Obviously, when I say “cashless,” it’s not like in my younger days, which was synonymous with “broke.” Now that I’m middle aged, I’m paycheck-to-paycheck broke, but that’s still not what I mean by “cashless.”
In this day and age, I no longer touch cash. I thought we were all on the same page about this. Apparently, my former existence prior to relocation was perfectly aligned for being cashless.
I paid Mom $30, using one of the digital platforms. You would’ve thought I’d just performed an exorcism. Once I set up the account for her, I sent her more money via the same digital platform a few days later. Mom repeated what her inner tech-phobic demon commanded, “Don’t send me money with that app! I want you to put cash in my hand.” Her demon also advised, “You should send it to yourself, then give me the cash.”
Mom has always been a logical person, but fear made her tell me to send my own money to myself and then give her the cash. As if there’s some magical app that would put cash in my hand if I sent it digitally to myself.
Of course it’s a generational thing. Nearly every job Mom had, she reported in person, except the time she was a babysitter. Even then, she interfaced with people. I, on the other hand, now work from home, interacting virtually with clients and coworkers.
Unlike Mom, I’ve not received a cut check on a regular basis in decades. There’s the occasional odd job where I may get a check, but it’s usually direct deposited.
On the other hand, Mom wanted to watch one of our relative’s funeral that was streaming on Facebook. Mom had heard that there was a way to see what she was streaming on her tablet, on the TV. As soon as I showed her how to cast from her iPad to the TV, Mom started dancing in her seat. “I’m going to be so good, I’m not going to know how to act!” Definitely no demons there.
Years ago, Mom’s demons would scream, “Don’t send me no text.” Now, she navigates through her smart phone like a pro, including sending the occasional text message.
Mom’s rarely an early adopter when it comes to technology, but she’s definitely on board with either internal motivation or familiarity–even if it takes her a decade or longer to become familiar.