C.O.D...what a sweet thing it is!

Have you ever ordered anything by COD before? All I remember is we often got COD packages delivered to our house for dad's alarm company. I disliked them because it meant I needed to remember to pay money on dad's behalf.

These days I have come to appreciate "cash on delivery" goods. I prefer paying in cash rather than with plastic. When I use credit cards, I do not feel like I have truly 'spent' money, so to speak. If I pay by C.O.D., I have the distinct memory of paying for some service or goods, therefore I remain aware of that in my mental budget.

This goes for bills as well. Usually once a month I pay a whole load all at once: electricity, gas, water, sewage, telephone, and so on. If I pay in cash, I feel like I have spent a great deal of money and am less likely to commit some frivolous spending. Do you have some kind of spending system like this which prevents you from overspending?

In my university days, I realized the more cash I had available to me (in person or even in the bank), the more I spent. Therefore in order to protect myself from myself, I started to put all my reserves in investments such as bonds, stocks, mutual funds, and the like. So contrary to belief, I started investing at age 18 not out of investment interest...rather to prevent myself from going on major shopping sprees!