Who pays with cash anymore? Today it's all about plastic. Heck, even gentlemen's clubs have ATMs. Not that I know first hand. I've just heard they do.
But maybe we should break out the dead presidents again, because a new study says when you pay with cash, you're less likely to buy junk food.
I bet the vending machine industry has known this for years. Their dirty little secret, "If you build it, they will buy."
Published in the Journal of Consumer Research, scientists found people are less likely to buy unhealthy foods when they go grocery shopping if they pay with cash, instead of those evil plastic credit or debit cards.
When analyzing the shopping carts of 1,000 United States households over six months, researchers observed shopping carts contained more impulse buys or junk food when people paid with credit or debit cards, and not cash.
The researchers called cash payments "more painful than card payments." Painful is the perfect word for it. Buying junk food with plastic is easier to swallow, so encouraging people to shop with cash could help them develop better shopping and eating habits.
Its really tempting to over-shop when you're not paying with cash. When you put your toilet paper, generic vodka, and orange juice on the register, it's easy to grab a Snickers bar. You're money seems limitless. Just deal with it when the bill comes.
I haven't gone grocery shopping with cash in years. If I went to pay and ran out of cash, I'd have a stroke and drop dead on the spot.
Image credit: South Park Studios
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