Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Increasing my Net Worth by Going Cash Only

I'm getting fat while loosing lbs of moolah!

No wonder I'm gaining weight...I'm spending a small fortune on food! Well, in my defense there are three days a week I am away from home for 15 hours, making dinner especially hard to anticipate. Yes, I know I could take something with me and nuke it before class, but come on now let me have some joy in life! This is why I actually have a budget for coffee. I don't really eat dinner when I have class, I find it makes me sleepy right in the middle of the lecture.

Instead I stop by Starbucks. There... I said it... the "latte factor". Honestly, I think I spend less by going to Starbucks three times a week (four if you count Saturdays) than I did eating dinner on school nights. That.... and I need caffeine.... its a necessity. (ask any other law student and they will concur). I bleed java.

So its time to cut back and stay on budget and maybe even loose a few pounds while I'm at it. And, in order to do this efficiently I think I will attempt a new strategy....cash only for food. This is very scary for me because I never carry cash. I am more afraid I might be tempted to throw down my card, or even that I might do so out of habit. My plan will have to wait until next month, when the my evil genius plan kicks into action. Okay, so its not an evil genius plan, its not even my plan really...check out all of these other posts on it:

Need a good reason to go cash only? Try 6! Check out this wisebread post on reasons why cash only ROCKS!

Ramit at IWillTeachYouToBeRich is one of my PF heroes. He challenged his readers to save $1000 in a 30 day challenge. Tip #23 of the challenge - go cash only for 30 days!

A guest post by Danny Kofke at GetRichSlowly explains why cash is king!

Trent at the Simple Dollar shows that once we recongnize we have a spending problem, and I think I do when it comes to food, using a cash only system keeps you honest about your spending.


So, I am starting tomorrow, payday Friday. I am going to start with $380 for the month, or $190 for two weeks....that's $80 a week for those who need it broken down barney-style. This is for all food..... for lunch, going out for dinner, groceries and coffee. This seems a really high, and I am hoping the sight of so much money in my grips will make me re-think spending it....or give me an anxiety attack...seriously =\


Would you ever consider going cash only?



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