It has been a little over 2 months now and
I have purchased a majority of my consumer goods using only cash. As mentioned
previously, the objective is to think of cash as a physical and tangible tool
and if you can see it go, supposedly you will spend less as compared to other
common transactions involving credit or debit cards. When I initially tried
this, I decided to try working with a living budget of $75 per week. I excluded
my rent, phone and a couple of other expenses that I pay directly online. Every
week I would just use cash and it seemed to work out well. I found that I was
put in a more conscious mood when making purchases. All of a sudden my daily
coffee purchases turned into occasional weekly purchases and I would start
using coupons and look at weekly flyers for discounts on product I normally
use.
I
decided to continue this trend, as I believe it is important too have self
control with your personal finances. Smart consumer habits will allow me to
save money, invest wisely and assist me in reaching my future financial goals.
I will have a better chance at buying a big item such as a car or qualifying
for a mortgage or retire early if proper saving habits start young. As a result
of this experiment, I was able to save $166.90 in just 2 months. That might not
seem like a lot but that is over $1,001 per year in additional savings. I was busy this morning rolling this money as
most of it was loose change.
I hope that I
will be able to save even more in the future with some reliance on a cash diet
method. I think that my proportion of savings will continue to grow
incrementally as my income goes up and my ability to live within means stays
consistent I think it is true that using plastic to cover purchases is convenient
and secure but we really don’t think about how quickly or money goes.