Leave Credit Cards at Home

With credit cards you spend what you haven’t got and you go into debt more than you should.

In this country is almost mandatory to have a credit card. If you pay the toll booth with a Master Card it does not work and in many toll booths the payment is automated so you can not pay in cash. The only thing that works is the credit card.

But unless you have to go down the highway every day, you don't need a credit card to live.

Leaving our credit cards at home

From now on we decided to organize our domestic finances differently: at the beginning of the month, just after getting our salaries, we’ll withdraw a certain amount of money to take in our pouch, let’s say $ 100, and leave our credit cards well keeped at home.

The problem with credit cards is that you do not control what you spend because you do not see money coming out.

The card payment gesture appears to have no impact on the domestic economy, when it is just the opposite: it is the easiest way to spend without counting, the beginning of the disaster of your finances.

Now we get our only credit card for certain major expenses, such as shopping the month or going on holiday, when it is safer to pay with a card.

And to go shopping we make a list and we set a limit amount to spend that we should not normally exceed.

Having the cash in your wallet helps you to control it better, to count how much you spend, to think twice before buying anything and cheer up when you see that you can buy something extra for you with bills you didn’t spend.

All this is part of a healthy economy.

How are we going to control money with a credit card if you don’t see it?

Domestic economy the old way

I  remember the old days when the women in my family handled money at home. And although salaries were not very high, they always had money for everything. There always was a bill out there and they had provision for all expenses, then they went to the hairdresser, family outings or any other extras.

And as there were no credit cards, they could not spend beyond limits and have the bank account in red numbers.
The credit card has stolen us the pleasure to enjoy money because it is more convenient to have it, because it is safer if someone steals you, but mostly because it is easier to spend what you haven’t got.

I'm not saying we have to go back to those old times, but why not enjoy money as before?