If You Can’t Afford to Pay Cash…

By John Ingrisano

When I was a young-pup, wanna-be freelancer back in Indianapolis in 1978, I would take on any assignment I could get.  Two were memorable. 

The first that tickled me (years later) was with a start-up pair of morning drive-time radio disc jockeys called Bob & Tom.  They were a great interview, but nobody knew (even them, I suspect) that they would become nationally known.  Good guys.

The second was with a money-management advisor.  Though I’ve long since forgotten his name, I remembered one key thing he said he told all his clients:  “If you can’t afford to pay cash, you can’t afford to buy it!”

Those words played into something I had suspected and was already trying to practice with my young family.  You could say they launched a writing career on money management topics. 

The advice is the cornerstone of effective money management.  Yes, today, it is more difficult to go plastic/credit free.  But it is possible.  Try it.  If you do …

• You’ll find that you will have to make money decisions – some of them tough – each and every day.  Should we buy a case of soda or just a few cans?  Can we afford to go out for a movie, or wait until next week?  Should we pick up that impulse buy or hold off, choosing to spend our money with forethought?

• You’ll find that you have more money for the things you truly want and need than ever before because you will waste less money on stuff that gives you no value.  Yes, it will be tough at first as you adjust to reining in your spending.  However, in the end, you’ll be living better and less (or no) debt.

Tip:  Decide how much cash you will allow yourself to spend each week and list all the items that it must cover.  Then start your week on a Wednesday.  That’s right, Wednesday.  That’s because you will be sure to have money to spend on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, and probably Saturday (we do tend to spend more money on the weekends).  So, you may end up pretty much sorting through the lint in your pockets or rifling through the couch cushions for spare change on Monday and Tuesday.  However, those are the easiest days in which to spend less.  Try it.  It works.