For the first three months of the year, I have hardly touched paper money or metal coins. There are no grimy bills folded alongside my driver’s license. No quarters or pennies jangling in my pocket. Instead, I’ve relied almost exclusively on credit cards, Apple Pay, online orders and the occasional generosity of an unsuspecting friend….

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To be sure, there have been some downsides along the way. Chief among them: Tipping isn’t easy. As I checked out of a hotel in Charleston, S.C., I didn’t have anything to offer the valet, which made me look — and feel — cheap. The next week I got a haircut. I paid for the trim with my card, but my barber accepted tips only in cash. Again I felt miserly. And when I got an overpriced drink with some New York Times colleagues at the steakhouse below our newsroom, I had to add my tip to the credit card bill, a decidedly less satisfying experience than leaving a few singles on the bar.