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Klumpen0815: Even if you get yourself an EC card, you still should carry enough cash since some places don't take cards and don't let the change get too big else they won't take your cash either.

Germany loves hard cash and the local tram around here does take neither cards nor bills and often only accepts the exact amount and throws your coin back at you if accepting it would mean having to give any change.
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toxicTom: Although in most bigger cities you can buy tram and bus tickets with your smartphone. No cash needed in this case.
Provided you own and carry a smartphone (which I don't).
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Klumpen0815: Provided you own and carry a smartphone (which I don't).
Me neither, but I guess we are but a small minority nowadays.
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toxicTom: At least it's not 1944.
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tinyE: Somehow I feel bad talking about this with a German. It's like when someone who has never been to my home telling me what my home is like. :P
don't worry, just as the americans forgot their genocide thingy, we forgot ours
Here cash machines are following the phone booths to dodo land, disappearing fast.
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Themken: Here cash machines are following the phone booths to dodo land, disappearing fast.
Now that is interesting to me, why?
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zeogold: I like to tell my German friends jokes sometimes. Afterwards, I'll ask them how funny it was, and they'll always rate me at "nine". I'm quite a hit with that crowd, as you can tell.
You do know that "nine" sounds like the German word "nein", which means "no" in English?
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Themken: Here cash machines are following the phone booths to dodo land, disappearing fast.
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tinyE: Now that is interesting to me, why?
Mobile phones and plastic money is why. I know at least four persons who never ever carry any cash on them whatsoever. I am not one of them but still the trend in Finland, Sweden and Norway at least seems to be less use of cash.
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Themken: Here cash machines are following the phone booths to dodo land, disappearing fast.
Do you already got ID chips implanted in your neck that contain your criminal record, facebook profile and current credit status?
Post edited February 18, 2017 by Klumpen0815
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tinyE: Now that is interesting to me, why?
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Themken: Mobile phones and plastic money is why. I know at least four persons who never ever carry any cash on them whatsoever. I am not one of them but still the trend in Finland, Sweden and Norway at least seems to be less use of cash.
Kind of a trend here too but I simply don't know that much about Finland, so I ask.

Thanks for the quick answer. :D
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Themken: Here cash machines are following the phone booths to dodo land, disappearing fast.
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Klumpen0815: Do you already got ID chips implanted in your neck that contain your criminal record, facebook profile and current credit status?
Not yet but soon enough. You know you will need a chip like that to play games soon, right? Steam hid the future of gaming in plain sight, see picture: http://thelibertydoll.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/valve-logo.jpg

Edit: Or actually Valve, the owners of Steam.
Post edited February 18, 2017 by Themken
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Irenaeus.: ,
There are people on the MPC of the Bank of England who want us to move to a cash-less society, where everything is electronic. However, this is because of tax reasons - they can already cause things like negative interest rates and inflation simply by monetary policy, the actual coins and notes only account for about 5% of the UK money. But I digress.
Yes, but if cash is abolished you can't escape negative interest rates by withdrawing cash from your account (and hoarding it...ok, that may not be the best idea either), you're basically forced into spending it. And in any case what's happening right now (at least in Germany, don't know about the UK) with very low interest rates and increasing risk of inflation already feels a lot like expropriation.
And cash just gives you a certain kind of freedom and flexibility...I'm very much against it being abolished.
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Klumpen0815: Provided you own and carry a smartphone (which I don't).
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toxicTom: Me neither, but I guess we are but a small minority nowadays.
I don't have one either. In fact I don't have a mobile phone at all. I guess that makes me a walking anachronism.
Post edited February 18, 2017 by morolf
The biggest thing that helped me in Germany was learning this phrase, "Ein bier bitte". After uttering that phrase a few times, I found I could talk to the locals even though I knew very little to no German. Truly magical.
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qwixter: The biggest thing that helped me in Germany was learning this phrase, "Ein bier bitte". After uttering that phrase a few times, I found I could talk to the locals even though I knew very little to no German. Truly magical.
That's the right thing to say in almost all circumstances. ;-)
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morolf: I don't have one either. In fact I don't have a mobile phone at all. I guess that makes me a walking anachronism.
Had to get one for work... otherwise I would probably also be without such a thing.
Post edited February 18, 2017 by toxicTom
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zeogold: I like to tell my German friends jokes sometimes. Afterwards, I'll ask them how funny it was, and they'll always rate me at "nine". I'm quite a hit with that crowd, as you can tell.
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real.geizterfahr: You do know that "nine" sounds like the German word "nein", which means "no" in English?
I'd never have guessed.
I know a little German.