The cafeteria at work barely accepts cash. They expect you to do self-checkout with a credit card. To post in cash, you need to get the attention of a server, and wait until they are done serving, and come over to check you out.
Cash is on its way out.
How much of your spending is relevant to your tax return? Get (or jot down) receipts when you will need that info.
It’s easier to buy what I need when I am using a smaller funding source
When I don’t want to spend more than, say $100 at a store, I add up the cost of the items to keep it below $100, same as I would if I only had $100 cash on me.
So at some point you are making a conscious decision how much you want to cap your spending when you decide how much cash to bring. You can make that same choice with a debit card, by walking into the store and saying " no more than $100 ", then add up your items and cap it at $100 same as you’d have done if you only brought cash
But if something in that store cost $120 I will end up getting it because the money is coming from a larger pot. If I have $100 in cash it can’t happen because I have only $100.
In other words, your answer to beowulff’s question is No.
I’m actually a little bit (just a little) on your side. I did use cash a lot more a year or so ago, but I’ve realized that getting cash back (can’t remember if it is 0.5% or 1%) even if it isn’t a lot, without paying any service charges ever outweighs self-control fears in my case. Getting a larger than expected Visa bill occasionally is enough to reinforce my self control (and I still don’t get dinged interest or service charges; I am also a great believer in having a “nest-egg” to draw on).
Where will you keep that 43 cents? The answer to that makes all the difference.
No, no it doesn’t. Why would you buy something you didn’t need because you had more money? I never spend cash, and I never buy impulse items. If I need it, I buy it, and if I don’t, I don’t. I put everything on a single credit card and pay it in full every month. What, you go, “I can afford this, therefore I have to buy it?”
You never get a meal or a drink away from home? No entertainment spending of any kind? That’s hard to believe.
the money jar in my apt which will be used for whatever. The bigger savings will be in my online savings from all the money left over in the checking account
This is grossly over simplified. Many people perceive both as “real money,” and are able to avoid overspending in general.
Renting a car with cash is extremely troublesome if not damned near impossible.
My new apartment complex will not accept cash for rent, but they won’t accept credit or debit cards either. Strictly checks or money orders.
Well, that’s ever so nice for you. Many other people, however, struggle with overspending. Some of them are quite nice and not rat-faced garbage people at all! You wouldn’t even know it to look at them.
Maybe I should have been more clear. I am using cash now for things like
food
toilet paper
clothes
Juice
Personals needs
restaurants
Of course when it comes to things like
paying rent
renting a car
online purchases
Cash is obviously not a option
I tend to use cash for such purposes myself except sometimes in restaurants. I have not felt queasy about it.
I forgot to add cleaners
Cash is a fine option if you don’t have the self-control to use cards. (No insult, many people don’t.)
But cash-only means you’re limited in your purchasing options, and we probably save $5,000 or more a year by buying many things online - even dog food and many household staples.
Truly slashing your spending and learning to save requires more than tying one financial hand behind your back. And one extra stupid like having a wad of $20s fall out of your pocket can undo a lot of careful scrimping.
I will never have more than two $20’s in my wallet unless I am going out to dinner with family or friends or going out of town which will be NYC in 2 weeks.
When I go to NYC I plan to have 5 $20’s in my wallet and my Debit/credit card for backup just in case I need it
Well, $100 will last a morning in NYC, if you are frugal…
Well, the point is that cash can be irretrievably lost, and that hurts your personal finances more than small savings benefit it. And if you’re spending exclusively cash, it means you have a varying stash of cash somewhere that’s subject to loss and theft.
And if you’re just hitting an ATM every so often to replenish the $40 or whatever in your wallet, it’s not nearly the brake on your spending the concept should be. The only real gain is that you can’t dig a hole in money you don’t have… but nothing much about your system keeps you from spending yourself broke, possibly before you realize it.
I think it’s far more important to apply all the self-improvement to considering what you spend your money on, and why, rather than to try and choke the financial flow. Learning to eat better is a far more effective strategy than attempting to starve yourself, if you get me.