Unreal Money Syndrome – UMS

This is a phrase I use to refer to the phenomenon of money ceasing to have any value – becoming essentially like Monopoly money. It tends to occur when:

• using foreign currency
• buying on the internet
• blipping your Visa card
• in bidding wars on eBay
• people around you are spending money like its water
• sales time is on
• you are using a credit card

Sweden is now almost completely cashless, and people who need physical money in order to budget and remain in control of their finances must find it difficult.

When I was about 13, my father made me a little wooden box with different category slots in it – Savings, Candy, Magazines, and so on. I was then given a larger amount of pocket money than my school friends, but I had to use it to buy everything apart from food and school supplies. My parents did not pay for candy, toiletries, hobbies, clothes, shoes, pretty stationery, movies, school discos etc.

I learned to shop smart, use discounts, save my money for big purchases, decide which purchases were important. I could see very early on where I wasted money and which categories were the most important. In this sense, physical money was really important for me, because I used to count it out and put it in the relevant slot.

I received my pocket money monthly, rather than weekly like my friends. My parents did not help me financially if I ran out of money before I ran out of month. They paid for all the basics and so I was always covered. If I had nothing to wear I would shop in my closet for new combinations of clothes I already had.  I used to do chores for neighbours and later got part-time jobs to make extra money.