Saying Good-bye to the Debit Card

A couple of years ago I wrote an article for Associated Content weighing the pros/cons of cash vs. debit cards. Click here to go to the article.

Since the writing of the article, we have slipped back into using a debit card. I can vouch that you WILL spend more using a debit card instead of just using cash. We have finally made the break from the debit card and will be going to all cash again. It is much easier. You know how much cash you have to spend and once it is gone, you are done. Plus, you don't have the worry about writing down receipts in your checkbook or the possibility of missing writing a receipt.

So, how do you go to cash? It's easy....use the envelope system. If you are unfamiliar with this, check out Dave Ramsey's website...www.daveramsey.com.

Here's how it works: We have a separate envelope for categories used each week.
For instance, our categories include: groceries, "blow" money, gas, eating out/entertainment, and a miscellaneous fund.

Each payday, we will fund our envelopes with the cash. When the money in the envelope is gone, you are done spending.

This has worked very well for us in the past, and I'm glad to be making the change back to this system again. Let's face it, when you have cash, it makes it a little harder to turn it loose. You will look and question each of your purchases a little more closely.