Cash is King
Welcome to the country, please wipe your feet and leave your plastic at home. One of the biggest cultural shocks of our new home is the move back into a mostly cash-based economy. Everywhere I go, paper tender is the preferred method of payment and often times is the only acceptable form of payment.
For the past five years or so I’ve completely moved away from using any cash at all and now I’m a fish out of water. My spending has actually been reduced in several categories because I don’t carry enough cash on hand. Other times I’m having to beg cash from the partner, which comes from his personal accounts, to pay for an item. Things have to change and I need to figure out a way to finally manage and control cash spending.
The main reason I stopped carrying cash is because I managed it poorly. If I had the money, I’d spend it without thing, “oh it’s already out of my account, therefore it’s already gone, spend away!” Now that cash is requited, I must find a system that works.
I started using all my income (sewing and babysitting) for groceries at local farm stands and butcher shop, but when the daughter needs cash for school or some other cash-necessary expense comes up, I hand it over and it doesn’t get tracked properly in our budget.
I’ve considered using the envelope method and maybe that would work. I’ve taken to carrying a purse (my previous barrier to this method was not having anywhere to carry envelopes) and it seems like the easiest system. However, I’ve got to work on my personal self discipline to make it work. Right now, if I’m starving for lunch and have the cash, I’ll walk over to the little sandwich shop and get lunch. Time to make some changes.