One of the best ways to get control of your budget is to get rid of credit and debit cards all together. Cash is handy that way- you won't go "just a little over" budget. You can't- if you only have $9.72 cents. you can't buy something that costs $10! When you go over here and there on your credit and debit cards, those pennies add up.
Cash only works well for people all over the country...but what about the times you may need a card? They are few and far between, but it does happen. Or perhaps you don't like to carry around cash. One of the (few!) bad things about cash is losing it. I once lost a $20 bill. That was a hard lesson.
There are "in between" options. Have you seen those
prepaid debit cards? They work just like regular debit cards. You load on a specific amount of money, and once that money is gone, it's gone. It can be used anywhere a debit or credit card is accepted, and it scans just like a regular credit/debit card. Unlike a regular credit card, it will not let you spend more than is on the card. It also has loss protection on it, so if you lose it or somebody makes unauthorized charges, you will not lose your money.
There are differences between the
prepaid debit cards and regular debit cards. Be sure to check the fees that are associated with the
prepaid debit card. If you were using the card for a one time out of town trip, the fees may be worth it. If you were only buying something online once a month, they may not be. Whenever you decide to use a prepaid option, be sure to carefully read the fine print.
