I am going to be succinctly honest. There are many things I feel compelled to write, but none of them are minutely related to frugality. Thus, the continual weeble wobble of direction continues. So, I decided that it may be a good time to update on my 90 Day Goodbye Plastic, Hello Cash Challenge (which theoretically is over now).
We started off fantastic. Part of our success was due to using cash. The other significant part of our success was related to scrutinizing our expenses and income every time I paid bills. Over the past five months, we have never dipped into the money from each paycheck that goes directly into savings. Folks, that has never happened before. Ever.
What did we do with all of our savings? We bought a stove and paid off our car 3 years early. That alone is a success my friends.
I still stand behind the cash lessons I learned early on. Hands down, cash forces you to recognize that you may be spending more than you realize. I was most surprised by this in the area of groceries. I have always kept detailed records of my grocery spending. However, visually seeing the cash dwindle put a whole new spin in the grocery store. Yes. There were times I had to put something back on the shelf.
Surprisingly, the cash system made me feel less suffocated. There were some weeks I worked really hard. Before, I never felt I reaped the rewards. Now, when I see the left over money in my wallet, I do not feel guilty for treating our family to pizza. I know it is okay because I have physical evidence that the money is in our budget.
Now, enough of the accolades. The raw, nitty, gritty is that we are currently not doing as well with our cash system. We have been using our credit card again. In fact the past 2 statements have not been pretty. Do not worry. We pay them in full, but that is the wrong mentality to obtain. We can do so much better (our paid off car is evidence). The good news is that we can always get back on track.
In the end, it is always about perseverance, not perfection.
I went to all cash awhile back ... can't remember exactly when. My spending was out of control, and I actually lost my debit card more than once. I specifically asked Cory to completely take over our finances, because even though I am a bargain shopper - my spending needed monitoring. It has been awesome for us - even though we still don't have a specific budget! Baby steps ... the only thing I miss my card for is Redbox! I love using cash now and I have had to put stuff back on the shelf too! :)
ReplyDeleteThat is awesome Tessa!! I would love to hand it all over some days, but finances, budgets and bills make my hubby cringe:) He fixes our cars and I handle the bills...it's just how we roll:)
DeleteWe've switched to a cash system also. And hubby has taken over paying bills and tracking our budget. I think anytime you change your system there are going to be minor setbacks and a reverting to the old system out of habit. Like you said, perseverance is the key. We're still fine tuning our system but there have definitely been improvements!
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