Showerthought: Using cash envelopes for groceries saved me $140 in one month

I used to just swipe my card and hope for the best, but after I started pulling out $80 cash every Monday for food back in November, I stopped impulse buying snack cakes and fancy cheeses, has anyone else tried cash-only for a category and seen a big drop?

2 comments

2 Comments

lily703d agoTop Commenter

I read somewhere that the physical pain of handing over cash actually activates a part of your brain that registers loss more than swiping a card does. That definitely tracks with my own experience because I stopped buying those big jars of pickles I never finished once I started using cash. It's like the money feels real when you see it leaving your hand instead of just watching a number change on a screen.

harperg763d ago

Honestly, pulling out cash for groceries is the only thing that stopped me from throwing random $8 crackers into the cart. The physical feeling of handing over bills makes you really think about every single item.