by Hope
I am finding myself tempted to spend more often now that I have money in the bank. With a comfortable savings account and most bills on auto-draft, my financial life feels safe right now. A very new feeling for me.
And I find myself tempted to spend money without any forethought and without a budget line item. This is especially tempting with my credit card in hand.
But I’ve also found the solution…leave the credit card behind.
I can’t take credit for figuring out that this works for me. I accidentally left my credit card at a restaurant in Atlanta the last time I had to go to the city for work. Instead of going back to get the card I ordered a new one. It took over a week for the new one to get here.
During that time, I had to really think through every purchase. Was it in my budget? Was it budgeted for now? Because every purchase was coming directly out of my cash account.
It was a really good lesson for me. Really, really good.
I’m trying to figure out how to apply this lesson for more long term affects.
I’m thinking that when I am home, most of the time, I do not carry my credit card in my wallet or purse. That will make me continue to double think any purchase. I don’t like using my debit card, in general, or accessing my cash account. It just makes me nervous. This will make me plan for purchases or at least think about them a bit longer.
Not to mention, I hate leaving my house most of the time, so having to go home to get a payment method will be a deterrent in and of itself. Can anyone else relate to that?
Hope is a digital marketing manager and foster/adoptive single mom to five kids. She has run her own consulting company for over 15 years and took a leap of faith returning to the corporate world in 2021 to a job and team she loves! Hope began sharing her journey with the BAD community in the Spring of 2015 and feels like she has finally mastered the balance between family first and wise financial decisions.
