Why You Should Consider A Cash Only Budget

When you are in debt you feel like your life is over.

You don’t know how you got here, you don’t know how to get out, and everyone else seems to have it all figured out.

All the experts say you need a budget, and a cash only budget to help you get back on your feet and ensure you get out of and stay out of debt.

You barely know what a budget is, let alone a cash budget.

Does it really make sense to use one, especially with how easy using a debit card is?

What Is Cash Only

A cash only budget is where everything you purchase you do so with cash only, you never use your debit card unless it’s to get the cash out to pay for things.

You do not use credit cards of any kind.

This is commonly referred to as the envelope method as well.

After creating your budget for the month, you then take the money you’ve budgeted for and put that cash into envelopes that have written on them what that money is for. Thigs as Rent, electric, groceries, fun money, etc.

The reason you do this is so that you never over spend in any one category.

For instance, if you budgeted $400 for the month in groceries, and $100 in new clothes, you can’t over spend on new clothes and take the money out of groceries. There is no risk of you overspending at all provided you only use the money in each envelope for what it’s meant for.

The main reason for living a cash only existence to this extreme is because we have created bad money habits and are trying to get out of them. This keeps you in check and doesn’t allow you to overspend.

Drawbacks of Cash Only

Using the envelope system to live cash only is restrictive, and it has the benefit of helping you get your finances in order, and out of debt if you are. However, there are some disadvantages of living this way.

For instance, if you don’t have the cash with you, you can’t buy something.

It’s easy to plan for things like groceries, when I’m going grocery shopping I simply bring some of the money from that envelope.

It’s much harder to plan for a car breakdown, especially if you’re on a long road trip and a tire goes out, or the engine decides now is the time it will stop working. If you don’t have that particular envelope with you, it's impossible to pay for that emergency.

Another reason this can be a challenge is if you are out and find the perfect outfit you’ve been looking for, and you have the money for it, just not with you. Now you have to hope that that is still there after you go home and come back. Or if it’s even worth it to you to come back, once I’m home I don’t like going out again for really any reason.

A major drawback that a cash only budget has is security. I always feel like if I have a lot of cash on me, everyone knows and someone will rob me. Not only that, if you do have all your cash in your house and someone breaks in, now you have no cash, and no way to pay your bills.

Banks are secure, and keep you and your money safe.

Finally, you’ll feel like an outcast.

The world we live in is not a cash only world, in fact at this point we rarely even use our cards, most of us use apple or google pay. Having to make sure you bring an envelope with cash, or at least go home to get some cash, can be a problem, and be incredibly inconvenient.

It’s 2022, Can I Get The Same Benefit and Still Use Cards?

The good news is that though in the past it was impossible to live a envelope or cash only lifestyle using debit cards without opening a lot of checking accounts, that it’s completely possible to do now.

Qube money is a budgeting app and bank that allows you to live the cash only life without using actual cash.

The app is easy to use, and helps you keep track of your funds. In addition, it helps with more than just budgeting.

Ever sign up for a free 7 day trial of something but have to put your card information in to get it, and then forget to cancel and get charged?

With Qube you can simply tell it to not allow for that when the expense comes up, and then go and cancel it. It’s an added layer of protection that allows you to save money whether you remember or not.

Conclusion

Ensuring that your budgeting is together is the first step towards making sure that your financial future is set. It’s the foundation of everything else.

Unless you have a budget you can’t save for a car, vacation, house, and you’ll never get out of debt. You won’t be prepared for emergencies, and you won’t be able to put money aside and invest for the future.

By living a cash only life, especially if you use the Qube money, will allow you to take the steps to get your finances together and live the best life possible.