In my home David, Charlie, and even Bradley are over here using Cash App like it’s nothing, and I’m still standing here feeling like I belong back in the cave days trying to figure out what Cash app does and why or why wouldn’t someone want it especially if they work online like I do.
This morning alone turned into one of those little “learn something whether you wanted to or not” moments. Charlie was and Bradley were going to have to go to Wells Fargo because they had a paper check. I thought I had heard you could upload a paper check.
For once I was able to teach my son something when I showed him you can actually take that check and upload it straight into Cash App. That was news to him, but honestly it was kind of news to me too when I first ran across it. We got it done, and it worked, and that was that.
David uses Cash App too, even though he acts like he’s not the tech guy. But he likes it because his paycheck hits faster, usually about two days sooner. And when grocery prices keep acting like they’re trying to set records every week, those two days make a difference whether people want to admit it or not.
Me, though, I’m still ride or die for PayPal. That’s my comfort zone. Just give me my PayPal account, my PayPal credit, and somewhere my clients can send money without me having to relearn a whole new system every month, and I’m good. That one has never given me a reason to switch, so I don’t.
Now the other stuff like Venmo or Google Pay… I know people use them. I hear about them. I see them mentioned everywhere. But I’m not sitting here pretending I’m fluent in all of it. If it’s not PayPal, I’m usually already halfway confused before I even open the app.
What surprised me recently, though, is something I honestly thought I already knew but apparently didn’t. I always assumed you had to already have money in Cash App just to even start it. Like you couldn’t walk in the door unless you had something to put in it. That’s just how my brain worked with it. Turns out that’s not how it is at all.
You can download Cash App and set it up with nothing in it. No money needed. No starting balance. Nothing. You just make the account and leave it there until you actually need it. That part caught me off guard because I really did think there was more to it than that.
Of course, Charlie jumped on that and suddenly there’s a whole conversation about referral links and some contest he thinks he might win. So now I’m standing there like, great, this is my new thing I didn’t ask for today. But as a mom of a teenager ie young man you pick your battles and if it keeps drama down you can bet your bottom dollar I will try Cash App then we can send money to each other and my clients have a new way to pay for services.
And I’ll be honest, most days I don’t want another app to deal with. I don’t wake up thinking I need more technology in my life. But when you’re a mom of a teenager, you learn real quick that sometimes you just go along with things even when it’s not your favorite.
If I do end up signing up for Cash App, it’ll probably just sit there. Nothing fancy. No pressure. No overthinking it. Just another thing in the background in case life calls for it. And honestly, that’s kind of how all of this works anyway. David uses what works for him.
Charlie is figuring things out as he goes, and I’m still holding onto what I understand because it already does what I need it to do. Somehow it all meets in the middle and life keeps moving. That’s really all it is. Not some complicated system. Just different people using different tools, and me slowly learning things I probably should’ve known years ago—but didn’t, because nobody handed me a manual for any of it.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates
