Holiday Purchases - 6 Reasons To Use Cash

Cash has fallen out of favor among consumers who find it easier to reach for a card in their wallets. Some shoppers may even wonder if people still carry cash when credit cards and debit cards have become so convenient and widely accepted? Actually, they do.

Cash can be a smart choice for many purchases, including holiday spending. Here are six reasons why cash can be king once more.

1. Limits spending in a tangible way: A key benefit of using cash is that it presents a visual cue that spending should cease. If a shopper has set a $200 limit for holiday gifts, when that $200 in cash is gone, it's a surefire reminder that it is time to step away from the register and leave the store. It can be hard to view spending in real time when using credit or debit.

2. Bills are accepted everywhere. Unlike some credit cards, merchants will not turn away cash. This is especially helpful when shopping at small businesses or pop-up markets that are popular during the holidays. Local artisans or other niche vendors may only take cash as well.

Five Tax Cheats Explained

Thinking about stiffing Uncle Sam? Well it's not exactly legal — not at all legal, come to think of it — but one tax expert ran the hypothetical for us.

First off, it is highly illegal and incredibly stupid to cheat on your taxes. This isn't to say that no one does it, but it's important to stress this point strongly off the top. See, the thing about an audit by the Internal Revenue Service is this: it's nothing like being arrested, where you're innocent until proven guilty. It's just the opposite. When the IRS comes a-knocking you're guilty until you can prove yourself innocent.

But with such a tiny fraction of returns audited each year this doesn't mean people aren't out there looking for shady ways to pare down their tax burden. "A lot of tax evaders come to my site," says Kelly Phillips Erb, the highly ethical tax attorney who runs the blog Taxgirl.com. "And I let people talk about it because I find it interesting, and I find their logic interesting."