Cold cash is not what it used to be by Tony Green

Image of a twenty dollar bill

On this particular Sunday afternoon I took with my son to see a movie and while as we waited in the ticket line the women ahead of me mentioned she had sent her daughter home to get cash since the machine which processed debit/ credit cards was not working.

I thought to myself, “Are you kidding me?”

A few moments before I reached the booth to purchase our tickets the machine came back up. The incident made me think how cashless our society is nowadays. In my case, there are months where I go without using any cash as all.

How can this be? With the use of debit cards, and even using written checks has been reduced a large amount with the implementation of online payment of bills. Will we as a society ever become 100% cashless?

My initial thought would be, as with any electronics based technology, the possibility of a problem with either losing you electronic method of payment or a glitch in technology which would preclude your access to your money. Wouldn’t cash be nice to be able to use in that situation?

Time will tell but if we were to ever get rid of all printed money, what would the mint do with all of the cash?  Another issue which might arise is what happened if a bank was not readily accessible?

As a youngster growing up in Philly before you could open a checking account you needed to take your paycheck to a check cashing place which after a slight deduction for the service of cashing your check you had your wages represented in a pocket full of cold cash.

The future of printed money might be academic. People have bartered and exchanged goods with each other since the beginning of civilization.  The value of these commodities later became what we know today as cash. Since hand- to-hand transactions will probably not disappear it would be hard to imagine an electronic based method of commerce.

With that in mind cash might never fall out of use permanently but still is not what is used to be.

The use of a Home Owners Association by Tony Green

Image of townhomes

My homeowner’s dues went up again last month. Why? In my case, my fees have increased 100 dollars in the eight years since I purchased the home I currently live in. My question is, “what is the point?” It seems single unit homes are maintained in decent condition without working with Home Owners Associations.

Without doubt, I will concur the streets within the complex receive fresh paving and the grass is cut on occasion but in the case of an regular home the street department are taking care of that from the taxes we already pay.

I recall an issue with the color of the paint on my house. The person we bought the house from had installed a wire to run a phone line to the bedroom. (Do not ask me why this was not done when the home was originally built almost 40 years ago). It seemed they drilled a hole through the wall from the terminal in next to the storage area. In any case, I received a complaint from management because the wire was mismatched to the color of the house. In the end, I had find the exact color of paint at Home Depot and bought a one quart can to paint over around four inches of wire. 

I recall another instance where my wife was attempting to organize a garage sale. Later I received a letter we had not been granted permission from the homeowners Association in order to conduct a garage sale. Why is it I need to ask person to put on a garage sale on a property I purchased? Isn’t that one of the good things about being a homeowner?

Finally, I reviewed the financial statements sent by the managements of the Home Owners Association and even with after noting how methodical the details are laid out of how every penny has been sent and how the budgets are determined I still wonder, “Where is all of my hard earned money going?” 

If you manage a HOA and can tell me I would be very happy to hear what your feelings are on the matter.