Episode Details

I have a bad habit with cash: if it’s in my wallet, I tend to spend it.

But not carrying cash has created its own problems — especially when something unexpected comes up and suddenly cash is the only option.

So this week, I’m trying a simple experiment: Emergency Wallet Cash.

I keep a fixed amount of cash in my wallet, but mentally treat it as money that has already been spent. It isn’t available for coffee, snacks, random purchases, or anything else. It’s there only for those annoying little situations where cash suddenly becomes necessary.

It’s basically the envelope method, just inside my wallet.

Personal finance isn’t always about complicated math. A lot of it comes down to understanding your own habits and creating rules that protect you from the decisions you know you’re likely to make.

Sometimes even changing the name of your money can change how you behave with it.

So now it’s not “cash in my wallet.”

It’s my cash emergency fund.

I’m testing this for a week and I’ll check back in to tell you whether I actually managed to leave it alone.

How do you keep yourself from spending the cash in your wallet?