ActionResearch:

CashAsanExclusiveFormofPayment

TatumValleroy

EDUC526
Dr.JoanneGilbreath
June2,2015

Abstract
Actionresearchisatermthatdescribestheprocessofdiagnosinganareainneedof
improvementandimplementingstrategiestofindasolution.Inthispaper,Idescribetheaction
researchprocessIusedtospendlessandsavemore.Iimplementedseveralstrategiestoreach
thisgoal,includingusingcashexclusively,withtheendresultbeingthatIspentlessthanIdo
whenIuseadebitorcreditcard.Chartscontainingmyexpensesarealsoincluded,inorderto
illustratetheeffectivenessoftheactionresearchstrategiesIemployed.Thispaperconcludes
withreflectionsonwhatIlearnedfromtheactionresearchprocess,andhowIplantousesimilar
strategiesinthefuture.

Introduction
Iama22yearoldwomanlivingwithmyparents.Myonlyexpensesaregas,diningout,
andhealthinsurance.Ihavebeenblessedtohaveparentswhoencouragedmetofocusentirely
onmystudies,withouttheburdenofworryingaboutfinances.Theydidthisinwordandindeed
bypayingformyentirecollegetuition.Becauseofthisenormousgift,Ididnothavetowork
duringschoolandamdebtfreebecauseIdidnothavetotakeoutloans.Irecognizethatthisis
rareandsomethingtobethankfulfor,yetattimesIexperienceguiltforhavingsomethingthatso
manyofmypeersworkedtirelesslytoobtainhandedtomewithnostringsattached.Guiltis
unproductiveandunhealthyifitisleftunattended,soIchoosetoaddressitbytryingtobe
frugal.
However,myattemptsatbeingfinanciallywiseoftenfailbecauseofmylackof
experienceinhandlingmoney.BeforeIgraduated,IsavedanyandallmoneyIearnedfrom
musicgigs,whileoccasionallybuyinganicemealout.Groceries,rent,andtuitionwereallpaid
forbyacreditcardmyparentspaidfor.NowthatIamaworkingadult,moreresponsibilityhas
beenplacedonmebothbychoiceandbymyparentscommand.IamashamedtoadmitthatI
oftenswipemycreditcardwithoutfeelinglikeIamspendinganything.Iunderstandcognitively
howcreditcardswork,butwhenIamnottheonepayingthebillattheendofthemonth,itis
difficulttoconnectcreditcardswithhardearnedmoney.
Idonotwanttocontinuespendingasifmoneyisendless,andthatisthegoalattheheart
ofthisactionresearchproject.IrealizedthatIwouldoftenpurchasesomethingwithacreditor
debitcardandthenhavenoideahowmuchIactuallyspent.Thatisaproblemformyparents
andformyfutureasafunctioning,workingadult.Ihavetriedtosolvethisseveralways:setting

abudgetforthemonth,keepingtrackofreceipts,andenrollinginmint.comsfreespending
trackingservice.Eachoftheseweresuccessfulforatime,butultimatelydidnotchangemy
habitsbecauseIamnottheorganized,plannerkeepingtype.Ineedamorehandson,organic
approachtosavingmoneyifIexpectanyresults.
ThoughIhavenevercompletedthefullprogram,IliketheconceptsbehindDave
RamseysFinancialPeaceUniversity,aprogramdesignedtohelppeoplesavemoneyandgetout
ofdebt.OneofthemoneysavingtechniquesRamseypromotesisusingcashexclusively.He
viewstheuseofcreditcardsasaformofongoingdebtandtherootcauseofmostseriousdebt
problems.ThoughmyviewoncreditcardsarenotassevereasRamseys,Iagreethatcredit
cardsoftencausepeopletospendfoolishly.Givenmydesiretosavemoneyandavoidspending
onunnecessaryitems,Ihavedecidedtoditchmycreditcardforfourweeks(insomuchasis
possible).Duringthattime,Iwillpurchasegas,food,coffee,entertainment,etc.usingcashonly
inanattempttoanswerthequestion:Willusingcashalmostexclusivelycausemetospendless?
Myhopeisthatusingcashinsteadofcardwillpreventmefromspendingfrivolouslyand
improvemysavingskills.
Implementation
Tocarryoutmyactionresearchintervention,Iemployedthefollowingstrategies:
1.Keptanenvelopewith$100cashinmycar.
ThisistheamountIdecidedbestreflectedhowmuchIthinkIshouldspendmonthlyon
foodandsuperfluousitems.Thisisamountisbasedonmydebitcardtransactionsfromprevious
months,butwitha50%decreaseinordertosavemoney.Ifeltmycarwasthebestplacetostore
thecashbecauseitmadeiteasilyaccessibleandstillallowedmeflexibility.

2.Keptonly$5cashmaximuminmywallet,unlessIwasinthefollowingsituations:
Diningout,inwhichIwouldkeep$10cashinmywallet.
Buyinggroceries,inwhichIwouldkeep$25cashinmywallet.
Havinga$10limitformealsdinedoutencouragedmetopurchaseonlywhatIneeded.
Forexample,ifIdinedatPaneraBread,$10wouldbeenoughtogetmeasandwichandsalad,
butnotasugarycoffeeorlemonade.Additionally,the$10amountstillallowedmetobuytwo
fanciercoffeedrinkswhenonacoffeedatewithafriend.
3.Paidcloserattentiontopriceofitemsandpurchasedfewersuperfluousitems.
Ioftenpurchasedmealstogofromgrocerystores,whichusuallysavedmeabout50%
whencomparedtoeatingatarestaurant.IalsoresistedmoreoftheexpensivehealthdrinksI
lovewhenbuyingmealsfromagrocerystorebecauseitwouldhavecostmehalfmymeal
budget.IfIwasoutatacoffeeshop,Imadedecisionsthatsavedmeonetotwodollarsonmy
purchase.Forexample,Ioftenboughtasmallicedcoffee,insteadofthemediummochaI
actuallywanted.Ibelievedthesesmalladjustmentswouldaddup,anditturnsouttheydid!
Totrackmyexpenses,Irecordedthedate,category,andlocationofeachpurchaseintoa
spreadsheet.
Results
Isetouttospendlessonfoodandnonessentialsduringthistimeperiod.Iwaspleasedto
findthatmystrategyofusingcashalmostexclusivelywaseffectiveinhelpingmereachthat
goal!FollowingisapiechartandtwotablesrepresentinghowIspentmy$100cash.AlthoughI
didspend$32.25overmybudget,usingadebitcardwhenIwasoutofcash,Iwasstillmore
successfulthanIthoughtIwouldbe.Mypreviousattemptsatstickingtoabudgethadbeen

relativelyunsuccessfulbecauseIknewIstillhadmoneyleftinmyaccount,evenifIhadalready
spentmybudget.
IwasalsosurprisedtoseehowmuchIspentdiningout,despitemyincreased
consciousnessoftheoptionsIchoseandincreasedfrequencyoftripshometopickupfood
insteadofdiningout.Thoughmyspendingondiningoutdiddecreaseusingthecashonly
strategy,itwasstillsurprisingtoseethatIspentmorediningoutthanongroceries.Itwas
helpfultolearnhowmuchdiningoutaddsup.Astheweeksprogressed,Ibegantopaymore
attentiontothedifferencebetweenmenuprices.Forexample,Iwouldpurchaseasmallcoffee
insteadofamocha,savingaround$3.WhileIstillaimtospendlessondiningout,Ibelievethe
habitofcheckingmenupriceswhenIdinedoutsavedmeabout$30.
IampleasedthatIonlyspent$4.96onfashion/makeup.Iexpectedtospend$15$20in
thiscategory.However,whatIpurchasedwasunnecessaryandIregrettedthepurchasesoon
afterImadeit.

DiningOut
Groceries
Fashion
Total

$77.86
$49.43
$4.96
$132.25

Date
5/6/2015
5/7/2015
5/8/2015
5/9/2015
5/10/2015
5/11/2015
5/12/2015
5/13/2015
5/14/2015
5/15/2015
5/16/2015
5/17/2015
5/18/2015
5/19/2015
5/20/2015
5/21/2015
5/22/2015
5/23/2015
5/24/2015
5/25/2015
5/26/2015
5/27/2015

Category
Amount
Location
DiningOut
$7.77
Target

Groceries
$15.79
Target

DiningOut
$4.88
7Eleven
DiningOut
$21.01 KettleCoffee

Groceries
$19.36 MajorMarket

DiningOut
$3.78
JulianPie
DiningOut
$15.79

DiningOut
$12.17
TacoTaco
Fashion
$4.96
CVS
DiningOut
$5.97 TraderJoe's
Groceries
$14.28
Vons

DiningOut
$6.49
Vons

Total $132.25

Conclusions

Fromthisstudy,IlearnedthatIcangowithoutmorethanIthought.Whenmyboyfriend
andIdiscussourfuture,theideaofminimalistlivingarisesasacommongoal.Thisexperiment
hastaughtmethatmaybeIactuallyhavewhatittakestoliveminimalistically.Ihavebegunto
askquestionslike,WhatdoIalreadyhavethatservesthissamefunction?CanItakesome
extratimetogetthisathomeinsteadofbuyingitnow?Ibelievethisprocesshaschangedmy
spendinghabitsinanenduringway.

IfIweretodothisprocessagainwiththesamegoal,Iwouldchoosetodoitatadifferent
time.Theprocesshappenedtoalignwiththebusiesttimeofmyteachingyear,soIoftendidnot
havethetimeIneededtopreparemealsformyentireday.Ihadtochoosebetweenspending
moneyondiningoutinmylimitedwindowsoffreetimeorcontinuetoworkhungry.Imost
oftenchosetodineout,becauseIgetverylittleworkdonewhenImhungryandIcouldnt
affordtoworkinefficiently.Thisperiodoftimewasuniqueintermsofmyschedule,soifIwere
todothisstudyagain,Iwoulddoitduringaperiodoftimemorerepresentativeofwhatmylife
isusuallylike.
AnotheradjustmentIwouldmaketothisstudyistobemorerigidwithfollowingthe
rulesIcreated.AfterIranoutofmy$100cash,Ibegantousemydebitcardfordiningoutand
groceries.Thiswasgoingagainstmyplantoonlyusecashonfoodandnonessentials,butgiven
thebusynessofmyscheduleIfeltIhadtopurchasefoodevenwhenIdidnothavethecashtodo
so.Inhindsight,Icouldhaveusedmoreoftheresourcesavailabletome.Icouldhavemade
moretripshomeortomygrandmashouse,bothofwhichareclosetomyplaceofwork.
DespitemybreakingofthesystemIcreated,theprocesswasstillbeneficialand
producedtheresultsIdesired.Next,Iwouldliketotrythisprocessforthespiritualdisciplinesof
prayerandScripturereading.IwouldscheduletimefortheseactivitiestoensurethatIcontinue
mypractice.IwouldalsoemploysomeonetokeepmeaccountabletostickingtothesystemI
created.Ihavetriedtokeepascheduleforspiritualpracticesbefore,butbecauseIknowthe
systemwascreatedbyme,Idontfeelresponsibleforkeepingtherules.IfIhadsomeoneasking
meifIvebeenreadingtheBibleorprayingasIsetoutto,Iwouldbemuchmorelikelytostick
withtheplan.

GeneralComments

Myfavoritepartoftheactionresearchprocesswasthegainedsenseofpowerandcontrol
Ifelt.IhadpreviouslyfeltlikemyfinancescontrolledmebecauseIdidnothaveaplanorevena
generalideaofwheremymoneywasgoing.Forthefirsttime,Ifeltincontrolofmyfinances
becauseIstrategicallyplannedasolutiontomyoverspending.Inowfeelmoreconfidentinmy
abilitytobefinanciallyindependentandevenprovideforafamily.Ilearnedthatwithstrategic
planningcomesefficiency,power,andcontrol.Noteverythinginlifecanbecontrolledand
planned,butfromthisprocessIlearnedIhavethepowertochangemorethanIthought.IfI
dontlikemydietorexerciseplan,Icanchangeit.IfImfeelingundisciplinedinmyspiritual
practices,Icanchangeit.IfIhaveafinancialsavingsgoal,Icanreachitbyplanningaheadand
budgeting.Theactionresearchprocesshasproventobeapowerfultoolforimprovingqualityof
life.