The banks are finally starting to stock £5 notes in their cash machines. I know I’m over the moon that more fivers will be back in ATMs, and for a short time at least, in my pocket. Are you?
I’m old enough to remember the £1 note. And I bet, like me, you weren’t all that pleased when that note disappeared. It’s cost me a fortune in shopping for trousers, as pound coins rip straight through the pockets. So although I look better – as I have to spend more on clothes – I’d still prefer to pay with paper, rather than digging around for grubby coins.
Thanks for the fiver
As for the £5 note, I have a very serious reason for welcoming it back into general circulation. There are plenty of times when I’ve been stuck a little short of cash, and ended up getting 20 quid out. Needless to say, once I’ve broken into this, I’ve spent it.
I doubt I’m not alone in wanting to avoid overspending. Having to hit the £10 button on an ATM, just because I’m a few quid short, is an unfortunate necessity. More fivers would make life so much easier. Many of you agreed in an earlier Conversation, including Julia Clark:
‘I’d love to get £5 notes from ATMs. When my son was doing guitar lessons I had to go inside the bank and write a cheque to get them. Quite often I need to give my son money but don’t want to give him £10.’
Sometimes all I want is a little bit of cash, without having the temptation of extra money in my pocket. Because right now I really need to be saving!
I bet Elizabeth Fry, who adorns the fiver and was a big player in the Quaker movement, would applaud the reintroduction of fivers. She trumpeted the cause of the disenfranchised, who are the very people who might not have a surplus of 10 or 20 pound notes to draw on.
Are you as happy as I am to see the £5 note going back into circulation?