In the last 30 days we have withdrawn cash 8 times. Considering we did 15 withdrawals last month, this is an improvement. I can tell that we have done better this last paycheck with only one withdrawal!!
The one withdrawal of $140 was $40 for the flute teacher, $50 for my husband, $22 for me, and $28 for the girls allowance. I still have most of my cash, since I don't spend cash very often.
I think I will start paying the flute lesson teacher by check for the remainder of the month. I don't know how quickly she deposits the checks, so I just want to experiment for the next few weeks.
I will have to check with my husband to see how much cash he has left. He may want to withdraw more this week. I think he is likely spending less because we bought a new coffee maker for our house, and he took the old one to work. Now he has plenty of caffeine without running over to the convenience store! This makes me happy.
The only downside of taking $140 out from this particular ATM is that it gave me two $50 bills! Fine for my husband, but I really wanted smaller bills to give to my girls. I felt forced to buy something to break the bills down. It actually worked out okay because my youngest daughter bought a video game with some of her money. I paid cash with the $50, since part was her allowance anyway, and she gave me a $20 bill for her portion of the purchase. I was able to use the change to give my oldest her allowance.
I suppose someone reading might suggest going in to the bank to get cash in the correct denominations. Good idea. However, we bank online with USAA. They do not have any bank branches here in our state. We have used them for at least 6 years and are generally very pleased with our service. This cash situation is just a minor inconvenience really.
How much cash do you withdraw in a months time? What do you use your cash for?
Cash Withdrawal Update
April 7th, 2013 at 02:23 pm
April 7th, 2013 at 02:48 pm 1365346085
Good job on whittling that down! Darn. I thought just one ATM visit a month or every payday would be so much easier. Wonder if there are any ATMs around where you can get smaller denomonations. Maybe an ATM-user will have a tip. {Can you do like two transactions back to back, to get smaller denominations? I am reachng for straws I am sure.}
Tip: If you have online bill pay, you can pay individuals with the service. I can, anyway. I had never thought about it until a co-worker told me this idea. So I just "online bill pay" any individuals we regularly pay (like music teachers). The bill pay service just sends them a check in the mail. No stamps, no checks, no hassle. I've got most of our relatives set up in there too. My dh owes his cousin some $$ for concert tickets. I just have to go in and put the date and the amount and it will be taken care of. (Always some reimbursement here and there when it comes to a lot of our family. Usually going in together on gifts or shared cell phone bill reimbursements; stuff like that).
April 7th, 2013 at 04:36 pm 1365352579
What I thought of was getting cash back at the grocery store and they will give any denomination you ask for.
April 7th, 2013 at 05:11 pm 1365354677
April 7th, 2013 at 07:12 pm 1365361936
April 7th, 2013 at 08:53 pm 1365367998
April 7th, 2013 at 09:18 pm 1365369524
I actually got the $50 bills at a US Bank branch ATM!!
April 7th, 2013 at 09:56 pm 1365371817