What helps you spend less? Cards or Cash?

SarahNeedle1872

I thought the answer to this would be easy, but now I've stopped to think about it, I'm not so sure.....

For things that I have a set budget for, ie food shopping, petrol etc, I use my card (for cashback and its 0% on purc atm) and transfer the cash into my savings acc.... But then if OH needs money for work, I have to take out £10 and I never see it again, save for the change I scrounge off him.

But, if I took out a set amount of cash each week, loads of it would end up in the change jar, or worse still, get spent on things at work like coffee/sandwiches etc.

I thnk I will vote for credit card.... purely because I use mine for cash back.... But I'm at the stage atm where I begrudge buying anything at all! (except things for the baby of course!)

Sarah x

LouBlue

Buffythedebtslayer wrote: »

I am going to try the cash thing, for this week, and see what happens!

wish me luck!

xx

Good luck! :T Best thing I ever did was to start drawing money out on a weekly basis. Using card wasn't real money for me but having the actual money in my purse makes me really think about what I really need...instead of what I really want...

Rach75_3

For me it's using my visa debit card, as I am using my own money but I don't have the actual money burning a hole in my wallet.

poppyoscar_3

Cash actually makes you acknowledge how much you spend - you have to have enough to hand over, and you have to listen to the amount......

With Debit and credit cards it's too easy just to hand them over (or bung them in the machine now) - the only number you need to think about is your PIN, you don't even have to look at the total!!!!!:eek:

Having said that, unless i'm in on a real economy drive, I use the credit card to get points and have a Direct Debit set up so it all gets paid off at the end of every month. Works for me at the moment!

Cheery_Daff

I don't do either one or the other - I have a small notebook as a spending diary, split into different sections (food, van, unnecessary etc), with a section at the back adding up what I've spent overall each day, and taking this off the total for the month. I update at least once a day.

This way I can see how much of each budget, and also how much I've spent overall through the week, and how much of the monthly budget is left. Little bit of a faff, but it works!

and it means I can spend either cash or card, doesn't matter, as long as I write down what I've spent in the appropriate place

Good luck sticking to cash only!

Daffs
xx

Lucy1982_2

I don't have a credit card so that is not an option. But Petrol goes on the debit card and I am trying as of today for 'spends' to be in cash!

So good luck Buffy

Ches

OMG this thread has confused me even more than I was before I read it. TBH I think I am [EMAIL="c@p"]c@p[/EMAIL] with money whatever way I do it. Maybe I will try to have a small amount of cash per week for pocket money and pay everything else that isn't DD with the debit card. The challenge will be not to go to the hole in the wall when I run out of cash.This is seriously scary, giving up smoking was a lot lot easier.