Comments on: Cash is king

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Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:59:10 +0000

[...] So yes, I build really great websites for clients while writing about why Christmas is gay. And yes, I became a widely respected consultant and coach in part by explaining why credit makes me want to barf. [...]

By: Johnny

Johnny — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 02:45:30 +0000

Yeah, they pay a lot more attention when you do the deadbeat thing for a while, don’t they? I was “responsible” for too long, and now I don’t even want to play that game. Cash all the way.

By: Jon

Jon — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 17:51:37 +0000

I totally know where you are coming from, because I got to the same point about a year ago – then I went on strike. (my excuse is my ex-wife who couldn’t get around to finding a job but had no problem finding the mall). It’s my own fault for allowing it though – I should have canceled her cards, but like most guys I do stupid things when sex is involved.

After a few months of not making payments, credit card issuers become amazingly cooperative! My average interest rate went from 25 – 30% to under 10% and one was willing to settle for a fraction of the balance due.

I’m sure it torpedoed my credit rating, but that doesn’t really matter when you pay cash.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 03:44:09 +0000

Yep, and I’m coming up on a year of doing this now — operating on all cash. My wife sometimes still uses the card, but it’s minimal, and I haven’t used ANY credit since I wrote this post. I try to use the paper stuff only, but sometimes I do use my DEBIT card.

Very liberating. And via something so simple!

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:56:44 +0000

p.s. That’s totally not you leaving the bank.

By: Joseph

Joseph — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 21:56:02 +0000

Johnny, great post.

I did the same thing about a year ago, and I haven’t regretted it once. Instead of feeling like I have less money, I feel like I have more because I actually know how much I have to spend. It’s much, much, much less stressful to know that than to just hand over a card and wince not knowing how much you actually have.

This is totally the way to go.

Joseph Wesley

By: Johnny

Johnny — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 15:45:43 +0000

I haven’t had any trouble yet using only cash or a debit card, but we DO still have a credit card that we simply try never to use, for cases like you mention.

And also, I used to do what Pace describes (use the card but then pay it off in full each month) but don’t do that anymore because I found that I spend differently when I’m using a card. I think twice about all cash purchases, whereas I’m far more inclined to “just swipe” with a CC.

As a personal thing, recent attitude changes have also resulted in me simply liking being “off the grid” as much as possible. So I like cash because it doesn’t leave trails. Not that I’m doing anything sketchy, but… it’s hard to describe.

By: Pace Smith

Pace Smith — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 13:51:49 +0000

@Stephan: I have a credit card, but I don’t use it like a credit card. I have it set up to pay off the entire balance every month, so I use it like a debit card. The only point of it is to be useful in those rare situations where they only accept credit cards and to get free frequent flyer miles.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:51:27 +0000

Also, how do you guys rent cars and get hotel rooms? some places flat out won’t accept anything but credit cards, also, they somehow seem to be able to detect that a debit credit card isn’t the real thin.

By: Stephan

Stephan — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:43:41 +0000

That was a photo from Zimbabwe, the guy is carrying stacks of (mostly) 10,000,000 dollar bills, nearly worthless thanks to hyperinflation… Cash is not so much king in such situations..