To clear up any confusion I bought the TV online (so with my credit card, then paid it off in full that month). While I did go to a store to compare a bunch of

To clear up any confusion I bought the TV online (so with my credit card, then paid it off in full that month). While I did go to a store to compare a bunch of TVs it was much cheaper to buy online. My comment about buying the TV was related to not feeling guilty spending several thousand Euros on a TV because we live off a single salary therefore saving it. What exactly do you find "unrealistic" about using cash over a debit card for day to day purchases like lunch, grocery shopping and such? This is where I find I "lost" most of my money. Lots of 'invisible' (to me at least) purchases could easily suck over €1000 a month from my account alone. Using cash forces me to think about small but frequent purchases. Looking at my previous spending patterns I save between €350-400 a month by using cash over my debit card. With all of the other changes I have made regarding diet that goes up to over €500. And remember this is just my spending. My wife also saves several hundred by using cash over her card as well as she had fallen into the same trap as I of blindly buying with card and not thinking (much) about what it cost. Obviously a large purchase I do with a credit card for the added protection but I rarely make large (>€100) purchases.