Cash is So Good - Budgeting Tool

Cash is so good…because it is a good household budgeting tool. We all know it’s easy to overspend when using a credit card. In addition, when consumer debt levels are high, it can lead to financial problems and stress in households. By contrast, with cash, you can only spend what you have. This fact forces us to stay within our budget limits. There is a discipline to cash use which is appreciated in all households which have to watch their expenditure carefully. In this sense, cash is real money in your pocket, wallet or purse and it is stress-free to use cash, knowing you can only spend what’s at your immediate disposal. No wonder then that the European Central Bank (ECB) has recently outlined its 2030 cash strategy to ensure that banknotes remain widely available and accepted as a competitive, reliable payment instrument and store of value that can be owned and used directly by all consumers throughout the massive Eurosystem. 

Following the challenges of the covid-19 pandemic, with the associated economic crisis, cash as a budgeting tool has become more important than ever before. And in its latest report, “Cash in the time of Covid” - Quarterly Bulletin 2020 Q4,  the Bank of England states that British people are spending less cash, but that the total value of banknotes in circulation has increased as people appear to choose to hold more cash. This fact shows that people find security in holding cash. Isn’t the fact that it’s a great budgeting tool part of this human fascination with, and trust in, cash?