For over two months, a Delhi woman stopped using UPI for most of her everyday expenses and switched back to cash. What began as a personal experiment soon changed the way she thought about spending, making her more aware of where her money was actually going.
The woman, identified as Sadaf, shared her experience on Instagram, explaining that while she has no plans to give up digital payments entirely, relying more on cash helped her cut down on impulse purchases and manage her budget more consciously.
Why she switched from UPI to cash
In the video, Sadaf revealed that she was in the third month of using cash instead of UPI for most of her daily expenses.
According to her, the biggest change was becoming far more mindful of her spending. She said digital payments often made small purchases feel insignificant because several transactions could happen within minutes without her realising how much money had been spent in total.
She used the example of buying coffee, grabbing snacks or making small online purchases, explaining that these seemingly harmless payments could quickly add up to around Rs 1,000 without feeling like a major expense.
By comparison, paying with cash felt very different. Handing over a Rs 500 note immediately showed her how much money was leaving her wallet and how much she had left, making every purchase feel more tangible.
She said this simple shift helped her avoid unnecessary impulse buys and made budgeting easier, as she no longer had to keep checking her banking apps to know how much money remained.
Why she didn't give up UPI completely
Despite the positive changes, Sadaf admitted that completely moving away from UPI wasn't practical.
She explained that there were times when cash became inconvenient, such as paying Rs 470 with only a Rs 500 note when the shopkeeper did not have enough change.
Instead of choosing one method over the other, she settled on a balance that worked for her. Around 80 per cent of her money stays in cash, while the remaining 20 per cent is available through UPI for situations where digital payments are the easier option.
Although carrying cash and dealing with change sometimes requires extra effort, she said the experiment has permanently changed the way she looks at spending and that she does not plan to return to using UPI for all her daily expenses.
Internet reacts to the experiment
The video sparked mixed reactions online.
Several users agreed that paying with cash naturally makes people more mindful of their expenses. Some said they had experienced the same thing, noticing that money seemed to disappear much faster when they relied entirely on digital payments.
Others, however, pointed out that depending only on cash has become increasingly difficult because many businesses and services now prefer digital transactions. One user noted that even places accepting cash often encourage customers to pay through UPI instead.
Another commenter said digital payments reduce the "pain of payment", making it easier for people to underestimate how much they have actually spent compared with their real expenses.
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