Money Saving Tip:
Finance
JJ Valdez
Date created: 2/3/10 Section: FEATURES
One way of saving money is one that is more prolific in the sense that if used systematically, it will slowly build value over time. How is this possible? It's simple, really-just don't carry cash around-instead, put all your money in the bank and pay only with debit cards.
This may sound similar to the credit card company's tactic of getting people to use credit cards more often with the promise of reward points, but it's not about merely using a debit card to pay for everything instead of cash. So, how does this help save money, you ask? Well, here is an example of how to do exactly that.
Let's say you buy a pack of gum for a dollar and 89 cents, and you pay with two dollars. That means you will have a penny and a dime left over. What do you generally do with that spare change? Do you keep it in the back of your pocket, tell the cashier to keep it, or even worse--toss it aside? What's eleven cents to you, right? Let's also say that you buy a pack of gum on a regular basis. If you repeat this process ten more times, and total the amount that you will have wasted, it comes out to over a dollar. Add this same regiment to other items you purchase-who knows how much money you've already wasted?
But what happens if you pay using debit? You keep those eleven cents. Obviously, you supply only the exact amount of the cost of the purchase.
By this point, it's obvious where I'm going with this. All the wasted spare change you may accumulate when paying with cash is no longer a factor when the exact amount gets deducted from your account. After awhile, the change starts to build and you save money without ever having to go through the annoying task of counting pocket change to try and break. You'll thank me when you are eleven cents richer.
However, there are some draw backs to this idea. For one, this would mean all your purchases are filed away through bank records. For people like myself, it can also be a good thing because I suffer from bad memory recall. But for others, it can be awkward or inconvenient.
Others may use this technique as an excuse for not donating money to charity, homeless people, street vendors, or little girls in plaid dresses selling macaroons for a field trip fundraiser to visit Washington D.C. When they see this, they just pull that famous line, "sorry, but I don't carry cash with me." I like to consider this the "dark side" of paying only with a debit card.
My favorite aspect of this idea is, if you're as clumsy and air-headed as me and you misplace your belongings a lot of the time, nothing feels worse than having a wallet full of cash and loosing it on a park bench. So if you don't carry cash, then worse case scenario, all you'd have to do is cancel your credit/debit card and you'll be fine.
This may sound similar to the credit card company's tactic of getting people to use credit cards more often with the promise of reward points, but it's not about merely using a debit card to pay for everything instead of cash. So, how does this help save money, you ask? Well, here is an example of how to do exactly that.
Let's say you buy a pack of gum for a dollar and 89 cents, and you pay with two dollars. That means you will have a penny and a dime left over. What do you generally do with that spare change? Do you keep it in the back of your pocket, tell the cashier to keep it, or even worse--toss it aside? What's eleven cents to you, right? Let's also say that you buy a pack of gum on a regular basis. If you repeat this process ten more times, and total the amount that you will have wasted, it comes out to over a dollar. Add this same regiment to other items you purchase-who knows how much money you've already wasted?
But what happens if you pay using debit? You keep those eleven cents. Obviously, you supply only the exact amount of the cost of the purchase.
By this point, it's obvious where I'm going with this. All the wasted spare change you may accumulate when paying with cash is no longer a factor when the exact amount gets deducted from your account. After awhile, the change starts to build and you save money without ever having to go through the annoying task of counting pocket change to try and break. You'll thank me when you are eleven cents richer.
However, there are some draw backs to this idea. For one, this would mean all your purchases are filed away through bank records. For people like myself, it can also be a good thing because I suffer from bad memory recall. But for others, it can be awkward or inconvenient.
Others may use this technique as an excuse for not donating money to charity, homeless people, street vendors, or little girls in plaid dresses selling macaroons for a field trip fundraiser to visit Washington D.C. When they see this, they just pull that famous line, "sorry, but I don't carry cash with me." I like to consider this the "dark side" of paying only with a debit card.
My favorite aspect of this idea is, if you're as clumsy and air-headed as me and you misplace your belongings a lot of the time, nothing feels worse than having a wallet full of cash and loosing it on a park bench. So if you don't carry cash, then worse case scenario, all you'd have to do is cancel your credit/debit card and you'll be fine.
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