Until I met my wife, got married and bought a house together, I never owned a credit card. Didn't have a banking account either b/c of back taxes I owed, but we took care of that in one year of monthly payments. So, the only thing I could use to buy anything was cash. After my tax problem was taken care of, she put me on the checking/saving account. After buying the house, we use to have, I got a few credit card apps, filled them out and was sent the cards. Before then, we'd have to use my wife's cards, and some cash, for any trip we'd take. To reserve a motel room over the phone or online, a cc number was required........and now we can use either hers or mine.
Now, if I have some cash in my wallet, most likely I will use that to pay for something at a grocery store with cash instead of our bank card. If I want to save that cash for something, the bank card is used.
Today, when something is bought online, a cc must be used. We have bought a number of things online that we couldn't find in any stores.
Oh, as far as paying with cash, clerks no longer count your change out to you in your hand. They hand the change back to you and it's up to you to make sure you got the right amount back. Just another thing, like no longer having Service Station Attendants, that have changed over the years.