Control Spending by Carrying Cash

Rebuild a Relationship with Cash to Save Money

© Carmen Sofia Grant

Jun 29, 2009
Money Saving Strategy, Carmen Grant
Using credit cards and debit cards is so ridiculously easy that it detaches people from their money. That relationship with money is crucial to limiting spending.

Most people find it inconvenient to use cash to make purchases. Whether it is because they don't want to hold the line up, find it annoying to count change, or feel more secure not carrying cash, they use a debit or credit card for convenience. These reasons are excuses that make spending easier and can increase debt exponentially. Twenty bucks here and twenty there five times in one day is one hundred bucks. But if the person does not see an empty wallet, he or she may only remember spending twenty bucks a few times. That is where the problem begins.

Money Saving Strategy

People need to start up that affair with cold hard wonderful cash. With physical money, a person knows it is there. There is an excitement when crisp bills seductively reveal themselves when a wallet opens, and a sadness that consumes a person when the money is handed over. Sure a person may have wanted the new book or computer, but when they start counting out the dollars to make the physical exchange, it hurts a little. This hurt is the realization of the exchange between money and thing, and the harder it is, the more likely a person is to think about whether its worth it or not.

The Worth of Using Cash

Worth is what a person discovers when they are buying something, and a simple swipe of a card does not give anyone the same feeling as using cash. When a person uses cash, he or she notices and appreciates the worth of the money being used, and how much is actually used. One swipe of a card is a lot different than counting out ten bills of any amount. Purchases go so fast when using a credit or debit card, that there is little time to sweat it out, second guess a purchase, and just run away. Cash purchases also mean the person has enough money to buy whatever they want.

Rebuilding a Relationship With Cash

If using a credit card, that person may or may not be able to afford something, but can get it anyways. By using a credit card, a person is getting instant satisfaction from a purchase that he or she may not be able to afford. If not paid off right away, he or she is paying more money for an item just to get it faster. Is it more inconvenient to use cash, or to drown in debt? A person may spend fifteen minutes at an ATM, or fifteen years trying to rebuild their credit after bankruptcy. Next time, use cash to buy what is needed and forgo the risk of drowning in debt.


The copyright of the article Control Spending by Carrying Cash in Personal Debt Management is owned by Carmen Sofia Grant. Permission to republish Control Spending by Carrying Cash in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.


Money Saving Strategy, Carmen Grant
       


Post this Article to facebook Add this Article to del.icio.us! Digg this Article furl this Article Add this Article to Reddit Add this Article to Technorati Add this Article to Newsvine Add this Article to Windows Live Add this Article to Yahoo Add this Article to StumbleUpon Add this Article to BlinkLists Add this Article to Spurl Add this Article to Google Add this Article to Ask Add this Article to Squidoo