Cashing In On Less Chaos
I still remember a moment in my childhood vividly. I was standing at the grocery store checkout, with my grandma, and she was writing a check to pay for the groceries. She tore the check from her checkbook and handed it to the grocer and then went back to her checkbook to continue writing. I asked her what she was doing, and she told me “always know what’s in your account.”
Much time has passed since that day but it’s a memory that’s ingrained. At the time I had no reason to think that would stick with me until my mid thirties (present day), but it has. Those with life experiences are wise. We should heed their words.
Things have dramatically changed over the last twenty-five years. We went from writing checks, to using debit/credit cards to having the ability to use your phone, which is synced to our checking account. We live in a much faster paced world than there has ever been before.
There is research that supports the emotional attachment to cash. Not swiping of the cards but cash itself. We have an attachment due to it being a tangible source. There is more pain associated with the use of cash than that of a card. Crazy, right? This is where the basics come into play. A monthly budget needs to be established. Yes, every month . . . especially in the world of baseball. We all know our day to day changes so financials need to be considered each month as well.
Establish your budget and incorporate groceries, eating out, entertainment, haircuts or any other set amount and withdraw it in cash. Yes, you read that right. There’s been such tactics as keeping envelopes and labeling each one for each category. When the money's gone, you stop spending.
It seems like the simplest thing to do but it takes time to adjust. It will also bring to light the frivolous spending on a coffee while you’re out or just grabbing lunch. I felt this pain during adjustment time. I really felt that Chick Fil A should have been on the menu every day. It eats into your budget but certainly sheds light on the amount of unnecessary spending that happens.
Yes, our household lives by this. We have categories such as: haircuts for the boys, haircuts for the girls, groceries, date night, entertainment and pet grooming. We know these are fixed amounts each month. It will take time to find your “happy place” for the budget but you’ll have more freedom. More freedom in the fact that you won’t forget you swiped your card the week prior and the transaction just went through. It brings a sense of peace and in the world of sports, we know what a sense of relief we have when one area of our life is less chaotic.
Recommended material:
Till Debt Do Us Part – Amazon Prime Show
