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The Daily Poverty Post.

money-cash

This little bit of greenery represents the money in Bossy’s wallet, where wallet equals the broken zipper compartment of her messenger bag.

The reason Bossy is featuring cash today is because Bossy and her husband stuck themselves on a cash-only diet.

After keeping a log of what the family spent for a couple of weeks, Bossy and her husband discovered a few items they could delete, such as school lunches bought by their daughter and the cafeteria coffee bought by Bossy’s husband and if even one of you mentions Bossy’s liquor store bill she will cease writing for eternity.

Anyway. Then Bossy and her husband assigned themselves a reasonable weekly budget, divided in half, where half equals Bossy’s husband gets hellsa more because he typically stops at the grocery store on his way home.

Bossy believes in cash because she can see cash and she can finger cash in the zippered compartment of her messenger bag, and she knows when the cash is dwindling and it’s easy to see when it’s gone.

This is obviously way better than purchasing things on credit—but Bossy also likes it better than purchasing things on debit, because you can’t finger debit in your zippered compartment, and why all of the sudden is this post heading toward an X rating?

Check out the (below) list of blogs participating in Bossy’s Poverty Party, and don’t forget to comb the comments for links to the latest Poverty posts across the web.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Interesting. I make a point of buying almost exclusively through debit so I don’t put things on credit. Unless I pay with cash. Sounds like a good plan.

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  2. Dood. I totally need to go on a cash diet. I realized that when I pay with cash, I barely buy anything. When I use credit (which is what we’ve done in the past almost exclusively) I have less accountability and will buy (and spend) almost anything.
    We’ve gotta do this.

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  3. I have been on a (mostly) cash-only diet for over a year now. I find that it helps me stay on budget WAY better than any other method I found.

    I spent a month reviewing what I paid for food, gas, bills, entertainment, clothes, household products, etc – then I break it down by paycheck and take out as much as I need.

    Good luck!

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  4. I run the household budget as “cash only” and assuming I can ever convince my beloved to come out of the fetal position he’s been in since watching our net worth plummet with the stock market, I’m going to insist that our ENTIRE budget be “cash only.” It’ll hurt for a little bit, but eventually we’ll catch up.

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  5. Cash. lt’s the only way. I did debit too, and it’s too easy to spend.
    You really prioritize when you have cash. And that is the key.
    And make it more difficult on yourself to get the cash.

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  6. Good girl, Bossy! I’m debt free and love it…no credit cards to tempt me. Just two debit cards and cash.

    A bit of friendly advice, worth repeating:

    Ditch the landline!! That should cover your daughter’s lunches.

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  7. Thanks to Bossy, we are having family-wide discussions about finances. As in, ditching the newspaper and cable, (8 year old daughter not a fan of ditching the newspaper “How will I read cartoons?” here you go, sweetie: http://www.gocomics.com/features/#entertainment), ditching the once-in-a-while cleaning lady, ditching a club membership, ditching the credit cards (and paying them off over time), ditching the idea of new HELOC, ditching the fancy haircut and color, and moving to a cash-basis purchasing rule. Now I just have to find a job so we actually HAVE some cash for purchasing (and paying the mortgage, hello)…

    Bossy rules. I never would have had the courage to do this on my own. So thanks!

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  8. Did you know that women are actually less likely to get mugged than men? That’s because muggers know we don’t carry cash. You will be bucking the trend, ms. get-down-with-your-bad-cash-only-self. Don’t tell the muggers, ok?

    I always end up hoarding cash (and using my debit card instead when possible) so I’ll have cash for the odd things that require it – like the damn $2/week office football pool. What are the odds of me having two ones on any given Friday? I’ll tell ya: 20:1.

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  9. That is a brilliant idea. Starting in November (when I have money in the bank to withdraw to make cash), I think I’ll try the cash diet system. That way, I’ll visibly see how much I have left for each week.

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  11. I’ve been on a mostly cash diet for about 20 years. Ever since I got married and had to consolidate my debt with a loan. My husband gives me my allowance every other week, and that’s it. Like a kid, I usually spend most of it the first week, then have to get by on about $10 for the second week. It’s a little game I like to play…getting through a whole week without breaking the 10 in my wallet. Try it. It’s fun. Not really. But the cash diet definitely works.

    Reply

  12. The cool thing about cash is that when its gone, its gone. No “maybe just a little extra” just this once. You also make more conscious purchasing decisions as well……less likely to buggy down the grocery aisle saying “This looks good…..”

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  13. Way back in the day before I had a banking account (or one with a debit card), the cash thing ruled. It was so easy to see how much you had and how much was left, and where it should go. But now all my money is “virtual”: I put the sheet of paper they pay me with in the big box, and then use the little card thingie to get stuff. Oooh. But then I have to log in to my account to see how much stuff power I have left and that kind of sucks.

    Where am I going with this? No idea. But Hi!

    Reply

  14. I have been using my debit card for years thinking, “I’ll be able to track my purchases, recognize patterns of where I’m spending…” Never happened. Not even once. I’ve been using a lot more cash lately, but I haven’t totally committed. Now is the time!

    Here’s the bonus: Every store pays like 3% (?) of every transaction for the priviedge of using their system (credit or debit). So with cash, you are also benefiting all those small businesses and local economies!

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  15. Woo boy! I think that could totally work for some people! But… for me, and my addiction to checking my online banking and using that to keep track of my spending, I’m not sure it would be so good. Plus? I have an Amazon credit card that gives me points for every dollar I spend, and then I get free stuff from Amazon! Can’t give that up, it’s the best thing evar! So… I don’t do cash, but I DO do savings accounts: http://wherearethebears.blogspot.com/2008/10/plan-to-save.html

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  16. This summer, I did a cash only experiment for one month. I was truly amazed at how much less I spent on junk I just didn’t need. When I pay with my credit card, I don’t even pay that much attention to how much things cost and I often end up picking a little something extra that catches my eye while I’m shopping. With paying cash, I’d pick something up, look at the price and often decided I didn’t want to spend good money on such junk and I usually left the store with only what I’d come to buy. Let me add that I was SHOCKED at how much we spend on groceries! In the end, I saved tons of money but the whole lesson seems to be lost already so I’m planning on making November a cash month and take it from there.

    Julie

    Reply

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