Living on Cash

Dave Ramsey Would Be Happy

I am one of those weird people that would rather listen to a podcast than to music. Perhaps it goes back to my early sales days when I spent a lot of time in the car. I would often listen to talk radio to pass the time. This leads me to Dave Ramsey.

Dinheiro in Portuguese.

Dave Ramsey

There are many, many things on which I disagree with Dave Ramsey. But for some strange reason, I loved listening to his radio show. [I am rather frugal, as has been discussed before, and personally hate debt, so listening to Dave is akin to me (someone who hates clutter) watching “Hoarders”. “Hoarders” is available in English on Portuguese TV…Denise just leaves the room. But I digress…] Back to Dave. I hate his politics and his obsession with guns. I find it interesting that he has made a fortune by selling (at a premium price) instructional materials to people who are in debt. I think his edict that one should never own or use a credit card is a bit crazy. There are many, responsible human beings that can use a credit card properly. When we were in the States we used credit cards. For everything! Groceries…gas…clothes…major purchases… But we made sure to pay off the balance each month when the bill arrived.

But our use of credit cards changed when we moved to Portugal.

Credit Cards and Portugal

Before arriving in Portugal I called all my credit card companies. I had three and I wanted to whittle it down to one or two…simpler when managing from afar. One went away quickly because they were about to institute an annual fee. A second I learned had international transaction fees…bye. This left me with a CapitalOne card. I spent a good deal of time talking with the representative. I wanted to make sure that there wouldn’t be any surprise fees and that despite all the required fraud alert mechanisms I would be able to use it in another country easily. I thought I had it nailed. NOPE!

The first time I tried to use the card to buy something online, tickets to a concert, I got the annoying “We are sending a text to your phone” message. Well, I no longer had a US number and their website wouldn’t accept a Portuguese number. I called CapitalOne asking if they could send me an email. This was not an option.

Not the same as a cell phone parking lot.

Phone Parking

A few days before we moved, I had researched porting my US number to a voice-over IP provider. This is often called phone parking. Essentially, you move your current US cell phone number to a company, there are a bunch of them, and they allow you to use internet technology to make calls for a small ($8-$12/month) monthly fee. Now the quality of the calls can be rather iffy. But if everyone in the world knows your phone number and you plan to return to the States, parking your phone might make sense. I decided not to do it. I later learned that many expats use it simply to get a text message from their credit card company with the security code for online transactions. I wish I had thought of that!

So while my CapitalOne card still pays for our Netflix account and my newspaper subscriptions…that is about it. We are fortunate that Denise has a Navy Federal Credit Union card. They are used to having people stationed around the world…so while there is still extensive fraud protection, you can make an online transaction. When Multibanco isn’t an option, e.g. renting a car, we use that credit card.

This isn’t Frederico…just a random free photo from Pixabay.com.

Otherwise Cash

I have contacted our bank about getting a Portuguese credit card. I don’t need one with a $15,000 credit limit…€2000 will do. I just want to be able to secure airplane tickets or hotel rooms online. I am open to having one of those cards that are secured by a deposit at the bank. I called Abanca twice before and they were a bit elusive. I called them again today, saying that I might need to switch banks. An expat friend has a Millennium BCP account and they gave her a credit card. Suddenly my friendly Abanca banker asked for my 2020 tax return and an email and promised to get back to me in the next week. I love my banker, but if I need to talk with Santander and/or Millennium I will.

Until then, and moving forward, we have gotten used to living on cash. Our first experience with a cash economy was in Thailand (2014). Other than checking into a few hotels, everything was cash. (This explains why the tax base in Thailand is so low.) Since moving to Portugal we live on cash/ Multibanco. We do have to make regular stops at the Multibanco machines, far more than we ever did in the States, but they are everywhere. Places like the Mercado only take cash. Many small restaurants only take cash. Maria Pó did not have a point-of-sale terminal to take my Multibanco card. Large (chain) grocery stores, larger restaurants, public transit are all set up to accept your Multibanco or credit card. But it is a good idea to get used to carrying cash with you.

So I guess Dave Ramsey would be happy. Though for us, I don’t think, it has changed our spending habits. But then again, I am rather frugal.