I didn't appreciate the value of a dollar when I was using credit cards for everything

[NNN0LHI]

That is the truth. About two years ago I switched to cash for everything but medicines I get by mail and "real" unexpected emergencies like car breakdowns when I didn't have the cash on me.

I have been a lot better off financially since. Its just getting harder and harder for me to pull out real money to buy something I don't need. I used to do that a lot when I was using credit cards exclusively.

It all began a couple of years ago when after a bad snowstorm here I was convinced I needed a snow blower. I pulled the cash out of the bank and went to Sears. The sucker was about a thousand dollars and I just couldn't bring myself to pull out the Benjamins.

Went home without it. I never would have done that if I was still on the credit card system. Its so damn easy to just sign my name and not worry about the bill later.

As it turned out we didn't get another heavy storm that winter. I never would have used the snow blower. But I would have been spending money to change the oil and get it ready for the next winter. Instead I found a guy in town here who has a large John Deer farm tractor with a blade hooked to the PTO on the back and he charges me 10 bucks every time I get a heavy snow to clear my drive. Cleans my drive perfectly. And he is prompt. I bet I have spent at most a hundred bucks with him since the snow blower incident for his services. And I don't have some big honking snow blower taking up space (which is very limited) in my shed that I need to worry about keeping maintained.

That was a lesson well learned. And the cash idea works with everything I have noticed. I am getting cheaper by the day when it comes to buying things I don't really need.

Just thought I would pass that experience on.

Don

[barbtries]

1. you can really find out the difference

between what you want and what you need. thanks for sharing. i was forced off the cards 21 years ago and never went back. cuts down on the clutter as well.

[Jamastiene]

2. Smart move.

Pretty soon, you may end up as cheap as I am. :)

[Mari333]

3. how cheap are you?

Im so cheap I knitted my last pair of sox out of bellybutton lint i saved.
:P

[dipsydoodle]

4. You make me feel extravagant

Mine were knitted using fur from my chinchilla persians which I scraped off the back of the sofa. :rofl:

[Double T]

7. Spinning belly button lint into thread; what a great idea.

[SoCalDem]

8. and you can use old vacuum cleaners & customize

Granny's Hover-round.. Voila..The Granny Roomba:)

[InkAddict]

9. LOL - Still sucking up w/ my inherited 60-year-old Kirby .

A dealer once offered me a brand new one for it - but I said no thanx. Course, I do enjoy "blowing the mind" of the little pet Roomba recently liberated for cash from BigLots by rearranging the furniture and putting up roadblocks; no laser walls needed. HaHa, so you think you memorized where the doggie bowl is, huh little vacume? Okay, beam be up because with a basestation, I'd have to rename them Enterprise and Capt. Kir(b)!

[City of Mills]

16. I'm so cheap I boiled used floss

So I can reuse it for years...ever seen floss soup?

[Jamastiene]

20. ...

:rofl:

I'm so cheap, I never buy new clothes. I just keep a small sewing kit around and sew holes closed. People anonymously buy clothes and put them on my doorstep. Then again, do walk around inside the house with no shirt on. They could be dropping a hint. :evilgrin:

[Sherman A1]

5. It's like anything else..

and there are different paths to the "Eureka" moment. Some of us have it at the gas pump, some at the department store or a small shop walking down an aisle looking at a product that is now $25.00 that just a few years ago was $5 or perhaps $10.00.

I have it every Sunday morning when I put up the price advances for the coming week on the grocery items at the store where I work.

Yesterday, I went to buy a carpet remnant to replace a worn out one in a small room. The one I am replacing was $10.00 (maybe 6 or 7 years ago) , the new one cost $70.00.

[MadHound]

6. Amazing isn't it? Good for you on getting off the plastic

It does make a huge difference in your life, for the better.

[boomerbust]

10. How is it going this year

<<<<<<<<Without a blower? I live not far from you and we already have 2 1/2 feet of snow on the ground with 2 weeks to go before winter begins.

[NNN0LHI]

11. Had a few small snows that would not have required a blower if I had one. Inch or two

When I do get a decent snow accumulation I will hole up in the house here and wait for the John Deer man to arrive.

He drives the school bus so he usually gets here right after he finishes his route.

Don

[ProfessorGAC]

12. Really?

I live very close to Don, too and we've had only a little snow. (I'm about 20 - 25 miles from him.) Probably 2 or 3 inches one time and couple other falls of well under and inch. And, they melted in between snow falls!

Where the heck are you with 30 inches of snow? East of the lake or something?

Wow! I hadn't realized anyone around here got dumped on that hard already.
GAC

[boomerbust]

13. Elkhart Lake Wi.

Woke up this morning with another 10 in. of fresh powder.

[boomerbust]

14. snow

[boomerbust]

15. snow 12-9-08

[ProfessorGAC]

17. Sigh!

Makes me depressed just looking at your yard.
GAC

[boomerbust]

18. GAC

On Sept. 20, the last day of summer I witnessed a flock of snow geese flying due south in perfect v formation. My first thought was " early winter " ? Ya, those geese were saying early winter.

[Morning Dew]

19. The dollar increases in value when you cut down on debit card use as well.

For the last couple of years, I've deposited very little of my check - enough to cover the rent and my internet costs.

I keep the rest in cash and get mostly fifty dollar bills from the bank. It's a huge psychological help to have to consider whether it's worth it to break a fifty for a bag of chips and a newspaper at the convenience store.
Usually, if using a visa logo debit card, you think that it's too small of a purchase so you add a couple candy bars and a magazine to make it go over five buck. But really, all you wanted was that paper and some chips. So now, most of the time, I just don't buy anything - not if I'm breaking a fifty.

Another way that I save a little money is to never spend coins. At the end of the day, all of my change goes into a jar and eventually gets cashed in. If I never spend change, it works out to almost $100 a month.

I'm in my fifties and I finally have an emergency fund. It's not big, but it's something. Just in case.

I'll still have to eat lawn clippings if I ever get to retire.

[margotb822]

21. Good advice, thank you

I am looking to rein in my finances because my cc spending was getting out of control. I just moved into a cheaper rental (saving $500/month), so I'm hoping that will help. I think switching to cash/debit will help because I am an impulse shopper.