I use cash all the time. It generates less data about my behavior than a digital transaction. Cash also helps me to budget myself. If I give myself $100 cash allowance per week, then I always know how much money I have left. If you’re always using plastic for purchases, spending becomes too easy. It’s important to physically hold something in your hand, and have to part with it in order to make a purchase.
I have categorically zero issues with spending (or knowing how much I can afford to spend), whether I use plastic or not. Using plastic doesn’t change my spending habits. I know how much money I have at all times, and it is simple to stay within a budget that way. My “plastic,” by the way, is actually cash. I use a debit card, not a credit card. I basically just don’t buy things for which I don’t have the money. When I want something expensive (like my computer system or a car) I save so I can buy it outright - or in the case of my car, pay it off as fast as possible and be done.
I have two credit cards; both just sit in a drawer here and never see the light of day except maybe once a year when I get a notice that the accounts will be closed for lack of use. I then make a purchased on each, and immediately pay the balance in full as soon as it’s billed to me.
I realize these are “old school” habits most people don’t engage in, but for me has it worked well and helped me to maintain maximum credit rating. The American credit system is one of the biggest rackets I have ever seen and the last thing you want to deal with is bad credit because it’s impact follows you everywhere. Applying for a job, finding an apartment, getting a car, etc.
I use cash all the time. It generates less data about my behavior than a digital transaction. Cash also helps me to budget myself. If I give myself $100 cash allowance per week, then I always know how much money I have left. If you’re always using plastic for purchases, spending becomes too easy. It’s important to physically hold something in your hand, and have to part with it in order to make a purchase.
I have categorically zero issues with spending (or knowing how much I can afford to spend), whether I use plastic or not. Using plastic doesn’t change my spending habits. I know how much money I have at all times, and it is simple to stay within a budget that way. My “plastic,” by the way, is actually cash. I use a debit card, not a credit card. I basically just don’t buy things for which I don’t have the money. When I want something expensive (like my computer system or a car) I save so I can buy it outright - or in the case of my car, pay it off as fast as possible and be done.
I have two credit cards; both just sit in a drawer here and never see the light of day except maybe once a year when I get a notice that the accounts will be closed for lack of use. I then make a purchased on each, and immediately pay the balance in full as soon as it’s billed to me.
I realize these are “old school” habits most people don’t engage in, but for me has it worked well and helped me to maintain maximum credit rating. The American credit system is one of the biggest rackets I have ever seen and the last thing you want to deal with is bad credit because it’s impact follows you everywhere. Applying for a job, finding an apartment, getting a car, etc.