We live in a wonderful – or frightening – world, depending on how you look at it. We have gotten to the point where most real money is made of 1’s and 0’s in a computer, rather than wallet sized pictures of Presidents, or kings, or whatever face your currency bears. Are we better for this? I’ve asked myself this question over and over for the three years since I last carried cash with me. The benefit of not carrying money is it’s pretty much anywhere you need it to be. But in practice, how practical is it?

Actually, let’s take it a step further, shall we? Are we at the point where we don’t even need wallets anymore? I’ve written about this in the past, and there will most certainly be more. My home state of Illinois has been investigating the possibility of offering mobile device-based ID’s. But that’s still a pipe dream. For now, let’s assume I stick my driver’s license in my pocket. Can I go a day with just my phone? Let’s walk through a scenario.

Good morning

I wake up, and just because of the theme of this editorial, it’s my phone alarm that wakes me. Of course, I overslept, so I don’t even have time to eat before I throw on some clothes and rush out the door. On my way to the train, I stop at Dunkin Donuts for a bagel and a breakfast wrap. My local Dunkin Donuts, just started taking Android Pay, which I can use with my Huawei Honor 8, but since I’ve already signed up for DD Perks, I can use Dunkin Donut’s slightly convoluted payment system. In this system, you buy a gift card, and use a QR code to redeem it. You can also set up auto-refill options. It’s silly, but it works.

I barely make it to the train and find a seat, just as the conductor starts making his way down the aisle. “Tickets, please,” comes the familiar call. I don’t have a paper ticket, because it’s 2016. So I fire up the Ventra app, and pop in my train details. Seconds later, I’ve bought a 10-pack of train tickets and I show one to the conductor who nods and moves on. The guy in front of me needs to pay cash for a ticket – so adorable. And expensive, since he needs to pay an extra $5.00 for not buying the ticket from the cashier at the station. Such a N00b.

Lunch

Once downtown, work is just a quick jaunt away. Work is a wrinkle in this story because in order to access places like the gym or the rooftop deck, I need to use an RFID card. But let’s not complicate things and say I’m lazy, and it’s cold out so don’t need the gym or the deck. Moving on to lunch.

Downtown offers a wide variety of choices, and my favorite Indian food restaurant just so happens to take Square credit card payments. They’ve even sprung for the Chip/NFC reader. Android Pay is set up on the Honor 8, so my Chicken Tika Masala is just a tap away. No receipt needed, thank you, unless my accountant is a liar.

Just a few things

On my way back home, I’m contacted by my wife that we need some milk, eggs, and whatever else goes into chocolate cake. I could go to Target, but Walmart has Walmart Pay, so that’s where we’re going. Walmart Pay is not dissimilar to the path CurrentC was taking – and the aforementioned Dunkin Donuts, but less stupid. With Walmart Pay, you simply need to install the Walmart App and enter your credit card. When you’re ready to check out, you scan a bar code on the register, and the payment goes through. Easy Peasy.

Finally, on the way home I need to pick up dinner. This is one place where mobile tech really makes things sweet. Ordering soup and sandwiches from Panera is great, ordering them with Android Pay is better, but doing a quick pick up so the food is actually waiting of a shelf for me when I walk in – the best. Finally, I arrive home, having never taken my wallet out of my pocket. I love this lifestyle of mine, and I encourage you to adopt it yourself.

Challenging

That being said, there are some things you need to deal with in the mobile lifestyle. For example, Android Pay and Apple Pay are gaining traction every day, but it’s still not everywhere. Samsung Pay can make up the difference by a lot, but there are still situations – most notably gasoline –  where mobile payments simply aren’t an option…yet. My kids’ school is another such instance, and the reason we keep some cash around the house for school stuff.

Most annoyingly, is the virtual cornucopia of apps you must deal with to have a ubiquitous mobile payment lifestyle. Dunkin Donuts, Subway, Steak N Shake, Walmart, and Panera all have their own apps. If you want to go see a movie, add Fandango to your phone. It’s basically a sea of apps that you’re floating on. The strategy behind this is of course to build loyalty, and in some cases – to avoid additional charges against your purchase.

More on the way

But it’s not all that bad. Stores I frequent like Walgreens, Little Caesars, and even a couple of local grocery stores all take Android Pay. I see more stores almost monthly that are adding NFC terminals. It’s a thing now, so that’s good news. Life without wallets is almost there. It certainly allows me to carry a minimalist wallet, which is not so much the literal pain in the butt any more. Rest assured, I’ll be continuing to help blaze the mobile payment trail and keep advocating its use. It’s easy, safe, and overall it’s pretty cool.

So how about you? Are you living the mobile money life? Got any tips or tricks to share? What’s your favorite or least favorite part of mobile money? Let us know in the comments.

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