I hear ya! I had a rant about the lack of humaniod-check-outs at Bunnings, Woolworths etc. a little while ago. Plastic, or these days, phone-based paying is the way it's going I'm afraid. We use cards to have a track on our spending but the money we use is actually ours and not bank credit so it's an attempt at balance. I'd prefer to pay with cash or barter for everything..You know, hike down from my cabin in the woods through the snow carrying my pelts to the trading post to exchange for grain, implements, a bucket, a new six-shooter and bullets...But those days are gone. And it doesn't snow in Adelaide :)
Thanks for your comments @realtreebivvy, always appreciated.