I find myself using credit cards less and less now that even the simplest purchases at some retail outlets are requiring ID.  It is just a hassle to reach in and produce ID every single time I want to charge something.   Worse yet, because of the financial crisis, banks cut some of my credit lines and I opted to close the accounts altogether and not deal with them at all.    And now, the rewards programs for remaining cards continue to get worse since not too long ago I used to get 3% cash back, I’m now down to a paltry 1% on almost all cards.

Combine all of this with my great newly found disdain for large banks and I may soon eliminate credit cards from my payment method portfolio altogether.  What am I using now?   Ever since I opened a couple of credit union accounts nearby my office, I find myself going over and withdrawing a few hundred bucks of cash and paying in cash for almost everything.    The lone exception is gas station terminals and what I can’t figure out is why gas stations aren’t asking for ID?  After all, you could easily slide your drivers license into that same slot that you slide the credit card into so what gives?  Generally, I need to enter my zip code whenever I use a credit card at a gas station so why can’t I do that at a retail outlet?

I guess it’s just one of those paradoxes………