I survived demonetization!

The last few days have got the world talking about India, courtesy, the Demonetization; the  discontinuation of Rs.500 & Rs.1000 currency notes. While the move has polarized the world majorly into two groups; those welcoming it & the ones criticizing it, there are some like me who prefer to take the wait & watch route. Although I admit to enjoying the privilege of a credit card & online wallet, there still are certain tasks that require a cash transaction. Paying the presswalla (or the "Ironman" as my kids call him), the sabziwala or the small stationary shop that is yet to wizen up to a swipe machine. That is when one who is used to plastic money, misses cash & then dips into the kids' piggybanks, at interest rates perhaps 5 times than the banks.. :-D But there's one thing that demonetization has made me realize that I otherwise wouldn't have noticed; that we live with far more un-necessary stuff than we actually need. Now with cash hard to come by, thanks to never-ending queues at the banks & ATMs, one is forced to be frugal with the little cash one has or cut down on expenses in the absence of it. Like it so happened in my case. Having discovered & becoming almost addicted to online shopping since past 5 years, the frequent arrival of packets from online retailers had become a bone of contention between my husband & I. Impulse buying followed by guilt had become a way of life for me. I needed a shock treatment & demonetization gave me just that! It jolted me out of my cushioned existence & made me recall my growing up years when money being scarce, one was used to making do with just the basics. A no-frills existence! I was suddenly taken back to those days.. And how liberating it feels to buy less! Earlier I was buying without thinking.. The extra kilo of apples or that exotic looking red bell pepper which nobody was really going to eat..But with the cash suddenly drying up, am stopping to ask myself; "do I really need this?" & the answer, for most times, is a "No!". The 10 rupee note that had completely lost its value, has now been restored its honor. For the first week, the non-buying was happening without a choice but now, as the cash flow in the market eases, I have promised myself to make frugality a way of life. And I hope to stick to my vow. From now on, its back to only the basics for me.