Brushes & Budgets

Today we’ll get to talk about why I choose not to spend cash during my debt free journey.  Grab a snack, baby carrots if you have any, and a glass of water or even wine because water just might not do the trick for today’s post and we’ll get started!

So, one of my best friends is constantly on me about having cash.  Like…all the time.  I’m so sick of her parroting to me about having cash.  I’m also a very stubborn person… But!  If I see merit in something I will definitely implement it, even if I fuss about it at first.  When it comes to cash, it’s one thing that I can’t seem to grasp and I’ll tell you the reasons why in a moment. 

When I started budgeting, I kept seeing so many people incorporating cash spending into their budget because they preferred to have nothing to do with cards.  While that was all well and good, me and my background just knew that wasn’t going to work and I scoured the web to find someone who kind of fit my narrative.  I found a small pocket of people who digitized their spending. 

Now that it’s been a little over 4 years as a non-cash spender, I’m going to tell you the 4 reasons why I will continue to use credit cards and my debit card for spending.

The lack of convenience – going to the bank for cash

Even though I bank where I work, going to the bank to pull cash from my account is and has been a major pain point for me; especially now that I’m into the second month of being stuck at home.  Along with that I’d like to add, cash is so dirty.  Body oils, sweat, germs, freaking traces of cocaine of all things, and then some, lives on cash and that makes me cringe.  I don’t know what stripper’s g-string a dollar bill has been in, I don’t want to find out, and I don’t want to touch it. 

You can’t use cash to make online purchases

This is coming from my personal experience of being stuck at home because of my foot, being stuck at home because of COVID, and the numbers of times I had to be at home because I was sick or injured.  Online shopping has been integral to me being able to move forward with some of my purchases.  Eventually, I’ll be back to driving to the grocery store and I’ll be saving on delivery fees and tips and I can’t wait, but I still enjoy an occasional Amazon purchase.  With online shopping, if you pull your cash, you have to move back to point #1 to put money into the account to cover the charge.  Do you have anxiety yet?  I’m panting like crazy right now.

Cash doesn’t accrue interest

I have a high interest yielding checking account.  I collect 2% APY on my checking account balances up to $10,000.  This basically means, the longer my money sits in my account, the more interest that is accrued on a daily basis, the more money I get in the long run.  Now I know this wouldn’t apply to the general public, but there is one more point that I’ll be making that will cover everyone. In the meantime, considering obtaining a checking account that is high-yield may be a great option for you and your family.

Cash is not insured by the FDIC (banks) or NCUA (credit unions)

This is the number one reason why I do not like to carry cash.  When I think of these cash spenders, I think of them counting out their cash, putting it in envelopes, and spending the money as they see fit.  If they took all their envelopes with them to run errands and lost their envelopes or even worse, had them stolen, that money is just gone.  A lot of these cash spenders are also gathering cash for their emergency funds in envelopes!  This goes totally old school like when people would put their money under mattresses.  When it comes to savings, you’re not going to accrue interest on cash, then you have to worry about the people you invite into your home, and potential home invasion.  Life is already stressful enough.  When you end up with fraud on a debit, credit card, your account, or all 3, both the FDIC & NCUA are insured up to $250,000 to help you recoup what you lost.  I’m way more comfortable losing my debit/credit card than I am with cash for this reason.

All 4 of these points keeps me from carrying more than $20 in cash at any given time because I just don’t think it’s worth the risk.  However, if I am traveling, I will pull cash.  Especially for international travel.

Pro-Makeup Artist Tips

The last topic was about primers, this one will be about eyelids!  There is a method to my madness.  When I’m applying eye makeup and I need the look to last all day, will do the following:

• Apply a primer to the eyelids
• Apply a concealer a few shades lighter than the persons skin tone or white putty or white jumbo eye pencil to bring out bright colorful looks.
• If using a concealer, set the eye with a skin-toned matte eyeshadow to keep the concealer from moving.

The primer keeps creasing at bay, the concealer/putty/jumbo eye pencil adds an additional layer of longevity.  I have tried all three alone and I can tell you, these steps have helped tremendously. 

Thank you for reading! I hope this has proven to be helpful!  Be sure to like, comment, & subscribe to receive updates about future posts. 

Until Next time!

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash, Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash, Photo by David Libeert on Unsplash, Photo by Jack Hunter on Unsplash, Photo by Sri Jalasutram on Unsplash