We’ve been paying for everything we buy in cash for about a year. In fact I have only used my Interac card about ten times since then, for example at the grocery store if I’m missing $10 I won’t return any items… Except that I deduct it from the amount the following week.
At first I calculated how much we spent per week, for the two of us it’s $400. That includes: groceries, gas, restaurants, outings, clothes and all the other small expenses we usualy pay with our card… Tim’s Coffee, ice cream,and so on… It’s crazy how the smallest expenses go up quickly when you take the time to count them…
A coffee (Tim, McDonald’s, Starbuck,…) average 2.50$, every morning of the week (X5 = 12.50) X 4 weeks. That’s 50$ at the end of the month… :-0
Once a week I make a $400 withdrawal and we have to manage with that amount. When you only have $20 left in your wallet at the end of the week, you think twice before buying a small coffee at the coffee shop.
What I like about paying cash is that you really see where money goes.
Yes, it’s a form of deprivation and some have found my method archaic, but it works… And it’s so much easier to respect the family budget. My boyfriend, like many people, hates budgets. We’ve already tried it and… it doesn’t work! We always cheat it at some point and there comes a time when we just give up on it.
Like many people, we have a joint account, which also means that we both have an Interac card for the same account. So two people to spend each one on their side. I don’t know about you, but it can’t work if you want to have some control over your expenses.
There was certainly a period of adaptation, but overall it’s really worth a try. In the end it’s making a budget, but it’s just not on paper 😉 but we don’t say it…
I’ll leave you on a quote from Warren Buffet that I really like:
Don’t set aside what’s left after you’ve spent – spend what’s left after you’ve set aside.
-Warren Buffett
Dane: -)
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