COVID-19 shouldn't kill cash!

For some people, the best method uses mobile apps that allow the to set upper limits on what they spend digitally.

These are very convenient, but as with cashless payments themselves, they require that you spend more time online. As we've seen, this poses challenges to your cognition and productivity over time.

In using these apps, you may also be generating data; providing information to platforms that may use it in ways you hadn't imagined.

Give your spending substance using Token Stacks

One of several great benefits of using cash at least part of the time is that it makes money a tangible token. You can feel your cash reserves growing lighter as you spend. When you're unable to use cash you can still give some physical aspect to your spending. Here's one way of doing it.

Look at your weekly spending habits and budget. Work out how much you spend each week on, say, recreational or discretionary items. These are items that are desirable, but not necessarily essential. For example, on average, UK householders spend between £50 and £75 per week on recreation and culture - including package holidays - TV and streaming subscriptions, sports, and pets.

Set up at home a stack of books or other physical items to represent this recreational spending. Assign to each book or item a set fraction of the total.

If your recreational spend is £60 per week, you might have six large books in your stack, each representing £10 spent. Position this stack where you'll see it everyday - on a kitchen bench, or near the TV. Then, as you spend on recreational items, remove one or two books from the stack.

This gives your spending substance. What you spend digitally becomes more tangible, which provokes an emotional response.

Cash or Spending Envelopes

This method is popular with people who only use cash, but it can also be used with cashless systems.

The basic steps are much the same as with the Token Stacks method. Assign each category of your weekly recreational or discretionary spend to an envelope. Fill the envelopes with specific amounts of cash you've set for each category. (Use tokens in place of cash if you prefer).