Living on Cold, Hard Cash and Feeling a Lot Less Charitable

Everyone loves supporting charity, right? After all, St. Jude's Signature Bash, a black tie event I recently attended, provided participants with a fun-filled, elegant evening with the bonus of supporting a good cause. If only navigating a tuxedo rental and establishing "purchase power" at the event could be just as positive when you're with getting by on cash alone.

Fortunately, I had a rental history with the tuxedo rental store. Otherwise, as a cash-only customer, I would have had to find a retailer for pre-paid general purpose reloadable debit cards; drop in to purchase a card; load $135 for the tuxedo rental, plus another $100 for the deposit; and use the card to secure the rental. Total upfront cost? Approximately $240, including purchasing the pre-paid card. The more convenient approach of paying $135 in cash for the rental, plus a cash deposit of $275, (50 percent of the tuxedo's replacement value,) requires an even greater upfront investment of $410.

The cash and effort required to rent a tux was astounding, and I had bigger surprise in store for me at the benefit: They refused to accept cash. Period. How do you manage silent auction with cash only in plastic only environment? It's tricky. However, I managed to convince a fellow attendee to let me put a "deposit" down to use her credit card. Her reaction to my predicament was priceless, and she was more than a little confused by the request, but luckily she agreed.

All's well that ends well, I guess. On the other hand, the effort involved in getting by without plastic was certainly a pain in the neck that left me feeling less charitable by the end of the night.

Speaking of pain, check back soon for my entry on paying bills. You will be amazed at how much time, effort and expense that employees without bank accounts are exerting just to get money into the hands of their payees!

Chris Pigg
VP Client Development