'Not Going Back': Delhi Woman Quits UPI For 3 Months, Says Cash Curbed Impulse Spending (WATCH)

A Delhi woman has gone viral on social media after revealing how ditching UPI in favour of cash transformed her spending habits. In an Instagram post, Sadaf shared that she has been avoiding UPI for everyday purchases for more than two months, claiming the switch has made her far more mindful of her finances and significantly reduced impulse spending.

"It's been over two months now, and I'm in month three of quitting UPI for almost all my daily spending and using mostly cash instead," said Sadaf.

Explaining the shift, she said digital payments had made spending feel almost effortless, allowing small purchases to pile up without her noticing.

"The biggest difference is that I'm way more conscious of my spending now. UPI makes it so easy to make five small payments, and it doesn't feel like much. For example, I get three coffees, one snack, and suddenly I have spent a thousand rupees without even realising it."

According to Sadaf, using physical cash creates a stronger sense of financial awareness. She said every transaction now feels tangible, making her think twice before spending.

"Cash doesn't work like that. Every time I hand over a Rs 500 note now, I feel the money leaving my wallet. I know how much I spent, how much is left with me and that alone has almost completely stopped my impulse spending," she said.

She added that relying on cash has also made budgeting much simpler, as she no longer needs to repeatedly check banking apps to monitor her balance.

"The second benefit is that it's much easier to keep track of my budget. I don't have to check an app constantly because I know what's left. I can literally see it in my wallet."

However, Sadaf admitted that going completely cash-based comes with practical challenges, especially as many vendors now depend heavily on digital payments and often do not have enough change.

"My bill is Rs 470, and I only have a Rs 500 note. The shopkeeper does not have Rs 80 in cash, nor do I. That's where I still have to use UPI, so I don't think going 100 per cent cash is practical."

To strike a balance, she said she now keeps around 80 per cent of her money in cash and the remaining 20 per cent in UPI for situations where cash transactions are inconvenient.

Sadaf said the experience has fundamentally reshaped her relationship with money and she has no plans to return to relying entirely on UPI.

"Overall I am not going back to using UPI full time. This experiment has genuinely changed the way I spend money and for now I am sticking with mostly cash. Let's see how it goes over the next few months."