Paper Money

“If you think making money by thinking is difficult then read this article”

I love it here. You are not frowned upon when you hand over a fifty-euro note to a cashier. Using paper money (cash) to pay for goods and services is normal in Greece, unlike the UK.

What is the big deal in paying with cash you ask? There is a deal my friend, there is a deal.

You see cash money has an aura – an effect on our emotions. I discovered during one of my many personal studies of this thing we call money that I get tight fisted when I am using cash to pay for a service or transaction. Because cash is real, I find myself attempting to hold onto it for as long as possible. If I left the house with 150 euros, I always want to come back with some change and more.

Payment cards or plastic as we like to call them on the other hand is not as real as cash. All you have is an "I owe you", a promise on paying a certain amount later. Not exactly the same as paying there and then is it? With plastic, you get to spend money even before you earn it, or better still you can also spend other people's money. Spending 500 euros using a card, occurs in a flash, you don’t even feel the money leave your hands.

Logically, it is hard to grasp why we have a system that allows you to spend money you do not have let alone other people's money. The companies who peddle these cards would have you believe it is handy. Of course it’s convenient for them to have you pay a penalty for such a service – getting rich off your back.

To make things worse society looks at you suspiciously when you wield a £50 note or larger sums of cash. Carrying cash is now seen as a crime, you must be a drug dealer or something to be carrying cash around. Here is what I think, damn society, do what is advantageous to you. Look after number one.

My point is there is a mental process in the ways we use money. Use cash as much as you can and you will spend a lot less. Spend less and you will have more.