Cuz i gotta tell you – it feels AWESOME! and not because it’s payday, which is nice, but you can actually see *how much* money you’re earning in the purest form. It’s an incredible feeling!
I usually just deposit it right away, but w/ some of the weirdness going on here at work lately, I figured better to be safe than sorry this round.
It’s not that i don’t trust our company, cuz i really do, but it’s just annoying having to worry about your check bouncing every now and then. For once i wanted to know 100% that i have the money and it’s safe and sound. Plus, i was up for the adventure ;)
So, i followed a fellow co-worker to the bank where the check was issued from (that way it clears %100 and you get cash right away), paid my $5 fee for doing so (i hate banks), and out we walked full of greenbacks!
It was the first time i clearly saw my paycheck – and i was mesmerized. I couldn’t believe i brought in THAT much every 2 weeks!
We all know how much we make, but there’s a HUGE difference seeing it electronically over piles of cash. A slew of feelings took me over, and it went something like this (in order):
- WOW, $1802.00 in pure cash sitting right in front of me!
- I’m so proud of myself, that’s a lot of money!
- I wonder how many $50’s are actually in there? (36)
- Man, imagine all of the stuff i can buy with this! (i daydream for a bit…)
- $hit, every last bit has already been budgeted for…
- I can’t believe i go through ALL THIS every 2 weeks.
- How the hell do other people survive on much less?
- I REALLY need to figure out a way to keep more of this.
- How cool would it be to go 100% cash from now on and F the computer age?
- I really hate seeing this…it’ll all be gone in no time.
- Damn, i hope no one jacks me on the way home!
My emotions really were all over the place, it’s just so CRAZY how the mind interprets the money this way. I mean, it’s still the SAME $1802.00, right? How can seeing it in actual dollars be that much different than seing the # up there on the screen?
I don’t have the answers for you, but what i DO know is that it was quite majestic :) A feeling that has since come and gone, but a beautiful one all the same. I’m not sure if i’ll try it again anytime soon – losing $5 each time and then carrying around all that money before re-depositing is pretty insane – but i’m willing to bet i’d find ways to keep more of that cash around!
Have any of you tried this? Or maybe get paid this way in your line of work ;) bow chicka, wha wha!
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(LOL) It’s a little scary ain’t it?I do this with our finances.It’s an eye opener.It makes it harder (for me) to let go of that money.I have been doing this since January.I have been tracking too.So I pretty much know what the bills will be.I put that amount in the checking.I leave a $300 buffer in there just in case.I have never had to touch that $300.At the end of the month I transfer that money to our savings account.We have accumulated $1350 to date.Doing this is so simple.I just deposit $150 a paycheck in to savings.And 1/2 the total of our monthly bills.I do this with each check.And sit back and watch as the money grows.Cutting costs in other categories puts a smile on my face and an extra deposit in the savings account.Another tip is to reimburse yourself for using coupons.I keep a change jar on the kitchen counter to drop my coupon savings into.I don’t use a lot of coupons but every little bit helps…….Dena
Hah! love it :) You’re 1,000% right too on sitting back and watching it grow!!! That has been one of the biggest motivational factors for me over the years. Sometimes it’s hard to envision saving up all that money or cutting costs and being frugal until you actually see it piling up in the bank account! Or in my case, my 401(k). It wasn’t until I logged in one day and saw all those $20 and $50 deposits totalling $8,000 when I realized it was WORKING! :) And from that point forward I’ve been upping my game as much as I can…