Monday, September 22, 2008

TMR Frugal Living Tip #33

Today's thrifty living tip is use cash when shopping. I take out so much cash and put them in envelopes marked grocery, spending, utilities, and other areas. I buy a gas card for myself and hubby to use each month since we get discounts on gas when using the store gift card. Since I have been using cash to buy the groceries, I have noticed I spend less. I still find that I can overspend even when I use my debit card. If having cash makes you nervous, then get a gift card to use. Once the money in the envelope is gone, then I quit spending for the month. This has been the best method I've tried for making myself accountable for my spending.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

We've been operating on a cash budget for a few years now. It's made a HUGE difference in our spending habits. When the money's gone, we know we're done spending! ;)

Barbara said...

What a great idea. It is hard not to spend money when its in your purse. I try and leave money at home when I go out so I don't spend as much. Have a great day.
Barbara :)

The Fitness Diva said...

Carrying my cards with me always gets me in trouble. It leads me to impulse spending, and all those balances I'm trying to pay down on the credit cards never really seem to go down.
I used to do the envelope thing years ago, and it worked. I would never spend over my budget. It's a good idea, and one I need to get back to doing.

Anonymous said...

I think that's called the zero-budget system. Whatever works, right?