We got stranded at a petrol station in Türkiye with 3 kids because of a banking problem. It's made me rethink going cashless.
We live in Türkiye, but we still rely on our UK bank accounts for everyday spending.
A few days ago, we went to pay for fuel and ran into a problem transferring money between our accounts. The money left one account but didn't arrive in the other. We tried again, but had the same problem.
Suddenly, we were at a petrol station in a foreign country, with three children, trying to work out how to pay for fuel when we couldn't access the money we were relying on.
Honestly, it's not something I'd really thought about before. You assume that if you've got money in the bank, you can access it when you need it.
But apparently, having money and being able to use it at the right moment are two very different things.
It's got me thinking about how much we rely on banking apps, card payments and instant transfers these days.
I'm genuinely curious about what other people do.
Do you still carry cash as a backup, or have you pretty much gone completely cashless?
And if you're travelling or living abroad, would you feel comfortable relying entirely on your cards?
I'm not suggesting cash is perfect either. It can be lost or stolen, and carrying large amounts has its own risks.
But after this experience, I'm wondering whether keeping some emergency cash is just common sense.
What's your approach? Have you ever been caught out by a banking outage or a card that suddenly wouldn't work? I'd love to hear your experiences.