Spend physical cash instead of using plastic

Physical cash is on the way out - the writing is on the wall.  Venmo, Google Pay, Apple Pay - along with good old Visa and Amex - is where the future is.  Some stores no longer accept cash in the US, and this is even more common abroad.  This is unfortunate, because using physical cash is a great budget-discipline tool.  

In short, it is much more painful to pull out physical cash and hand it to the teller than it is to insert the chip.  This pain will instill discipline in us.  Retailers would hate it if we switched back to cash from "easy money plastic" because we would spend so much less.  

Spending cash has a cost - no frequent flier miles, some of the purchase protection aspects of a good credit card.  But especially for casual shopping trips, I encourage my clients to only spend physical cash for 90 days, and see whether they are cutting back their spending.  

Since bankruptcy is both the end of the road and a new beginning for credit, many clients have no choice but to use cash or an ATM card for purchases.  An overwhelming number have told me they were just as happy, and had everything they needed, and were spending much less than they did in their plastic days.  A large number have told me they continued to do this voluntarily despite having restored their credit.

If you do not want to employ this strategy for all or even most purchases, consider using it when shopping for non-necessities or things that you think you tend to overspend on.