My friend, Amy, a non-spender who is wise with her finances but pretty much has always only used her credit card, is taking the three-month Cash-Only Challenge I outlined in my book, The Money Saving Mom®’s Budget.
She posted about her observations and feelings after one month on her blog today. Whether you love or loathe credit cards, I think you’ll find her post interesting and insightful.
Have you tried a cash-only challenge? If so, I’d love to hear what you learned from the experience.
I went to cash only in January and I love it! I have always had a written budget but would usually go over in groceries, dining out, and gas because I had just used my debit card. Since going to cash only not only have I not went over but I have been under budget with money remaining in my envelopes by the end of the month. It has saved me so much time, when I balance the checkbook I’m not stuck entering tons of entries. I love it and won’t be going back anytime soon!!
Have you ever considered doing a post on how using cash only plays out?
Right now I use a credit card. When I get home I type my purchases into Excel for each category to see how much I’ve spent for the month. I usually have children with me when I shop, so I’m wondering how this plays out with cash.
>>Do you take 5 envelopes with you and do 5 transactions at the store? I’m thinking this would take a lot of time (and my sanity!!) and not be considerate of the other shoppers behind me.
>>I know this depends on each persons circumstances, but how many envelopes would you recommend?
We live in a rural area so we have no set shopping trips. We do stock up trips while in town and average our grocery bill out over the months.
I walk you through step-by-step how to take the cash-only challenge in my book, but to answer your questions:
1) I just combine the cash from the envelopes to pay if I’m buying things from multiple envelopes and then check out with one transaction. It’s never been much of an issue, especially since most of our envelopes have $5’s and $1’s in them.
2) Here are the categories we have:
https://moneysavingmom.com/2010/07/qa-tuesday-how-do-you-track-your-money.html
THANKS!
I’m just starting month 3 of the challenge, and I’m loving that I’ve only used my debit card a handful of times! Yes, I’ve made some excuses, and mostly realized that I lack organization and forethought when it comes to money. Using cash has taught me to use what I have and look for other options before I spend money for something.
It has also taught me that I REALLY need to instate a “gifts” budget (though I have survived two weddings with just the cash I already had!). I have a lot of friends getting married and having babies now (I’m 23…tis the season!), so it seems I am going to a lot of events. Good thing I stocked up on all those free cards at CVS last summer!