I spent only cash for 2 weeks, and the hardest part was something I didn't see coming
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For two weeks, I only used cash for my everyday expenses.
I ditched the plastic cards, withdrew a certain amount of money at the start of each week, and used exclusively cash for all purchases.
It turns out big, one-time buys like wedding gifts can be painful when you're spending all cash.
The theory behind this "cash-only diet" is that you'll become a much more conscious spender — buying more of what you need and less of what you want — when you are physically handing over your money and watching it disappear.
Additionally, if you stay disciplined and stick to the amount of money you budgeted for the week, you're essentially forcing yourself to stay at or below your personal budget.
It worked brilliantly — I knew exactly how much I was spending each week, gave more thought to certain purchases, and enjoyed the overall convenience that comes with carrying cash — but the experiment was not always sunshine and rainbows.
When you allocate a specific amount of cash for a fixed time, one of your first realizations is how quickly it disappears.
I'm not a big spender, and pride myself on finding creative ways to cut back, so I didn't foresee anything challenging about a $125 weekly budget.
As expected, my smaller, everyday purchases didn't add up exorbitantly. I saved cash by walking rather than using the subway, refrained from grocery store splurges and guilty pleasures, packed lunch every day, and made my own coffee rather than stopping in a shop.
It was the bigger purchases that put a strain on my budget.
There are two types of expenses to account for: the smaller, daily purchases, such as lunch or toothpaste, and the bigger, less frequent purchases that are often unexpected or forgotten about, such as birthday gifts, vacations, parking tickets, or medical expenses.
The bigger purchases — for me, these were a wedding gift ($52) and a new pair of shoes ($60) during my two-week experiment — can wipe out your finances for the week. While these expenses don't come around on a daily basis, I learned that they can easily come around once a week, are often unavoidable, and make it extremely difficult to stay on budget.
In order to make it through the week under $125, I had to alter my spending habits as soon as these big purchases arose. This meant going a few days without spending anything, politely declining dinner and drinks with friends, and looking for expenditures that would be considered "wants" over "needs" and that I could eliminate.
Had I been using my credit card, I probably would have continued to spend as I normally do on a day-to-day basis, rather than accommodating the bigger purchases and cutting back for a few days. That habit — of brushing off the bigger, irregular purchases as too infrequent to matter — is what sends me over budget each month.
While it was challenging to enforce no-spending days and figure out how to live off $75 for a week in Manhattan after handing over $50 for a wedding gift, it was doable.
I ditched the plastic cards, withdrew a certain amount of money at the start of each week, and used exclusively cash for all purchases.
It turns out big, one-time buys like wedding gifts can be painful when you're spending all cash.
The theory behind this "cash-only diet" is that you'll become a much more conscious spender — buying more of what you need and less of what you want — when you are physically handing over your money and watching it disappear.
Additionally, if you stay disciplined and stick to the amount of money you budgeted for the week, you're essentially forcing yourself to stay at or below your personal budget.
It worked brilliantly — I knew exactly how much I was spending each week, gave more thought to certain purchases, and enjoyed the overall convenience that comes with carrying cash — but the experiment was not always sunshine and rainbows.
When you allocate a specific amount of cash for a fixed time, one of your first realizations is how quickly it disappears.
I'm not a big spender, and pride myself on finding creative ways to cut back, so I didn't foresee anything challenging about a $125 weekly budget.
As expected, my smaller, everyday purchases didn't add up exorbitantly. I saved cash by walking rather than using the subway, refrained from grocery store splurges and guilty pleasures, packed lunch every day, and made my own coffee rather than stopping in a shop.
It was the bigger purchases that put a strain on my budget.
There are two types of expenses to account for: the smaller, daily purchases, such as lunch or toothpaste, and the bigger, less frequent purchases that are often unexpected or forgotten about, such as birthday gifts, vacations, parking tickets, or medical expenses.
The bigger purchases — for me, these were a wedding gift ($52) and a new pair of shoes ($60) during my two-week experiment — can wipe out your finances for the week. While these expenses don't come around on a daily basis, I learned that they can easily come around once a week, are often unavoidable, and make it extremely difficult to stay on budget.
In order to make it through the week under $125, I had to alter my spending habits as soon as these big purchases arose. This meant going a few days without spending anything, politely declining dinner and drinks with friends, and looking for expenditures that would be considered "wants" over "needs" and that I could eliminate.
Had I been using my credit card, I probably would have continued to spend as I normally do on a day-to-day basis, rather than accommodating the bigger purchases and cutting back for a few days. That habit — of brushing off the bigger, irregular purchases as too infrequent to matter — is what sends me over budget each month.
While it was challenging to enforce no-spending days and figure out how to live off $75 for a week in Manhattan after handing over $50 for a wedding gift, it was doable.
Comments
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I'm a try this next week
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I been doing this same thing for a couple of weeks
I lost my Visa -
Nice. Almost similar to the cash only envelope method
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I been doing this as to keep me from buying dumb stuff, junk food , and just over spending when out with friends
My debit and credit cards I still use and am able to keep track of my spending because I get notifications of any and all transactions on my phone -
You really shouldn't use cash much, or carry alot of it around. Using cards typically add rewards, discounts, so you're actually losing money if you go only with cash.
I do agree with budgeting, but there's plenty of apps that can do that for you. -
I only really spend cash. It keeps my eye on my money. Better budgeting could do that too but psychologically having cash makes it easier
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goat i seldom use credit or debit. #straightcashhomie
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Every time Mint.com sends that "your spending this week" email on Friday evening while I'm out ? up my check
I don't even look before I delete
Smh -
I've mastered living minimally since I graduated, but im just bout done with that ? , im tryna turn up
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Elzo69Renaissance wrote: »goat i seldom use credit or debit. #straightcashhomie
cosign. I only ? with cash. I keep my debit card in my safe but only got 1 credit card in my wallet that I use for emergency only. ? all those points, discounts etc etc just a way for these companies to get you to spend more money for them ? .
My pops always told me if I NEED IT, buy it. If I WANT IT think twice or sleep on it.
Gone are the days that I needed the latest things to stunt on folks and eat out a lot. It's amazing how much money I saved after I taught myself how to cook. -
If I happen to get robbed while carrying a set amount of cash around, that money is gone forever. If I get robbed carrying my debit card around, they get nothing or very little. And if they happen to get some, my bank will credit my account back to what I lost after an investigation.
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BarryHalls wrote: »Elzo69Renaissance wrote: »goat i seldom use credit or debit. #straightcashhomie
cosign. I only ? with cash. I keep my debit card in my safe but only got 1 credit card in my wallet that I use for emergency only. ? all those points, discounts etc etc just a way for these companies to get you to spend more money for them ? .
My pops always told me if I NEED IT, buy it. If I WANT IT think twice or sleep on it.
Gone are the days that I needed the latest things to stunt on folks and eat out a lot. It's amazing how much money I saved after I taught myself how to cook.
So much truth in the bold. I see some of my coworkers who order takeout food damn near every night we work (Pizza, Jimmy John's, etc.). I can only wonder how much money they spend on food each month, especially since we only get paid once a month (the last weekday of the month unless it's a holiday). We work this entire weekend & I've got a homeboy who is probably going to order pizza & breadsticks all 3 nights. That ? probably gonna run him $40+ for 3 days. I cooked a meal last night that's probably going to last me all 3 nights for less than $20.
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I use credit for everything but pay my cards off every month. Killing the rewards game and my credit score is A1. I just check my account daily to watch my spending.
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BarryHalls wrote: »Elzo69Renaissance wrote: »goat i seldom use credit or debit. #straightcashhomie
cosign. I only ? with cash. I keep my debit card in my safe but only got 1 credit card in my wallet that I use for emergency only. ? all those points, discounts etc etc just a way for these companies to get you to spend more money for them ? .
My pops always told me if I NEED IT, buy it. If I WANT IT think twice or sleep on it.
Gone are the days that I needed the latest things to stunt on folks and eat out a lot. It's amazing how much money I saved after I taught myself how to cook.
So much truth in the bold. I see some of my coworkers who order takeout food damn near every night we work (Pizza, Jimmy John's, etc.). I can only wonder how much money they spend on food each month, especially since we only get paid once a month (the last weekday of the month unless it's a holiday). We work this entire weekend & I've got a homeboy who is probably going to order pizza & breadsticks all 3 nights. That ? probably gonna run him $40+ for 3 days. I cooked a meal last night that's probably going to last me all 3 nights for less than $20.
Living off fast food? They gonna pay for it in the long run with medical bills. -
Man I spent like $500 on shoes just this past month.
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memphis2sacnicc wrote: »If I happen to get robbed while carrying a set amount of cash around, that money is gone forever. If I get robbed carrying my debit card around, they get nothing or very little. And if they happen to get some, my bank will credit my account back to what I lost after an investigation.
Bruh where you live that you're waiting to get robbed -
Huh???
I said if I happen to get rob. But yea da most I take out the atm machine is usually only $40. -
Me too and got buyers remorse like a muthafucka.Man I spent like $500 on shoes just this past month.
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Every time Mint.com sends that "your spending this week" email on Friday evening while I'm out ? up my check
I don't even look before I delete
Smh
I signed up for that ? too, I got hundreds of unread emails from them.
But yea I rarely keep cash on me
