I feel like cash has a ton of disadvantages that people ignore when they complain about credit card fees.
First, I have to find an ATM somewhere. Luckily my bank reimburses ATM fees, but many don't. Plus, I can only take out $20 at a time. If I want to buy something that costs $5, I take $20 out (+ a $3 fee which is 15%, a hell of a lot more than credit cards charge). Now, do you think I'm going to put the remaining $15 back into the bank? Hell, no. I'll find something else to spend it on. So this $5 purchase effectively cost me $23. That 2-3% doesn't sound too bad.
I pay 1 or 2 ATM fees per year, because I just look for credit unions, and the vast majority of CUs are in mutual networks where ATMs are fee-free for each other's members. Even while traveling -- finding a CU ATM in the Denver airport put a big grin on my face.
What ATMs do you use where you can only take out $20 at a time? I usually see caps of $200-300 and once in a while, on the nasty-fee ATMs they're $100 but I just find another one.
By your logic, when I'm out of cash and make a $300 withdrawal to buy a $3 snack with it, the other $297 evaporates instead of sitting in my wallet like real money.
It's weird to me that so many people refrain from carrying cash on the logic that they might be mugged or lose their wallet. Okay, those things could happen, but how often? I've been mugged zero times and lost my wallet once in the last 20 years. Assume I had $150, half my usual withdrawal amount, in the wallet at the time. How long does it take someone to rack up $150 in ATM fees while trying to avoid that exposure? Quite a bit less than 20 years! I'd wager most people spend more on fear fees than they'd potentially lose if they simply carried the cash, because the loss events are so very rare.
First, I have to find an ATM somewhere. Luckily my bank reimburses ATM fees, but many don't. Plus, I can only take out $20 at a time. If I want to buy something that costs $5, I take $20 out (+ a $3 fee which is 15%, a hell of a lot more than credit cards charge). Now, do you think I'm going to put the remaining $15 back into the bank? Hell, no. I'll find something else to spend it on. So this $5 purchase effectively cost me $23. That 2-3% doesn't sound too bad.