Aug 24 2008
The Pros and Cons of Paying for Groceries with Cash
If you are looking to save money on groceries, you may have heard the tip pay only with cash. Yes, this may be able to save you money, but it does have its pros and cons.
As previously stated, paying for groceries with cash can help you save money. This is because you only have a specific amount of money in your wallet or purse. You cannot spend more than needed on impulse purchases, as you do not have the cash. Having cash forces you to stay under your budget.
As nice as it is to reduce your grocery bill, paying for your groceries with cash does have its downsides. One of those being large amounts of money. If you are like me, you may only have one big shopping trip a month. In that shopping trip, I can easily spend $300. That is not money that I want to be carrying around. That is why I, personally, opt for my debit card.
Speaking of which, I also receive a reward for using my debt card as a credit card. It is a PayPal card. If you have a PayPal account or card, consider this option. While you only receive 1% on purchases processed as credit, those cash back savings can easily add up.
My husband and I switched over from cash to credit (on the debit card) option last year. It does take a little more self control than shopping with cash, but those reward points add up. We earned enough last year to buy a week’s worth of groceries