Being without a bank account has its own unique set of difficulties, but it also has its advantages. You might be wondering why I don't have a bank account in this day and age. It happened after the great "Job Scam of 2018" where I found a job on the University of Oregon Career Center website that wasn't actually a job.
This guy had me doing all this sketchy sh*t and I thought it was legit considering the University is supposed to screen all of the applications. Long story short, I ended up $2,231 in debt and with my bank account closed down. I have to pay off the debt ENTIRELY or five years have to go by before I can open another bank account at ANY BANK in the United States. So, since I'm a poor college student, this forced me to have my parents handle my finances to help save money so my debt can be paid off before I graduate college. Here's a list of positive reasons why not having a bank account is the perfect way to live.
1. Whenever I go out, I put $5-$10 in my wallet for the ENTIRE NIGHT
And the $5-$10 is all I end up spending because there's literally no way for me to spend money other than going all the way back to my apartment for cash and back! Obviously, I'd rather just limit my budget than walk that far for more cash. Even drunk me thinks so. This is a great way for me to limit my budget and keep track of my spending.
2. I always know exactly how much money I have...in cash
This means I have to be SUPER careful about my spending because I only have a limited amount of funds. When I need more money, I have to let my parents know so they can send me a check to cash, and the USPS isn't speedy, so I always have to keep in consideration if there's a check coming and if I have enough money to live until it gets here. There definitely have been periods where I've spent all my money super fast and I've been broke for an entire week waiting for a cheek to get to me. It's stressful, but it's made me better at managing my money.
3. Venmo is a waste of space on my phone
Like I LITERALLY will never Venmo anyone anything until I have a bank account. That's kind of a huge part of operating on a cash-only basis. Whenever I go out to eat with my friends, sometimes I'll want to order a more expensive item on the menu than I have the cash for. When this happens, my friends will offer to cover me and I can just Venmo them. But, I CAN'T Venmo them because I ONLY have cash. Especially if it's my last bit of cash for a while and I'm waiting for a check, I'm unlikely to have my friend help me out just so I can owe them money for it. I'm a self-reliant woman, and if I can't afford to have that menu item I really want, then I'll find a cheaper alternative. It's called BUDGETING, kids.
4. Online shopping is straight-up irrelevant to me
Before the job scam, I used to online shop quite a bit, especially before I had my car. I loved killing time by scrolling through Forever 21 and then ordering a whole bunch of things I don't REALLY need. Not being able to online shop has definitely saved me quite a bit of money, and it's been over a year since I've been able to online shop, so it's not like I miss it. Plus, being able to try clothes on and make sure they fit before purchasing them is the BEST.
5. I operate on a cash-only basis, so I'm basically off the grid
I never have to worry about someone hacking my credit card info or stealing my card and having access to ALL my money. Plus, there's really no way to track all my purchases unless I keep track of all the receipts I have.
