experiment : cutting up my debit + credit cards
why?
i have been trying various techniques to manage my budget
however, none were sustainable
i wasn't quite able to get a good grasp of how i was spending my money
what my impulses to buy where, etc.
i wanted to force myself to be more aware of what money really meant
how much each purchase cost
and really thinking about whether or not this item or food was really going to bring me value
so...
i have 4 cards
i : main debit card
ii : credit card my mom convinced me to get for the miles (which i frivilously use cuz the card is pretty)
iii : credit card who i would use for business related travel (things that would get reimbursed)
iv : debit card to a bank account that i NEVER touch. don't even know what the pin # is
i cut up my main debit card, so i would have to physically go to the bank and get cash and budget
i cut up one of my credit cards (ii), so i would never use it again. pay off the bill and then get rid of it
results
this experiment had such a huge mixbag of results
i can't say that it was terribly successful
though i did learn lots of useful things
things i learned
1. it was interesting watching my impulses as i went out into the city with a friend
i saw how many different items attracted me and the desire to get it now
however, since i had a fixed amount of cash, i had to say no most of the time
this was useful because it gave me time to think about each item
2. having a fixed amount of cash in a grocery store really makes you think about what you get
i was much more conscious of the fact that i needed each items to hang together for the week
i do think carrying cash is a better way to go for me
i also noticed that you can get more good heathy food (fruits, veggies, etc) for cheaper than empty food ( kiddie cereal, drinks)
3. i consistently underestimate my budget
i do set aside a good portion of my earnings to savings + taxes, etc.
and have what i "think" is a reasonable amount of money left for doing whatever i want to do
except my impulsive life decisions don't always allow me to abide by the conservative estimates
i found that i was binging and fasting with my money decisions
not a healthy "money diet"
this is something that really needs some more thinking
4. i started to learn the 2 way street of buying items
normally, i would spend my money on going out and eating out
you can't really return the items you consumed
when i would finally buy an item ( because i would put it off forever)
i would think that regardless of the quality- i finally bought it, so i should keep it
simply because i don't want to go through the shopping process again
whenever i got rid of items i would just give it away to a friend, donate it or throw it away
however, now i am starting to see that i can return, sell and trade things
i went to my local used bookstore and traded a few of my books for new books that i wanted
i returned items that were crap
i sold an item that i wanted for something else
i have a few items now that my friend is going to help me sell
5. i purchased something that i was interested in getting for a long time
in one of my binge buying moments, i bought an expensive item i sorted wanted
the nice thing about it is that it made me aware that i can purchase items i really want
not all the time but when i save up for it
6. i couldn't buy things online
unless my card was stored on there (amazon was the only place)
so i bought one thing but that's it!
7. i didn't really drink while i was out
i knew this from earlier life experiments which is why i knew i could do it
also, why am i going to buy this expensive beer just to hang out with people i like?
we can hang out anywhere and its great (with or without the beer)
some things to note
at the end of the month, i needed to get a debit card because of all my traveling
HOWEVER, all my automatic payments with this card got a little messed up.
so i need to be careful with that next time
now what?
i am definitely going to keep my credit card cut up
i am paying that off and moving on
and never getting another one again
if i can't afford it now then i don't need it right now
i will keep my debit card though i should probably make most purchases with cash
i should probably carry cash specifically for the grocery shopping
i am not sure what to do about my budget
i am experience-alist
i am all about living it up with life experiences
and i spend my money typically on those things (traveling, concerts, books + music things)
so this is where i run into my spending conflicts
i probably should just think about this as i re-adjust how much i save vs. spend
this experiment was useful because it taught me a few new ways to look at my spending
this isn't a very easy experiment to run but a very useful one to do!
image credit : provocative penguin blog
