Anyone still do this? Anyone went back to cash from paying everything digital/with a card? I pay everything online anymore, I order everything online too, I use my debit card for all purchases. Now my problem is it is way too easy to mess up my account with always using my debit card and dh using his. Like this week. We both used our cards a bit, I honestly thought we were in the clear. Then I wake up this morning and 5 transactions came through and put me in the negative. So with the fees of $36 per transaction plus the transaction totals already I am negative $350 today. I want to cry. I know it is my fault for not keeping better track. But it seems as if to keep track I have to be on calling dh and the bank a few times a day to check the balances. It seems to make life easier using my card is actually making it more work. Now if you still do all cash, do you pay your bills online? Or do you send them off? There are so many places that offer you deals or discounts to go online that I tend to go online. I so need to learn to budget!
DH and I have an appointment tonight with our budget and (unopened) envelope system from Dave Ramsey. We're getting back to cash starting ASAP... for the exact reasons you mentioned. We've wasted over $250 in the last two months on overdraft fees. We have too many bills that are auto-drafted that we don't be able to go 100% cash, but we're going to leave only exactly what we need to cover those bills in the account. Our bank is right across the street, so if I want to order something online, I can run over and make a deposit, then come home and order it. That will also force me to pause a moment and may cut down on some impulse buying. I don't buy much on impulse, but every bit adds up. I've also heard of people freezing their debt card in a cup of ice. Then you have to wait for it to thaw before using it. It's still there when needed, but, again, you have to pause a moment to make sure it's worth it.
We are working our way toward doing all cash. We've never done it before, but I think it will make us a lot more accountable to where our money goes. I just finished the first draft of our monthly budget so my dh can look over it tonight. My husband gets paid weekly, so once we get the monthly budget done, we are going to break it down into a weekly budget. The plan is to take money from each week's check and put money into an envelope for each thing in the monthly budget-1/4 of the mortgage, 1/4 of the electric bill, 1/4 of the grocery budget, etc. If there is something that is going to automatically withdraw from our account, we will deposit that money a few days before to make sure it's there in time. You might try going down and talking to the bank about the charges. We had an issue once where I forgot about a big check we had written and we overspent our account. We had several little checks go through and it ended up with tons of fees. I went down and talked to them and they were able to take off all but one or two. It surely can't hurt to ask.
Now see for us, if we have cash in our pockets, we are way more likely to spend it, if it's in the bank on the check card, then we think twice about it.. it may have to do with our commitment to having no debt (no loans or credit cards). I also keep a bit of a cushion in there that I don't count, and when we spend I subtract up to the next whole dollar.. even if we are only at a penny.. like say we spent $4.01 on something, I subtract $5.00 from the bank account... which is a fast way to build up some extra money in there. I also usually under estimate what we have to spend.. so like say we are going to walmart and there is $200 in the bank, I will say well we can't go over $125, because that is all we have (the rest is a "gas" cushion in case we need it in the truck or jeep or if we need something in the grocery department that I didn't remember to buy).
I tried this once, but it didn't work for us. If we wanted something that wasn't in the budget, we would say "well, we do have that extra cushion in the checking account". Usually, we overestimated how much of a cushion we actually had, though, and would get ourselves into trouble. My friend who suggested it to me loved it though! Every few months, she have enough of a cushion built up to buy herself something special.
We've been doing all cash for a long time. Every 2 weeks I pay the bills online. It's the best way for me to keep track of what was paid when. I also like knowing it only takes a couple of days to clear, it's free, and so quick to do. After the regular bills are paid, most of the leftover money is taken out as cash (we leave $50-$100 in there as a cushion). Then I envelope everything. I have cash envelopes for Groceries, Camp, Dance, Orthodontist, MIL's Birthday Party, Rent, whatever else is due, and of course - the Miscellaneous envelope. I LOVE paying in cash. When we used debit cards and credit cards, we were blissfully unaware of what we had in the account. We often accrued so many fees and penalties. Now, being able to see what we have, we spend a lot less.
That's why I don't leave it in my pocket. When we did this before, we left our envelopes in our firesafe. I only took out what I needed for any given trip. I kept $10 in my purse for emergency gas, but other than that, I was "broke" all the time. I never spent a penny I wasn't planning to spend because I never had a penny over what I planned to spend.
Keep a receipt for absolutely EVERYTHING you spend... right down to the coffee or chocolate bar and write it down. When you write it down, you hold yourself accountable for what you're spending. If I knew how to attach the sheet I use, I would add it here for anyone to use it (but I'm clueless in how to do that)
We use our debit card for most things. We use : auto withdrawl for mortgage, dish network, netflix and YMCA dues. online payments for -elec, water/trash,HOA dues, phone/internet, gas(home) and insurance debit card for groc/household, landscaper, gas (car) ,misc. fun stuff I break down my budget by the 1st and 15th . I make 2 rows and right down every bill that is due from the 1st-14th on one side and 15th-31st on the other. I keep $500 extra in my bank account for misc. items/trips/auto repair or whatever pops up, the rest goes straight to savings. We paid cash for our cars, we use our credit card for hotels, groupons, trip reservations and college. We pay , in full, at the end of each month because the cash was there in the budget we just use the card for taxes (college) and for extra protect from fees the hotels use when using a debit card ( up to $75 hold for 10 days if you use a debit card) and we only have our mortgage left to pay ( which we are $100,000 upside down on thanks to the great Las Vegas market ) we hope to have that paid off in less than 10 years. I do give dh cash when he needs it, golfing, business trips or car parts and he always tell me a few days ahead when he needs it or he calls and says he needs to use the card is that OK. I hardly use cash maybe 2-3 times a month but it also helps that I go no more than 2 times a week to the stores ( including Target or Walmart for household items) and I stick to my lists.
Oh.. here is something else that really helped us.. I control the money, as in I deal with the balancing of the checkbook and I do know pretty much all the time a general amount of what is in there. For a really long time, I didn't have my own check card (I had misplaced it), and so if I wanted to spend any money I had to ask hubby for his card, and I tell him everything I buy (acutally I ask, I know he says it's our money, but he earns it, so it's not mine to blow anyway I want to in my eyes). He in turn has to (and even still does) ask me if we have the money for this or that and when he heads to the store to pick up something I tell him he can spend X amount and not a penny more.. and he is good with this. He gives me all receipts the second he walks in the door. Us always having to check with each other was great because it really made it a habit, and we still do it. The only time I don't say "can I buy blah blah blah" is when I have sold something and have my own money in my paypal account or I have earned some giftcards from swagbucks. Oh and another thing.. the last payday of a month I subtract anything that is coming out automatically the next month (dish, netflix, internet, etc) and leave it that way. ETA... I know if I want to keep staying home with my kids, I need to keep a super duper tight rein on the money.. I make sure we live as cheap as possible so that I can do what I love
I have the debit card, dh has cash. He does have a debit card on him but he would call to make sure he funds were available in an emergency.
we recenlty had been ALL cash. buy money orders....... walmart was the cheapest. Some of our bill were able to be paid right at walmart too (pay station). we still just have ONE debit card now so we both can't make charges......
I would prefer to be all cash. Dh does all his banking online and I don't have a clue how to do that or even know his account number. So I never have any idea how much money we have. I do know he tends to blow a lot on unnecessary stuff whereas I would have saved it. I have a grocery and gas budget, use the debit card, and that's all I spend. Dh pays all the bills online and I'm not even sure when they are due. Luckily, I'm low maintenence and not a "spender". The only cash I have of my own is from my little 3 hour-a-week childcare job at church. That's what I spend on stuff for myself or the kids. But $20 a week doesn't buy much, so I don't spend much. but I keep better track of it in cash.
We did all cash for the whole three years we were traveling. We visited ATMs and withdrew however much we thought we would need to get to the next city and that was that. It worked beautifully. However - I could quite easily go back to the card because my husband doesn't spend anything. Really - he spends like $5/month. I do all the shopping and if he wants something he asks me to get it for him. If he is going to order online, he has me put in the credit card info. He doesn't feel comfortable buying stuff at all, so I control all the money. I never even thought about the conflict issue, but I can see how it would be HUGE if you were both using the cards.
JoAnna, what about a seperate account for his money for work money, you can link them and move money from the household budget to it when you need to.
We have recently gone back to all cash for the exact reasons you mentioned. We do use a prepaid debit card from walmart to pay our bills that have to be paid online and we do still have some bills that are on auto pay that goes onto that card. If the money isn't on the card the transaction doesn't go through so no overdraft charges. We make for certain that the money is on the card by the date we need it to be. The card is only used for bills. Some I still pay in person because it's easier but for the most part the bills come off the card. To make sure the money is where it should be I've began a journal with all the bills written down every month. I actually started it when I began Fly Lady. But i don't use it for that anymore. It's more of a household control journal. I print out calendar blocks for each month and have it to keep track of what expenses are coming out each payday that way we don't have the late fees on bills either. Those add up as well. The Electric company was charging a $50 fee when we were late on paying the bill along with a percentage of the bill. That was a HUGE slap. I also don't have a drawer full of our bills that I have to thumb through to find them to pay each month. I know that's NOT good, but that's the way it was here for awhile. Now the new bills go into a zipper pencil pouch that's inside the binder. If paid online the bill is taken out and the confirmation number written on it along with the date it was paid and it goes with the Receipts into another zipper pouch. It's all in one place. Doing things this way has made it so much easier to see how much money we actually have and make sure it's going where it should be.
Handsome and I both have a card. All the bills are paid when they come in or at the end of the week. Every purchase that is made goes directly into the book the same day. Although he pays the bills, I am with him and I know how much is in the account. He takes his gas money out for the week along with some extra cash for whatever extras he might want on the way to or from work. Once all the bills are paid, he tells me that the rest of the money is mine to spend as I see fit. This includes groceries, my gas, and/or whatever I want to spend it on. If he needs something, he will ask if I have plans for the money or he will let me know that he needs something and he gives me the estimated cost. Extra money will carry over to the following weeks budget and savings. This way there aren't any problems with the account.
We learned the hard way, too. DH and I have seperate accts and he has nothing automaticly withdrawn from his acct. I have my own acct and own debit card so we don't have to worry about what the other person is doing. Plus the one and only thing I have automaticly coming out of my acct is Netflix so its easy to keep track of. When we had a car loan with credit union and we had to have automatic payment, we had it deduct from the savings instead and then it was the only one on the acct. That way we know there's no way for it to bounce. BTW, some banks allow one fee reversal per 12 months so it might be worth it to call customer service and ask. Our bank is Chase and they do it.
Its not easy being cash only over seas due to all the different money exchanges. I have found it easier to get cash in American and Yen for our fun stuff and use the card for trips and at larger stores. Even then at time our card will not work because it's American.sde
