Personal Finance King

A Personal Finance Money Blog from a Christian Perspective

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Recommended Sites
You are here: Home / Saving Money / Spending Money Like an Exotic Dancer

Spending Money Like an Exotic Dancer

October 5, 2016 by Barnaby

exotic dancerYou’d think my wife, Nora, is an exotic dancer. She comes home from work with thick stacks of bills – 1s, 5s, and 10s. But she doesn’t come home at 2am exhausted from a night of dancing, but rather at 4pm, also exhausted, but from a drama-filled day of working with teens.

She works in a high school and collects small payments from students for club activities or test registrations. Then she will typically pay the full amount with a check or credit card and keep the small bills for herself. Then, rather than depositing the cash at a bank or ATM, she will use it for spending money.

I never understood this approach. Cash seems so inefficient and risky, as compared to using credit or debit or a personal check. You have to lug it around. You never have the right change. You risk losing it or having your pocket picked. The money could be earning interest (granted, not much!) in a bank account somewhere.

Recently, I experienced a nudge to rethink this opposition to cash. We were in the hardware store checkout with grand plans to repaint the basement family room. We had paint, scrapers, stripping compound (nothing to do with exotic dancing), masking tape, the whole nine yards. It came to a grand total of $32.45. She handed the cash over, then I saw it: A bag of mulch in the undercarriage of the shopping cart that had been overlooked.

I cried out, wrestled it onto the checkout conveyor, and the patient clerk rung us up again. Nora reopened her wallet and retrieved another $10 and handed it over. Then I noticed something I hadn’t seen before. It was visible for just a nanosecond, but I’m sure I witnessed the physical manifestation of a psychic struggle at the moment of handover. An unusually long lid closure during a blink, a tightening of the lips. It was as if she was fighting to walk uphill against a strong steady wind.

It wasn’t like she thought we didn’t need it or she resented me for insisting we get the mulch now. And it isn’t that, more generally, Nora is a tightwad. She understands the need to spend money for house maintenance, and our kids’ education, and for the occasional vacation. Especially the vacation.

Then I thought about all the times I was forced to use cash. At the roadside fruit stand. At the last restaurant in town – Samos – that doesn’t take plastic but it hasn’t hurt them because their Greek food is so good. At the neighborhood yard sale. At those times, now that I think about it, I tend to be a lot more price sensitive and reticent about buying much. (Samos, if you can hear me, take note – you could be selling a lot more baklava!) Compare this to when I go to the grocery store, where I always use credit, and I’ll often drop pricey cheese and olives into the cart without batting an eye.

What does the Bible say about all this? Well, I did an exhaustive search and not once did Jesus or his disciples use a credit or debit card! No hits on the term “Bitcoin” either.

Bad jokes aside, this issue is about good stewardship of what you are given – so that you can keep more resources for your family and for your giving. When it comes to money matters, what is more important than that?

Filed Under: Saving Money Tagged With: ATM, bitcoin, cash, check, credit card, debit card, stewardship

Comments

  1. Queen Mum says

    October 5, 2016 at 7:24 pm

    I’m a credit card person myself, except for farm stands, yardsales, collection plates and tips. I like the convenience and I especially like not having to think about money all the time. Do I have enough…..will it last until….is it in the right denominations? Credit cards release your mind from being a slave to the contents of your wallet. You can look at the big picture, smell the roses, and not worry if you’re low on cash and simultaneously low on gas in your tank. The down side to this philosophy of course is obvious, but is you cultivate thriftiness, resist impulse buying, maintain a mental budget, and pay off your balance every month — credit cards are the best thing since sliced bread! I am actually more apt to give to a charity, like support a missionary, if I can do it online with a credit card. That can’t be bad.

    • Valerie Mendenhall says

      January 29, 2017 at 8:40 pm

      Loved each thought and sentiment in this comment!

  2. Kevin Schoon says

    January 21, 2017 at 8:47 pm

    I find humor in this post because I’m the tight wad in my household. I like to keep cash though because it keeps me from overspending. When have my card the balance is invisible to me.

  3. Valerie Mendenhall says

    January 29, 2017 at 8:41 pm

    Cash makes you much much more observant of what you’re buying but if you’re living within or well within your means, it’s a hassle.

Trackbacks

  1. When Nora's Credit Card Was Stolen And She Went Without Fries - Personal Finance King says:
    April 1, 2017 at 12:08 pm

    […] you serious? Did you leave it out at school?” Nora works in a high school, and I’m always imagining her students are little juvenile delinquents. That nasty bias is […]

  2. Saving Money on Hair Care Might Make You Look 30 Years Older than You Are - Personal Finance King says:
    June 23, 2017 at 12:14 pm

    […] calculation would have a different multiplier if she were a TV anchor (or looking for a job). But she works in a school, where some gray strands signal gravitas rather than […]

About Me

About Barnaby King Welcome to the Personal Finance King blog, which explores issues of Money, Faith, Work, and Family. I am Barnaby King. More
Subscribe to Receive New Posts by Email:

Check your inbox or spam folder now to confirm your subscription.

RSS RSS Feed

  • Quick Takes: Riding Greyhound, Winning Mega Millions & Human Composting
  • Know Your Value
  • My Tiny Bitcoin Investment Lost 64% of Its Value

Most Popular Posts

1. How Should We Respond to Needy People on the Street?
2. We Ported Our Landline Phone to Google Voice, Saving $46 Per Month
3. What Is the Role of Faith in Personal Finance?
4. 9 Life and Finance Lessons from “Alexander Hamilton” Biography by Ron Chernow
5. Top 8 Free and Offbeat Historic Things to Do in Baltimore
6. Why We Live in Baltimore Despite Its Problems
7. How a Prized Pocket Knife Was Imperiled on a Trip to See the Rockettes
8. Is 16 Too Old for a First Phone?

Categories

  • Earning Money
  • Faith & Finance
  • Kids & Finance
  • Love & Finance
  • Misc Finance
  • Politics & Finance
  • Saving Money
  • Travel & Finance
  • Uncategorized
  • Work & Finance

Archive

  • January 2023
  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • August 2022
  • June 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in