Thanks for the link. The reasons people argue the cash saves them money is because it hurts to depart with cash, plus it is finite. If you have a $100 to buy grocery you can’t buy more then a hundred and you make do. I can second the fact that during my cash only spending experiment, it did save me money because each purchase required more effort and forethought. It was such a radical change in my personal finance system I hated it, but I would say that it would save us much more than any small credit card rewards or interest. When I had to shell it $60 to fill up in cash, it really made me question my driving habits and necessity of my different travel. Changing habits like that will probably save everyone much more than credit cards rewards. Can you have the same mindset without cash, sure, but it will by an upstream struggle.

Money and Such’s Post on the recession helps to put a somewhat positive spin on the economic situation.