Interesting way to save money

I have seen folks save money in a varieity of ways - probably the most interesting is to actually take credit cards and instead of cutting them up, placing them into very large blocks of ice in the freezer. The thought being that this allows the user to keep the cards but think about the purchase while the card unfreezes. Interesting especially if they don't cheat by microwaving the card to begin with!

I have had a freezer moment over the past few weeks and it has taught me that sometimes using a debit card as cash really isn't that helpful. Don't get me wrong - I stick to the principle of "if you don't have it, don't spend it" and try to use my debit card as cash to help reduce credit card bill shock.

Recently I lost my debit card and frankly have had a heck of a time getting a new one. Since the debit card is actually a credit card that pulls from your checking account it needs special security features like a credit card - this is where things have gotten crazy. Well the technology makes sense but in the interim of getting the card turned back on I noticed something - I am spending less money. Yes, I have made some purchases with the credit card and I have pulled a little cash from the ATM using my wife's account, but I have made less day-to-day purchases.

So as an alternative to being cheap - you might just leave your debit card at home with your spare credit cards just to see if you save a little money over the next two weeks. I think I will continue with my "weekly allowance" in cash and once my card is working again maybe I will leave it at home too.