Why is it always an assumption that people will be paying for things with credit cards? I went to Best Buy and bought a replacement universal remote for my parents for Halloween. In the store I said that I had a rewards card which they swiped – not very busy two people helping me pick out a remote I had already chosen at home. Anyway… I was told to swipe my card when I was ready. I didn’t say I was paying with a credit card, I wasn’t asked at all. I said. I’m paying with cash. You would have thought that I had a couple of guys carrying hundreds behind me for a purchase that was $22. “Cash, oh, cash!”

Yes cash. Why is it that when I pay for things with cash increasingly I feel as though I am a pariah? I choose to use cash for most purchases because it makes it easier for me to keep track of spending, plain and simple. I only use credit cards for the times when I want to have an additional paper trail or don’t want to carry around a lot of cash for the purchase.

Another reason I paid cash is that the seemingly small amount could be something I would forget about when it came time to pay the bill. Not that I spend that close to my balance in my checking account, it is… I had the cash and could pay for the item with cash – they why not. Conversely, if I charged several “small purchases” of less than $25 each over the course of a month I may be spending an additional $125 or more by making mindless purchases. In a year, which could be an additional $1500 that I spent on small things. Using cash, I would be more likely to think about what I want to spend my money on. If I were buying something for a few hundred dollars I would definitely want to use a credit card because I wouldn’t want to carry around that much cash. Besides, I would not forget about a purchase that large.

Cash is my friend and keeps my budget on track.