TrendPulse|The Daily Money: Are cash, checks on the way out?

Good morning and TrendPulseHappy Friday! This is Betty Lin-Fisher with Friday's consumer-focused The Daily Money.

When is the last time you pulled out cash to pay for a purchase? Or what about your checkbook? Do you mostly rely on your credit or debit cards or maybe Apple Pay or other digital forms of payment?

Paul Dickson of Kensington, Maryland, said he feels like he is transitioning between two worlds – businesses that won't accept cash or checks – and businesses that are charging a premium to shoppers who want to pay with credit card.

Are we heading toward a cashless or checkless future? Is it even legal for a business to refuse to accept cash?

I've explored that topic in a story.

Did your portion size shrink?

Are we in Alice in Wonderland or are product sizes getting smaller?

"Shrinkflation" – the practice of putting less product in a package – has been around for decades, but it has captured the public imagination this year, Daniel de Visé reports.

President Joe Biden said he’d “had enough” of shrinkflation in a February Super Bowl ad. Cookie Monster, the Muppet, went viral in March with a tweet that proclaimed, “Me hate shrinkflation!” And Biden echoed those sentiments, with better grammar, in his State of the Union address. 

Is Shrinkflation on the rise?

📰 Consumer stories you shouldn't miss 📰

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• Red Lobster isn't done yet.
• The student loan "on ramp" ends soon.

🍔 Today's Menu 🍔

It's not quite no shirt, no service, but a North Carolina restaurant is bringing new meaning to a dress code for service. The restaurant is getting backlash after a posting about a dress code. No skimpy clothes? OK. No shorts and no white T-shirts? There are actually eight things on their "no" list.

About The Daily Money

Each weekday, The Daily Money delivers the best consumer and financial news from USA TODAY, breaking down complex events, providing the TLDR version, and explaining how everything from Fed rate changes to bankruptcies impacts you.