What helps you spend less? Cards or Cash?

Buffythedebtslayer

I was thinking about this today, I had to pay in cash whilst shopping as it was the end of the day and the bloke had turned his card machine thing off.

I really panicked as I had no idea how much cash I had on me:o any how i had enough thankfully - ( i also realised that I hadn't really got any idea how much I spent! and I wonder how I got into this mess!?!:o )

SO then on my way home I wondered if it would be better for me to get cash out on a monday and ONLY spend that instead of whipping out my Credit card or debit card to pay for EVERYTHING.


so what works better for - spending on a card or spending only "real" money?

thanks
Buffy
xx

Buffythedebtslayer

Just a quick explanation of the choices!

I mean in your weekly spending(food, clothes, social life(?), if you don't take out cash and use only debit cards is that better? or is it worse cos in a lot of places you have to spend over a fiver?

do you like to keep your spending on a Credit card to earn points or cashback (and pay it off monthly) (i tried that one never got the hang of pay it back monthly!)

Or do you think its better to have a set weekly cash amount which is IT and you can't have anymore..... but then i 'd be afraid of running out of money.....

Mollymop5

I personally pay with cash.I used debit card initially then decided it was too easy to stick it in machine.I take out my cash prior to shopping in asda then count up as I go around so I know how much I'm spending and can spend

Snaggles

I'm getting my vote in early as I will probably be one of the few that choose cards - if I have money in my purse, I will spend it. So I try not to carry any cash, and just use my card to pay for shopping etc.

I think if I took £50 shopping and only really needed £45, I would think 'Well, I've got the money out, so I might as well have a bottle of wine or two, to round it up to £50'.

I pay for petrol on a credit card though, as it tends to be a similar amount each month, so it's fairly easy to keep tabs on, and I clear it in full. I get cheaper petrol (it's an Asda card), and the money to pay it off stays in my account all month, offsetting my mortgage and reducing the interest. I'd like to do the same with all my spending but I'm not disciplined enough to be certain I had enough money to clear it.

LouBlue

I never used to carry cash on me which is why I got into so much trouble. I never kept a tally of how much money I actually had, just whipped out the debit or credit card.

My sis has finally drummed into me to take out money on a weekly basis. Its amazing how I have stopped buying stuff I don't really need anymore. Wish I'd done it ages ago!!

duchy

Another vote for cash-it isn't as REAL when it goes on a card instead of physically seeing how much of your budget is left in your purse.

JoeHel

No contest - I spend FAR less when I have to hand over hard cash!! I didn't think twice when using credit cards and I quickly lost track using my debit card too. When I have £100 in my purse at the start of the week, I do everything I can to make it last as long as possible and definitely don't fritter nearly so much away!

ciarasdreams

I spend far less using cash because then it is my money and it is real when I am handing it over so that I am thinking about I am spending so much more carefully.

blue_haddock

i think it's swings and roundabouts really. If i've got £10 cash in my pocket and i buy something thats £6.99 i just seem to lose the change from the tenner - a quick can of coke and packet of crisps and the change has dissapeared without a second thought.

Whereas on a card you only spend the exact amount you need to and i would never dream of whipping my switch card out to pay for a can of coke and a mars bar. However because spending money on a card is so easy it's easy to lose count of what you have spent.

Basically whether it's cash or card i spend it!

molerat

With cash you know what your limits are (unless you are the type that has it rolled in an elastic band). I always use a card. I have been virtually cashless since the early 70's. People at work laugh at me because I never have any cash on me. If I need anything I can 99.9% of the time use plastic or if I need cash I will pop to the cashpoint for a tenner but I do know what my limits are and can think the 40ish days ahead when reckoning day comes. Not having cash in your pocket can actually stop you spending the odd couple of quid here and there which all adds up.

ciarasdreams

molerat wrote: »

With cash you know what your limits are (unless you are the type that has it rolled in an elastic band). I always use a card. I have been virtually cashless since the early 70's. People at work laugh at me because I never have any cash on me. If I need anything I can 99.9% of the time use plastic or if I need cash I will pop to the cashpoint for a tenner but I do know what my limits are and can think the 40ish days ahead when reckoning day comes. Not having cash in your pocket can actually stop you spending the odd couple of quid here and there which all adds up.

You sound just so like her that I have to ask are you actually my sister?