Adding friction to a transaction isn’t always a bad thing. Old ways of doing things have a way of coming back around.

So many types of transactions take place digitally now that much of daily life has gone from tangible to non-tangible and from ‘open to detour’ to completely linear. Convenience is an undisputed delight which adds great value to life, but when it comes to spending, it leads to a literal loss of touch with your hard-earned money. Spending money is so seamless, by design, that it’s like gliding across a frictionless surface or watching water roll downhill. To connect more closely with the power of money, consider using cash for the majority of your purchases. Yes, the cashier may look at you like you’re a Martian, but that is perfectly OK.

Reviewing a bank statement is often like looking at the drip, drip, drip of a leaking faucet. There’s $10.54 here, $9.99 there, $27.55 here, and on and on. How often has your statement revealed absurd patterns? Did you spend more eating out this month than on groceries⏤despite your personal goal of losing weight? Did you buy three shirts when you went to the store to buy one? Did you pick up the check for the entire table because it was less of a hassle than splitting it up? Carrying around cash and physically handing it over to a cashier creates a small moment of awareness. It is a tangible reminder that you are literally parting with something valuable⏤something you had to earn⏤and that you are exchanging it in order to own something else.

Money is such an interesting tool because the way it is used often influences other areas of life. Look closely, and it is likely that a problem of overspending is a root problem, meaning that addressing it fixes other problems that derive from it. An action as simple as spending money more mindfully has the potential to spur mindful eating, mindful acquisition, mindful use of time, and so forth. Using cash only is an interesting experiment in slowing down and cultivating awareness. Try it and see what results it yields for you. Who knows, maybe you will be that lucky person who finds a million dollar coin in their change. Why not?

When you use cash, you generate a lot of spare change. Be on the lookout for these rare and valuable coins (source: “Most Valuable US Pennies – Highest Value 1 Cent Coins”; accessed 10/25/22 at http://www.usacoinbook.com):

  • 1943-D Lincoln Wheat Cent Penny: Bronze/Copper (value: $2,251,252)
  • 1944-S Lincoln Wheat Cent Penny: Steel (value: $1,110,923)
  • 1943-S Lincoln Wheat Cent Penny: Bronze/Copper (value: $579,631)
  • Any mis-stamped or double stamped coin (value: varies)

Copyright 2023 Kesel Wilson (entirely, 100% human-created)

Please share my writing with your friends and family.