The Danger of Loose Cash
One thing I have always had problems with is the idea of having loose cash on me, for some reason I always spend it. No matter whether it is a few bits of shrapnel or an actual ten pound note-I will spend it and then feel like crap when I realise for the 100th month in a row I have not been able to save!
I cannot save, I have tried and tried but I drive myself insane with what I seem to think I need in the flat. It is not like I go into the most expensive stores and have to have the new t-shirt on display. It is a different thing where I just do not contemplate how much I am going to need. All the things I spend the money in ARE necessaries but they are all bought at the wrong time for example:
I decided at lunch that I would go to Primark to buy some cheap new pyjamas that would keep me warm in my flat to prevent me using the heating until I absolutely need to. I knew that I wanted a hand towel, pajamas, bed sheet, some fairy lights (x2 and cheap) to make the place cosy. I got all of these things, however in my head I thought they would come to about 20 pounds and as I was mindlessly counting the price tags (which are so confusing because they tell you they are cheap-which just makes you think that you can afford to buy more) and then you get to the check out with all of the things you wanted all under a fiver each and realise that the bill has come to more than 37 pounds….WTF!!!!!!
The only problem is that instead of spending a large amount of money in a designer store and then taking it back and receiving the 100 pounds in cash and having that money once again minus the jumper, you have actually spent money on things that you need. So there is no point in taking any of them back because you know that you are going to buy them at some point.
This is the problem with these really cheap shops they have low price tags which shock you and make you think that you can afford to buy more but before you know it you are way over your limit-but you think that it is ok to spend over what you wanted because you got just those few extras which make all the difference-and in your head will save you money at some non-existent point in the future!
I envy the savers, the people who are able to put that 1 pound away and make it into five pounds of change, instead of spending it on a coffee to wake you up.
One of the awful things I do….. I like to call it the ‘Treat’. This happens when you put your hand in your pocket and you feel a bit of lose change. Suddenly this smile spreads across your face as you rumble around the change and grab all that you can carry. You realise that it is just enough for a ‘Treat’. Now a treat could be anything from food to drinks etc. It tends to be something that costs only a little but will waste your money.
Why will it waste your money?
Well it tends to be a treat that disappears pretty quick. Like a coffee-at first it tastes great but after about 20 mins when the cup is empty you regret not having that 1 pound to hand for that all important sandwich at lunch.
My challenge to myself though from now on is that any money that I earn through babysitting is going straight into a savings account that makes it very difficult for me to withdraw! Whilst I wait for the contracts to sign for that I will have to make sure that my eye doesn’t wonder too much-20 pounds notes are so beautiful when you want to use them.
This month I am determined to put away 100!!!!! (like that is going to happen!!!!!)
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- Old School Finance Tips That Work (50plusfinance.com)
- Save Money by Living on Cash (50plusfinance.com)
- Tips for Saving for a Big Purchase (savealittlemoney.com)
- Budgeting Takes Over Semester One (johannsk1.wordpress.com)
- Will Israel be the World’s First ‘No Cash’ Society? (israelnationalnews.com)
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Confessions of a Talent Agent... 
I know everyone has their own way of budgeting (or non-budgeting) that works for them but what works well for me is to immediately set aside a fixed percentage of every paycheque towards “savings” and then allow myself the freedom to spend the remaining percentage on everything else.