A wallet full of plastic cards that hold money is a typical modern phenomenon. Cash is used less and less because paying with a card is really convenient. No need to look for small bills or coins. However, the habit of paying everywhere with a card can play a trick on you.
Cash instead of card
Once I decided to look through my statement and was surprised at my spending. It seemed to me that someone else was paying with my card. Could I really spend so much?
After a few minutes of intense thought, I remembered that on bad days I often used a credit card to pay for random purchases to enhance my mood. I spent a lot on gifts for the holidays, as the store shelves were filled with interesting things. I often visited a cafe using a credit card and not thinking about my expenses.
As a result of long deliberation, I decided to challenge myself and begin to control my own expenses, refusing to use plastic cards.
I calculated the approximate amount that I will need for a month, and then went to the ATM, withdrawed cash and began my fascinating experiment.
For the purity of the experiment, I had to turn off the automatic payment of utilities in order to completely refuse to use a bank card.
After living a whole month without a bank card, paying everywhere in cash, I learned a few simple lessons that I’m ready to share with you.
It is important to set a realistic budget.
The hardest part was to make sure that the budget I set for the month was realistic and accurate.
To do this, I looked at my credit card statements for the past four months. I carefully calculated all my expenses for each category. However, in the end, I reduced the amount so that it was enough to make the necessary expenses, but there should not be any money left for useless purchases. This was important because when I used cash, I wanted to cut my own expenses.
You should regularly check your finances.
Just like with credit cards, having envelopes filled with cash, you can easily spend money at the beginning of the month. However, it is important to understand that you do not have an unlimited limit, so you need to stay within the established budget. That's why you have to regularly check the contents of each envelope and check your budget.
By the third week, I noticed that I had less money left for entertainment than I would like. It made me rethink my plans. However, I did not want to completely refuse to meet with friends. That's why I had to look for less costly ways to spend time.
Create a small stock
It is difficult to abruptly refuse to use bank cards and completely switch to the use of cash. That is why in addition to the main budget for expenses, it is important to create an additional reserve of funds. He is needed not in order to spend, but in order to insure you in a difficult situation.
In the absence of a cash reserve, you will have to worry about this. However, the presence of a certain amount in stock will allow you not to worry if household appliances suddenly break down or other problems arise.
Using cash makes you save
When the experiment came to an end, I checked the old statements and was pleasantly surprised by the expenses for this month. It turned out that when I used cash, I spent fifteen percent less than usual. At the end of the experiment, I even had a small amount of money left, which was a pleasant surprise.
But in general this topic is not about spending money, but about the lack of income. And here - "wide open space."
1. Cards are not only credit, but also debit. For such you can spend only your own money.
2. There are cards with cashback. And this is already no, but extra income. Do you have cash? The answer is obvious.