Wages in my first job were paid in cash

That bundle of notes felt oh so sweet

Hard labor and hard earned currency

Spending those notes carefully

Taking some time at the end of every month

To be sure there was some real money left for savings

Proudly walking into the bank with cash in hand

To make a deposit into my savings account

Then along came along paychecks

Just a piece of paper detailing my earnings

With a deposit directly into my bank account

The bank gave me a card for cash withdrawals

And a checkbook for paying bills

Not seeing the physical cash come and go

It was harder to balance the budget 

I had to read all the check book stubs and bank statements

To be sure of having some money in the bank at the end of the month

My first credit card was intriguing

I could use this plastic toy to buy lots of stuff

They allowed me to spend well in excess of my income

It took a lot of willpower to stay out of debt

Thankfully I had the discipline to pay it off in full every month

No mounting credit card debt

Today there are so many ways to spend my money

Direct debits, Venmo, PayPal, Zelle and Apple Pay

Purchases are just a click away on Amazon

I can wave my phone at the checkout

I recently took a trip to Europe and spent no cash at all

No need to exchange currency when you pay everything with a swipe

They have made spending way too easy now

No more fumbling in my wallet for cash

Its even harder to balance a budget these days

Money is no longer something you can touch and feel

Its become a virtual commodity

Now I pause at the end of each virtual month

I have to ask an App if I am virtually solvent or bankrupt