visit her site here to learn more about her. The living on jars concept is simple. At the beginning of each week, you take out just the money that you have budgeted so that you are living on cash instead of using your debit or credit cards all the time. When you can physically see how much cash you have to live on, it is easier to understand how much you can actually spend. Typically, she sets aside jars for food, transportation, clothing and gifts, and miscellaneous. The miscellaneous jar is for things like pet food, prescriptions, and things that you don’t need to buy all of the time. For many people this is very hard. We get used to using our debit cards because it is simple. You don’t have to plan ahead for that as much. If you’re going to buy groceries and you decide to pick up a magazine it just goes on your debit card. But if you have a certain amount set aside for groceries and you have just enough cash to cover that, you will realize that by buying that magazine you’re going to have to give up something in order to pay for it. Is living on jars a good solution for everyone? Not necessarily. There have been times when Vaz-Oxlade had not used them. She might not suggest using them if a couple is not married and they each have their own financial goals. One of them might be saving to go to school while the other is planning a trip. She has also by-passed the jars if a couple agrees that one person is responsible for paying for debt that was accrued before their relationship. In these situations, she might have them set up three bank accounts – yours, mine, and ours. The “ours” account is what they pay the bills from. Each person is then responsible to keep track of their own spending from their own bank accounts. Living on jars might help you budget your money better if you have a hard time controlling yourself when you are out. If you find that you buy a lot of impulse items, living on jars can be a beneficial experience. You might not need to stick with this method for the long haul, but over periods of time it can help people be more aware of their spending. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
