Here I am not talking about Jeffrey Archer's novel, but about the contents of my wallet by the end of yesterday. Not that I was on a shopping spree over the weekend which was the cause of me being penniless, but the mere assumption that being in the 21st century, having cash in my purse is no more a necessity. Afterall I am a proud owner of debit and credit cards.
So, when me and my roommate decided to go for movie in INOX on Saturday, we didn't much bother to check if we had sufficient cash for the weekend. Tickets were already booked, and we had just enough money for auto fares and lunch. For any other shopping needs, our cards would be there to rescue. After enjoying the movie and lunch, we proceeded to the shopping mall. Being girls, that's an area we never tend to avoid. We shopped to our heart's content, made the payment by our precious cards and happily returned home. Overall it was a happy Saturday!!!
Sunday began and the need to buy vegetables for the day arose, only to realize that our wallets were left with no cash. Too lazy to go to ATM, we started counting the coins. The one and two rupee coins had never ever seemed so valuable to us but yesterday. Yippee, the coins summed up to be enough for us to buy vegetables. Excitement was at the core that we are able to manage the household so well even with our meagre wallet balance. By mid-day I had exactly a rupee coin left with me.
After a heavenly afternoon nap, we mused over how to spend the evening. The first thought was to go to ATM and fill up our wallet. As fate would have it, the ATM machine was out of order. Sniff, snob....with broken hearts we walked back. On the way we spotted a small shop with all kinds of Filmfare and Star magazines. Tempted by the cover pages, we entered the shop and started browsing them one by one. My roomie selected a magazine to buy, but the biggest question was how? Now its too high an expectation for a small shop to accept debit cards, but no harm in giving a try. The result was a mocking stare of the shopkeeper and two girls fleeing out of the shop to avoid further embarassment.
There may be many such occasions when we depend too much on our cards hoping that they will help us all the time. But sometimes situations arise when we need cash since cards are not accepted everywhere and ATM machines cannot be cent percent reliable. Though I am aware of these facts but still quite careless to carry sufficient cash with me. So here comes my New Year resolution - "Never to keep my wallet penniless". And I hope I comply with it.
2 comments:
So finally you did get a New Year resolution :)
Kindof similar thoughts running through my head but in a different way. I went to an indian store in the US when the thought came to me..Here in the US u can pay any kind of amount by card.. be it a 50 cent toll ticket or a $1000 room rent. So, as it turns out i paid the store owner by card. The same time there was a truck which delivered fresh goods to his shop. Store owner made an online payment. The store owner pays his staff by check.All this set me thinking that you could live your whole life without ever touching a note or a coin. If we let our mind wander ..ultimately dollars and cents would remain just denominations with people not even touching or seeing one.
But then life could be interesting and boring.
Interesting because no one could be judged as rich or poor , since everyone would have card ..
But then whats the fun if at the end of a months hard work all you got was the numbers in your bank account increasing , but nothing tangible.. no smell of fresh notes.. Afterall it was so much fun when i got my first salary and i withdrew crisp 100 Rs notes and placed it in my parents hands ....
When i came to the US i had $40 in my purse..After 2 months i have $30 left ... i use card since it helps me keep track of my spendings ..lightens my purse..since i dont need to carry the coins..
Looks like head rules over the heart in this matter .. which should be the case in money matters
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