We are big fans of cash at our house. I know, who isn’t? A cash system is a great way to stick to your budget that you carefully craft. There are many advantages of having cash. My favorite is that you can’t spend what you don’t have. At the start of each month I go to the bank to take out my monthly allowance in cash.
Each month my husband and I get allowance. An adult with an allowance? That’s crazy talk, right? We don’t think so. By having an allowance each month we are able to go to lunch with our friends or save towards something we really want (like a Fitbit Surge). There is no finger pointing and the “you spent how much on whaaaat?” isn’t uttered.
In a recent conversation with my brother I told him about our allowance and he immediately thought we were crazy. He spends his money how he wants. I respect his financial decisions and I hope that he respects mine. One of the best parts of being an adult is being able to try different things. We are not a one size fits all world, which means that allowance as an adult will work for some families, while it doesn’t work for others. It’s all good!
I love having an allowance each month because I don’t have to justify my impulse buys when we sit down at our budget meetings. I could eat Chipotle or Lenny’s Subs once a week, and sometimes I do. Since I can spent my allowance any way I wish, my husband just shrugs. When I see a new video game purchased by my husband I don’t give him a hard time since I know he used his allowance for it.
Do you try to stick with an allowance at your house? We would love to hear about what works for you! How often do you save your allowance for a big splurge?
Check out these Ways I Save for more budgeting inspiration.
Leandrea is a married mom of two girls, ages 13 and 12, living in Atlanta, GA. She is passionate about helping people save money one coupon at a time. Read more
Yep! We have been on Dave Ramsey for about four years now and because we have everything budgeted, our BLOW money is $40 each. And most months we don’t even spend that. We are on track to have our HOUSE paid off in about a year. 🙂 It is so neat what happens when WE tell our $$ what to do.
We use the cash only system too. My husband gets $15.00 a week and I get $10.00 per week. We have only been doing this since the first of the year. We have saved so much money. Cash really makes you think before you purchase something.
Hey! I LOVE LOVE LOVE the cash system. It’s helped us so much to realize how much money we are using up. Having it tangible somehow works on our brains to not spend as much or waste as much. It’s great!