Frugal Friday: A Year of Cash, Coupons, and Envelopes

Last night I had the rare pleasure of dinner out with girlfriends.  When the check came for our dinner, it was so funny to see that every single one of us pulled out our cash. In fact, the birthday gift from one girl to another was a posh little cash-holder with dividers for each budget category.  We laughed about how we’ve all embraced the cash system and been so thankful for the results!  It also reminded me that this past week marked one year since we began the CCE challenge (Cash, Coupons, Envelopes).

As you may remember, I began with heels dragging.  The whole system sounded complicated and unrealistic–I could just see myself at Target organizing all my items in different transactions and then sifting through a pile of envelopes to take cash and coupons from the appropriate pot while a line formed behind me of irritable shoppers. I broke out in a sweat just thinking about it.

But of course it hasn’t been like that at all.  After one year I am a believer!  Statistics say that people who use cash spend 12-18% less than those who use credit cards. In fact Money magazine does a great comparison of identical purchases (event tickets, auction items, groceries) and how much more credit-card purchasers spend compared to cash purchasers.  It also revealed the a very large percentage of credit-card holders never even redeem their accrued airline mileage points (which is usually the draw of using plastic).  Perhaps the biggest surprise for me was how much TIME I have saved. I used to spend so much time balancing my checkbook down to the penny and tracking finances online and blah blah blah. It took so much time! I am so amazed at how much time is saved with cash–no checkbook balancing! No scary credit card bills. No sitting starting at your computer until the wee hours of the morning trying to get the numbers to match up.  Even if we hadn’t saved a penny it would be worth it just for the time saved.

So in celebration of this one-year mark, I’d like to share some quick thoughts about these twelve months of trial, error, and lots and lots of saved cash:

• Start with structure, earn freedom.  Learning to use cash and spend wisely is, of course, a skill that we grow in. So at first, set up plenty of structure to set yourself up for success. At first I had very individualized envelopes to keep everything separate and really track where each dollar went.   But as we’ve grown, and interestingly as we’ve begun to spend less and less, I can pretty much keep all my cash in one spot in my wallet and and be flexible. Interestingly, the same amount of cash keeps going further and further. More on that later.
• Never underestimate the power of desire. I believe the bottom line to having a revolution in the area of finances is to allow God to change our desires. At the end of the day, we do what we want. Right? Many of us we will gladly forgo dinner out if it means getting a new pair of fur-lined boots (some of us would forgo food altogether!). Why? Because our desires will always be the greatest motivator. Similarly, we know that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7), that is, God loves a giver who is giving out of a desire to give. They are happy to give.  As we submit our will, our desires, our money and spending habits to God, He will change our hearts.  God can (and has) actually made me want to buy chickens and goats for kids in Asia rather than a new pair of boots (that is a miracle!).  For me, submitting to the cash system was simply an opportunity for God to begin changing my heart and attitude toward His money.  We would be wise to pray, daily, for God to give us His heart and desires toward money and possessions.
• Don’t be afraid of hunger and want. I have been surprised at how often we can make due without something.  Necessity is the mother of invention, right?  You’ll be amazed at all the new dinner concoctions you can come up with when you force yourself to make due.  Last night (as I was headed out to my fancy restaurant), I was faced with needing to provide dinner for my family from: Garbanzo beans, half an onion and carrot puree. Hmm… I found some frozen turkey stock and frozen shredded turkey (from thanksgiving), tossed all this together in a pot, added a pinch of taco seasoning and cilantro and topped it with cheddar cheese. Yum!! It was so delicious that I’m going to make a bigger batch of it tonight for our house guests.  We will survive even if we don’t have something on hand. I even think it’s healthy for our kids to understand, “No you may not have that today because we don’t have any. We’ll have more next week.”  Teaches us a little tiny bit of delayed gratification. The same is true of hunger. I’m not saying starve your kids, but I’m surprised by how often I eat just to eat, instead of because I’m truly hungry.  This goes hand in hand with our over-indulgent society.  Cutting back helps your budget and your behind. 🙂
• Be fun to bless. There are people in my life who are fun to bless.  Meaning, they regularly go without and are just so crazy thankful for everything they have that anything I give them just makes their day. I love those kind of people!  When we choose to go without, just a little bit, we make ourselves people who are fun to bless. Other people will like giving us hand-me-downs, meals, treats, etc. when we are grateful and full of joy.  A few months ago I was so frustrated because I had this stroller/carseat travel system that was in great shape and I wanted to bless someone with it but I couldn’t find a single person who didn’t already have one!  I thought surely there is someone in need around here!  Finally I posted on facebook and found someone and it was SO fun to get to be part of blessing her in that way. When we all go without just a bit, we open our lives to be able to be blessed by others.  Part of living in community is providing for the needs of one another–a beautiful give and take relationship that benefits all and knits our hearts together in Christ.

So all in all, I’m so thankful that we took the plunge.  If you feel afraid or are dragging your heels, as I was, I promise you will not regret it.  For more information or to find a Financial Peace class near you, you can visit http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/.  I pray you are richly blessed in 2011 with a desire to use your resources to enjoy life, bless others, and further God’s Kingdom.  Make every cent count!