"Will that be cash or cheque?"

When was the last time someone asked you that question?  You probably can't remember because it doesn't happen anymore.

Do you remember how arduous it was to pay with your credit card back when they were becoming mainstream?  "Chargex" was the card everyone wanted.  Retailers on the cutting edge of technology had a machine equipped with carbon paper receipt books.  You'd hand them your card and they'd run it through the machine and then you had to sign.  

Times have changed.  Now we can tap and swipe with our debit and credit cards or with our cellular telephones.  We make purchases instantly.  Paying with cash used to be the quickest and most convenient method.

It's interesting to note, the stats show we write more than 50% fewer cheques than we did at the turn of the century and only about 20% of transactions are done with cash these days.

I like the new technology.  In fact, I'd say I've embraced it.  However, I'm resisting becoming a self-checkout customer.  I'm no longer intimidated by the modern technology...it's just that I really don't want to do the work.