I have never possessed a debit card. I have never used an ATM machine. Never. Ever! Somehow the prospect of using a debit card for a McDonald’s senior coffee seems absurd.
The alternate choice is cash. Yes cash. Carry enough cash to handle the daily type of expenditures. I carry cash in my pocket. It gets replenished each week. When it is gone, it is gone.
Lately I’ve had extra cash in my pocket, appearing almost like magic. What the hell?
For Christmas we got gift cards from several sources (Grasshopper No.3 and Tony) for the Hu-Hot restaurant. It costs $25 everytime we go out to eat. Using the gift card means that I didn’t have to use cash from my “magic pocket”. It adds up. For sure, we eat out once a week and sometimes more. January was a very good month. My pocket swelled.
A gift card for the local movie theater meant free blockbuster film releases with popcorn and beverages. January included “the Girl with the Dragon Tatoo”, “Mission Impossible” and “War Horse”. Do you have any idea what popcorn costs at the theater? My “cash pocket” grew again.
This morning I decided to change the color of my car from “salty white” to silver. The car wash is usually $12-$15. Grasshopper No.3 gave us enough free car wash certificates to last a year. I just whip out a certificate and $15 stays in my pocket.
So after the month of January, I’ve got extra cash in my pocket. What do I do with the cash? Wait, I’m just opening a letter from my health insurance company. Oh no! They are raising my rates and it is going to cost me another $400 per year. There goes my cash. Isn’t that just like life. My surplus cash from my pocket goes to cover a different expense. Will I ever get ahead?
The problem now is that the “honeymoon” of using gift cards is over. Well, back to the magic pocket.
Love,
Dad