Paying with cashFor the first 18 years of my life, I always used to pay in cash.
For the first 18 years of my life, I always used to pay in cash.
It was not even until 2 years ago, when I turned 18, that I started carrying around my debit/credit card. Even then, I was hesitant to start spending on it, and generally used the cash in my wallet.
It was not that I was too young to get a debit card years before. In fact, I had one (for both myself and my business). I had a credit card too and was slowly building credit (which has been super helpful for me now).
But I just never carried it around. Even at the gas station, I would always have to run in to pay because I had to use cash.
All my friends always used credit cards.
So why did I not?
I think I was instilled from a young age about the value of cash. “Cash is king” my Dad always used to tell me.
But more than that, I think their is a lot of power/learning that comes from paying with something tangible. You feel your wallet a little emptier. You are able to visualize how much money you have and feel the pain of handing over bills.
With my card now, I just swipe, do not think twice about it, and worry about the bill later.
Inevitably, the world will shift away from using bills. Everything will be digital (we are already seeing this taking place). Of course, there are many benefits to digital (and crypto) currencies. Tons of them.
Call me old fashioned, but the lessons I learned from using cash for so long, I think, have made me a far more financially cognizant person.
How will we all learn these lessons in the future? Will they still be important?
Originally published at gonen.blog.
By jordangonen on September 27, 2017.
Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.