Cash and organization
Credit Cards with the ability to carry a balance from month to month and pay interest on that balance did not come into use until the late 1950s early 1960s. In those 50 years, Americans have amassed $750 Billion in debt. Ouch!
Things were hard scrabble enough in the 1930s to keep body and soul together without lugging consumer debt around too. When you work with cash and only cash, it is quite simple to stick to your budget. I understand the safety concern with cash and I will address that in future posts, but look at how your spending habits change if you limit yourself to cash.
Organization was vital to running the homefront and when resources were limited, knowing what resources you had was essential.
Have you ever cleaned out a closet, pantry, or storage area and become re-acquainted with items you were missing? That is where I find that a lack of organization has cost me money. My favorite part of organizing is finding out "how many" of a specific item I own.
I remember my Granny's pantry. It was a walk-in closet off her kitchen with handmade wooden shelves and quite large even by today's standards. I can still see the neat rows of home-canned fruits and vegetables, the dry goods and the baking essentials. At a glance, she could see what she had and more importantly what she needed for any cooking project.
When cash is tight, I get bummed when I think I need something and then find out I had it, but didn't know where it was.
So let's take a look at how we can budget with cash only and organize what we already have.
Happy Cheapness!
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