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All Cash Month

Go all cash. It is not a revolutionary idea. Don't wait for something amazing and new in terms of an idea in Personal Finance. It's just cash. That's what I am thinking about as I head into this Month. Sitting now on the 5th, I was considering whether or not I should just go all cash for a month. But let me start with my motivation:

I feel like I spend a lot of money. I mean A LOT. More than I should. Perhaps more than anyone should. And that makes me wonder if perhaps the credit card and my personal good fortune to have a good salary really has kept me entirely insulated from how expensive everything is and what my spending habits are. Again, not revolutionary, but this morning it really hit me for some reason.

 After I completed this exercise, I found two key takeaways:
1. I spend entirely too much money on coffee out. For me that was a response to spending so much time at my desk at work. I needed an 'excuse' to get outside. Near my office, there is 'cheap' coffee with a reward program that gets me a coffee for about 1.35 per cup with the discount/loyalty program but even with that discount, the cost of 2-3 coffees per day adds up.

2. I found that I was a little bit more restrained when it came to purchases. It hurts to spend cash, not so much to spend on credit cards. This has been written about before, but in this example, I really felt it. In general now, I am spending between 1000-2000 per month for the dining out and other types of expenses. It is crazy!

As a result I have made a few changes which I am hoping will help me curb my spending somewhat on these 'avoidable' items. It is certainly something I should do to make my money last and do a better job saving.

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