We seem to have reached the point in everyday life where if you pull out a crisp pineapple ($50 note) at your regular shop, safe or petrol station, your salesperson responds with a baffled expression, their hand already reaching toward the EFTPOS machine.
The transition toward a 'cashless society' seems to be very much marching toward completion. Most people I know rarely even carry cash on them anymore. I do wonder how many years our beloved rainbow of bank notes has left before retirement.
The government loves all things cashless because they can trace every transaction and make sure we're all paying our taxes etc. US payment behemoths Visa, American Express Co. and Mastercard love them too because they get to clip the ticket of every purchase you make.
But I have been thinking about all of the possible ramifications of the great shift to plastic (and phones).
And I have come to the conclusion that maybe using cash might be better for our wallets in the long-run.
Before all of you Mastercard, Apple Pay and Afterpay Touch Group Ltd (ASX: APT) loving millennials dismiss me as a dinosaur, hear me out.
Using electronic money reduces the concept of cash to numbers on a screen. Pay cheques come in, money goes out with every tap of that Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) issued card. Life goes on.
But I urge you to have a week where you only use cash for your everyday transactions. The feeling of handing over that pineapple is a lot more of a sting than tapping your card for $50. Something tangible is leaving your hands, never to return – and it makes you think twice about what you are swapping it for.
What's more, if you set yourself a weekly cash withdrawal limit, and leave your card at home, you might find yourself unable to make those impulse purchases that would otherwise be clogging up your savings plans.
And guess what? That leaves money to put towards your first home deposit, mortgage or quality ASX shares like Xero Limited (ASX: XRO) or CSL Limited (ASX: CSL). At the end of the day, investing is all about choices, and the first choices are what other things you spend your money on that aren't contributing to your future.
So try leaving your card at home and getting some good old fashioned cash in your wallet. You might be surprised!
