Cash for a Month challenge
Cash for a Month helps you to save money by putting away your cards and only using cash for a whole month. Looking at Life challenged Clare Reay to go card-free.
I never carry cash - it just seems so much more convenient to use my card. But I wanted to know the reality of handing over cold, hard cash for my shopping when I previously wouldn’t blink at a three figure sum being charged to my card. So, daunted but excited, I took on the challenge to budget how much cash I would need for a month and withdraw only that. Here’s how I got on...
Day 1 – My husband and I sit down to calculate what we will need for petrol, food and everything else for a whole month. Surely this will be easy-peasy as most of our outgoings are on direct debit. We withdraw the cash and secretly look forward to telling our success story.
Day 3 – We are off to London to see a musical. Tickets, train and hotel already paid for so this is barely a challenge, right? Wrong. Usually I would be stocking up on magazines, hot drinks and snacks for the journey, but I now realise that this would cost me more than £10. We pack a thermos instead. We may not look that cool but we’re saving money!
Day 5 – I am buying my weekly train ticket to work with cash for the first time. I end up dropping coins all over the floor, hearing a lot of tutting from the queue behind me, and missing my train by a few seconds. Not a great start to the week.
Day 8 – We realise something quite exciting. Previously we would be checking our bank statements online every day, and scraping together what’s left at the end of the month for savings. But this month there will be no unknown amounts coming out, so we can transfer a decent amount into our savings now. We are starting to see how Cash for a Month is a great tool for budgeting.
Day 9 – I remember one of the reasons why I don’t carry small change in my purse. I seem to keep stopping at the corner shop for sweets and gum on my way to work.
Day 11 – Our first big supermarket and petrol shop. We are usually reckless, throwing everything we fancy into the trolley and holding our breaths at the checkout. Today, we are weighing every vegetable and scribbling down a running total. I usually laugh at my husband for scouring the reduced section but today I’m joining him. Hot cross buns reduced to 25p! Bargain! Our budget was £60, and the total comes to £60.22. (No, I will not be convinced to put the hot cross buns back.) Handing over a wad of cash instead of typing in a PIN is very strange, but we feel we have achieved something. Hubby enjoyed it so much he’s raving about how we should try the ‘go down a brand’ challenge next time and see how much more we can get for £60!
Day 18 – Excellent! All this spare change we have means we can use the coin bins on the Severn Bridge. (Yes, we are easily pleased.)
Day 21 –I take on the challenge of buying birthday presents on a budget. I’m pleased to discover good gifts at less than a tenner, and it only takes a few more minutes to price-compare between shops instead of buying the first thing I see.
Day 25 – Uh-oh. We get the car checked over before another long trip and need to replace two tyres. We cough up the cash and resign ourselves to starving for the next few days.
Day 29 – Parents take pity on us and come to take us out for dinner. We graciously agree to pay the tip – this cash thing is definitely working for me!
Day 31 – We come to the end of our challenge. We have learnt some very valuable lessons and will definitely continue to budget for our household expenses using Cash for a Month. We now know to factor in a bit extra for unexpected outgoings like car repairs. Looking at our bank balance is now a relief as there are no nasty surprises and we have definitely saved money.
...Now I just need to try and remember my PIN, I haven’t used it in so long!
Are you brave enough to take up the Cash for a Month challenge? Find out more at www.careforthefamily.org.uk/cashforamonth
Written by Clare Reay. Posted on 28th April.
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