Are you ready for a weekend spending challenge?
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A night of dinner and drinks with friends can get expensive fast, especially when you’re swiping your card instead of seeing cash disappear from your wallet. That’s why Ed Gjertsen, certified financial planner and founder of Engage Wealth Group, is advocating for a new money saving trick: the cash only weekend.
“Try to figure out how much money you spend on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday, and just put that cash – on Friday, put it in your wallet and just literally spend cash for everything you can,” said Gjertsen. He Joined WBBM Newsradio’s Ron Hart on the Noon Business Hour this week to explain the strategy.
It’s backed by the idea that spending can be hard for us to track if we don’t have a physical representation of the transactions. People might be stressed over their credit card bills after the fact, but sticking to cash on a night out can save them in real time.
“Consumers have been fed a line that the benefits of choosing plastic over paper – credit, debit, and kind of swiping – is better and more convenient for us when, in fact, it’s intended to remove the pain of paying from our psyches,” Gjertsen explained.
He also noted that it is becoming increasingly hard to even use cash as a consumer. Those planning a cash only weekend should note that many sports venues like the United Center in Chicago aren’t taking cash. Rideshare services like Uber also require a digital form of payment. While planning a night out, it’s best to check if you’ll need a card or digital payment ahead of time and keep a debit or credit card on hand for emergencies.
At places where cash is accepted, cash only weekend participants can get a financial boost by avoiding credit card fees that restaurants and bars often pass on to consumers. They should be careful not to lose their wallets, because cash can’t easily be recovered if it’s lost.
“When you’re out of cash, your night’s over,” said Gjertsen. This is that physical block preventing more spending.
He added that getting better acquainted with cash overall is a good way to help keep spending in perspective.
“Watching that stack of 20s sort of deplete over time is very engaging and very helpful, because most times people – because of that lack of physicality – just swipe the cards or your phones or whatever it is and you… you don’t realize how much you’re spending.”