For this week’s blog post on analog experiences, I decided to restrict myself to only using cash wherever I went, instead of using my credit or debit cards. I’ve noticed over the course of my college career that as I’ve had an increased responsibility over my own personal finances, and as I’ve been more in charge of spending my own money in many different areas of my life, the value of a dollar has become less and less significant to me. I notice this especially well when I used my cards to purchase things or to pay bills instead of using cash. It sometimes feels like virtual money isn’t as real, or isn’t as valuable, and I’m subsequently much more inclined to spend it. I consequently thought that it would be a great experiment for this week to abstain from all “virtual” purchases, and to only use hard cash in every facet of my life.

At first, I can honestly say my experiment was very difficult. In order to buy my coffee in the morning, which I do regularly with my card, or go out with friends for dinner, I had to run to an ATM and take out money. It was a huge inconvenience that made me wonder why I was doing this to myself. I also accrued quite a hefty pile of coins by the end of the week, which is now sitting ominously on my bedroom dresser. I’ve never had so many nickels to look after. I was also not able to use a lot of the apps on my phone that require digital purchases or subscriptions, like using my Netflix app, my New York Times app, and my Spotify app (which all require monthly digital payments). To be completely honest, not having these subscription apps at my disposal for the week was the worst part of the experiment, and made my life quite grim. I felt deprived of all of the digital hobbies I have grown so accustomed to. I was forced to read the news from a non-subscription based source (I truly missed my precious NYT), and watch DVD’s instead of Netflix. My commitment catapulted me back into the dark ages of the early 2000’s, something I never realized would happen just from not being able to use my credit card.

However, even with all of the hassle cash entailed, I realized many interesting things about my digital abstinence. First and foremost, I spent so much less money than I normally would in a single week on frivolous items. Online shopping became something of the past, which led me to both spend less money, and also spend less time mindlessly browsing the internet. I was able to focus more on schoolwork and not worry about “this week’s best deals” or “an extra 15% off at checkout” which would normally tantalize me unremittingly. I also found myself much more reluctant to spending dollar, after dollar, after dollar. Having to go fetch more cash from the ATM every time I wanted to spend made me value my money a lot more, and made me rethink purchases a number of times before I would actually pay for things. I ended up spending a mere $27 dollars for the entire week, mostly on coffee  and gas, which is a number I am very proud of. I found myself able to budget a lot more easily. Without any notion of “virtual” money, my cash became a lot more real and tangible, and subsequently became a lot more dear to me.

The end of the week marked a milestone for me, proving to myself that I could in fact survive without a credit card. I noticeably feel quite torn about credit cards now; struggling with the ideas of both their convenience and their virtual artificiality. If I ever wanted to save money in the future, I now know how to do it, but at a sever cost of convenience. Ultimately the week was very education, and made me appreciate both the analog and the digital for how they affected my life positively.