. Our fuel purchases when traveling are large so we always ask and check. At home, we rarely buy from marinas. Wish it made sense to. But as an example, right now Anchor Petroleum delivers Vavltech Diesel for $2.39 per gallon. The marinas are all $1 more. So we fill at our dock.

Just wanted to put some real numbers to the cash vs. card discussion.

ksanders said:

Oh Ted! I was speaking metaphorically , but the whole carrying cash thing as a risk is overrated.

Of course you do not want to add to your risk by publically pulling out a wad of bills

Click to expand...

When traveling in Europe, we like to hit the smaller shops, restaurants and cafes along the way. We mostly travel on a credit card, but we often would have the cashier ask if maybe we had cash. I'm sure its the Visa fees they would like to avoid.

Last year the further east we traveled the more we heard it, plus several vendors qualifying that with "We accept U.S. dollars." I got in the habit of carrying 200 U.S. and 200 Euro in a money belt to pay for small items, with 50 of it in my pocket. If it helps the vendor better yet.

I have never had a problem with theft, but have witnessed a few purse and cell phone/tablet snatches Europe and here. Most of those occurred on the sidewalks, open venues or from locked cars. Leave your valuable jewelry home when traveling and use common sense where you wander especially at night.

I always carry $300+ in my wallet on the theory that one day I may be looking at the wrong end of a Smith & Wesson. Would rather loose the $s than get a cap in my a$$ for being a cheap Muther f☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ honkee. More than one person has learned that looking like you should have money and having little to take, was a big mistake. I make every effort to avoid those kind of places and people, but you never know.......

Ted

Edelweiss said:

When traveling in Europe, we like to hit the smaller shops, restaurants and cafes along the way.

Last year the further east we traveled the more we heard it, plus several vendors qualifying that with "We accept U.S. dollars."

Click to expand...

That is different issue. The further East one travels in Europe, the larger the black economy. The percentages of underground economy is amazing in some.





https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/3928/WPS5356.pdf?sequence=1

Nobody is saying to carry $1000 in your wallet at all times. Just have SOME cash hidden on the boat at all. Times. You may not be robbed like we were, but losing a CC is a real possibility. We got lucky that another guy at the marina GAVE us$100 to get us home. Without that, we would have been in real trouble. If you are 500 miles from home, you lose your wallet and. Need to get a plane ticket, you will be glad you had some spare coin. That said, you can easily hide an emergency CC in your boat too. You cannot be too prepared.

When we traveled in the Carib we had cash in a number of locations on the boat incase we were broken into or stuck up.

I also had really well hidden a stash of Zircons , (look like diamonds) that perhaps woyld make a machetti hacking thief go away.

Happily having a smaller boat , with cattle fence wired life lines , we never had a problem.

I have a friend who wraps up cash in aluminum foil and keeps it in the freezer. Seems like it was a reasonable hiding place.

If thieves actually board the boat, then cash and how well it's hidden or not, is the least of my worries. I'll give them the cash to not mess with the computers and electronics. Obviously will give it to them for no one to get hurt.

That all brings me to a topic I don't see discussed her frequently which is security systems. There are now many available for boats. On larger boats they're used somewhat widely though not as often as I would expect. However, it seems to me that in the 30-70 foot range, very few boats have them.

In the US having a great video of the perps might be worthwhile.

In many other countries all it would do is create Christmas Card photos for the perp.

FF said:

In the US having a great video of the perps might be worthwhile.

In many other countries all it would do is create Christmas Card photos for the perp.

Click to expand...

I'm not just talking cameras. What about intrusion detection? Sirens, even to the point of being unbearable and chasing away? Lights, even to the point of those that are strong enough to scare away and/or incapacitate? Smoke, too thick to go through? Or just something to alert you? Many houses have some form of "burglar alarm" but not many boats it seems in the 30-70' size range. And this isn't to say cameras aren't part of it. Even cameras and speakers so you can speak to the intruder.

You can even get a pepper sprayer that will shoot out when motion activated.

BandB said:

If thieves actually board the boat, then cash and how well it's hidden or not, is the least of my worries. I'll give them the cash to not mess with the computers and electronics. Obviously will give it to them for no one to get hurt.

That all brings me to a topic I don't see discussed her frequently which is security systems. There are now many available for boats. On larger boats they're used somewhat widely though not as often as I would expect. However, it seems to me that in the 30-70 foot range, very few boats have them.

Click to expand...

This may be a good topic for its own thread.

FlyWright said:

This may be a good topic for its own thread.

Click to expand...

i think you're right...will do.