Paying Cash - Added Bonus and Benefits

Paying cash means making some lifestyle sacrifices. However it has a concrete financial benefit: It will keep you from drowning in a sea of red ink on your voyage to the new economic world. But it also has an added emotional benefit: It adds meaning and value to the things you do buy.

How often have you told your kids that they’ll appreciate something more if they earn it rather than just get it without effort? How often have you heard that guy hoisting the Stanley Cup say the triumph was so sweet because of all the effort it took to achieve it? You know what? It’s true. When you have to work hard to get something, you’re making an investment, not just buying something. All the time and sweat and sacrifices made on the way add to the value of the object being pursued. When you finally get it, it’s worth far more to you than if it was just handed over without any effort. It’s really yours because you earned it. No one can take it from you. You’ll find yourself caring for your possessions, perhaps even cherishing them, rather than ignoring and maybe even abusing them.

Now, I don’t expect you to accept this right away. Just as your children have to learn the rewards of hard work, you have to relearn them. But trust me: Frugality household really does offer greater psychic rewards than conspicuous consumption. Start treating the little things in life with more respect and it will carry over to the bigger things. When you start having an increased awareness of the value of your possessions, you can’t help but have an expanded cognizance of the value of other human beings.

I knew they wouldn’t suddenly start bringing their lunch to work in brown paper bags, but in the eight months they’ve been paying cash there has been a remarkable transformation. While they haven’t suddenly become models of frugality, they have stopped their extravagant buying. For the first time in their married lives they’re finally living within their means. They’ve stopped adding to their debt load, and are planning to use the proceeds from the sale of their apartment to pay off and eliminate credit card debt. That will free up their credit for use where it can do some real good—in the purchase of a home, one in which they’ll be happy spending the rest of their lives.

Just as important, if not more so, their attitude toward their lives has changed. They’re no longer living solely in the moment. They’re beginning to feel they have a future, not just a present. Mary’s starting to feel a bit more secure, and Ken is realizing that he doesn’t need a new Armani suit every three months to show the world he’s a success.