Another thing our forefathers used to do is use cash! Is this becoming a lost art? Gosh, I hope not! You see, using cash to buy things in our budget like gasoline, groceries, getting our hair cut and having some mad money, has actually made a huge difference in our finances. Before we did this, our household could easily spend over $1000 a month on food, home supplies and such products. But once we began using cash, we automatically gave ourselves a $500 bonus every month…because our limit on groceries was now $500, so it was like we got a $500 raise! With cash, we can control what we spend, since we know that is all we can spend on this budget line item. Imagine what you could do with an extra $500!!! Maybe get out of debt faster, huh?
Back in the day, cash was king! If you went into a store with cash, you could even get discounts on what you were buying because the store was assured their money right there and then. Sadly now, cash is not as encouraged. And why? Because we spend more when we use plastic. Some studies have shown, people can spend as much as 83% more when swiping a card versus paying with real money. For instance when McDonald’s started taking credit cards, their average sale was about $4.5 and went up to $7, that’s an extra 36% to their bottom line! The problem with plastic is…well, we will talk about it tomorrow…
<>< Peace, Diane
