How To Rid Debt By Becoming a Cash Money Superstar

Recently I wrote The Ten Commandments of Working From Home where I proved my street credit based on 2 criteria:

1. I used gangsta rap lyrics to convey my thoughts on working from home.
2. I also live in East Austin (built in street cred)

Now that I’ve established my authority on all subjects urban, I’m going to show you how to become a Cash Money Superstar. I did a revolutionary thing a few years back. Because of my entrepreneurial obsession I had accrued a lot of debt and was still not earning enough to stop the credit card cycle. I decided to take drastic measures.

I made the transformation from a typical American Consumer into a Cash Money Superstar. I actually switched everything I did to a cash transaction and to really get myself psyched about using cash only, I closed my checking account. Insane right? I cancelled my direct deposit and cut up all of my credit cards. I replaced them with one prepaid debit card, you know the ones you can get at the check cashing places. I basically left my quaint little credit union and joined the Ghetto Bank. I would take my paychecks into the Ghetto Bank, cash them and hand them a list of dollar amounts for money orders. These money orders were how I paid everything: utilities, credit cards, student loans, etc.

Something happens when you hold your earnings in your hand in the form of cash. There’s something about the cash that makes you realize how much it is worth. There is also a sense of control over the money that we all should feel, but usually don’t. When we hand a credit card to a person at a register they hand us back the card and nothing looks different. There is nothing in the transaction that signifies that you have less money in your account after the transaction. When you hand over a $20 bill and are handed back only a dollar and change you get a much clearer representation of what has happened (especially if that was the last $20 you had in your wallet).

So, if you are having trouble getting through the month without falling back on the credit cards, maybe you should consider taking some drastic measures. Maybe you don’t need to go as far as closing all your accounts (Full disclosure: I’ve since reopened mine) but you could trade your credit cards for one of those prepaid jobs. You also need to give yourself a weekly/monthly cash budget. Meaning that you go to the bank/ATM (or ghetto bank) and take out the ideal amount of money you want to budget for. Look at the cash, that’s it, that’s all the money you have to spend. If you blow it all in the first few days then you’re going to be in trouble.

Even if it isn’t the last of your money, pretend that it is. You will appreciate it much more. If it really isn’t enough money to get you through then maybe you should adjust the budget to make it work. Make it work for you and before you know it, you too will be a Cash Money Superstar.

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