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Paper or Plastic

Most of you know that I am a major fan of Dave Ramsey and just about everything he stands for. I spent many an afternoon working from home while his program played in the background. In fact, I would still be listening in the afternoons had my local radio station not shuffled their lineup. I do, however, still catch a little bit here and there. Sometimes I even catch a segment on YouTube. And, that’s exactly what happened the other day when one of the stories I came across made my jaw hit the floor.

Now, I know you’re waiting with baited breath, but I must totally switch gears here and share another short story first.

I got the same start in the workforce that about 20% of America did–McDonalds. It was 1984. I was 16. Minimum wage was $3.35 an hour (REALLY dating myself, here). And the only payment we accepted was CASH. I remember hearing that in the not-to-distant future we would carry around plastic cards (like a credit card) that would automatically deduct what we spent from our bank accounts. I could hardly believe it. You can imagine my surprise when debit cards became a main source of monetary exchange in the early 90s.

“Nice stories, Meagan, but what does one have to do with another?” I’m getting to it. Hang in there with me.

The Dave Ramsey segment shares a video from a social media site. The woman in the video purchased something from a store with cash. Because she used cash, the cashier told her it was like getting it “free because cash is not real money.” WHAT?!?

Now, I understand that maybe using a debit card is going to FEEL different than using cash. In fact, statistics show that people will spend 83% MORE with a card than they will with cash. Why? Because it doesn’t FEEL the same. Yes, we are living in a digital world and e-currency is the primary form of trade, but this does NOT mean that cash has no value, nor is it FREE.

In fact, using cash and only cash can be a great way to save money AND teach good money habits to your children. Make sure your kids understand cash–different denominations, where it comes from, how it’s used. Assuming children only need to understand electronic money would be a great disservice.

How does one teach that? That’s coming next week. Stay tuned. It’s a doozy!


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