00:00Cab please! Toodaloo!
00:02There are no cabs coming. It's a lie.
00:06Hi, I'm Amessa Richmond, a supervising producer here at Refinery29.
00:11And for this week's Try This Challenge, I am attempting to get rid of all of my credit cards and
00:16all of my cash for the week,
00:17and only spending via apps.
00:19So I'm excited to try this out because I spend a good amount of money without really thinking about spending,
00:25just because I can swipe it.
00:26There are some places that I go to that I use apps on a regular basis, like to buy my
00:30coffee in the mornings,
00:31but I haven't really thought about every single place that I will need to buy things from and whether or
00:36not they take an app.
00:37It's never been the thing that I've asked when going into a store.
00:39I work hard for my cash, so I definitely think this week will help me to be able to really
00:44think about why I'm spending
00:46and whether or not I really want it, because it's going to be a little bit more difficult to do
00:50so.
00:50For those of you who don't know, Visible is phone service in an app, so it's perfect for this challenge.
00:56Before I get started, I want to set up my Visible app to auto-pay so that I don't have
01:01to worry about it for the rest of the challenge.
01:12It is day one, and I just made some purchases via a few apps. I bought groceries for the week,
01:20and then I also ordered lunch via apps. So it's been relatively chill.
01:28And it's clearly snowing. This is not dandruff, people. It's just snow.
01:32Today started with a little bit more of a struggle. It is snowing, and I was late.
01:38I'm on my way into work, and I just realized I need to refill my subway card, but there is
01:43no app for that.
01:43So I'm going to steal my boyfriend's card in order for me to attend my workplace. But no app, so
01:48kind of failing to start the day.
01:50Clearly I picked not the ideal day to do this, but I'm going to dinner later this week, so I
01:55need to find something to wear.
01:57And we're going shopping.
02:01I found something that I liked, but they don't take apps here, so I have to go to the next
02:05door.
02:17Today proved to be much more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Shopping using only apps was
02:23a struggle.
02:24I had to go to three places. Two of them said no. One of them did not know what I
02:28was talking about when I said I wanted to play with an app.
02:31So it's definitely, you know, a little bit trickier to find places that allow me to stay on challenge.
02:38But I did it, so hopefully tomorrow is smoother and also a success.
02:45I'm going to the gym. This is my gym bag for exercise.
02:50Today I'm going to the gym because health is wealth, y'all.
02:54I'm going to use my app to sign in.
02:58So it's midday and I'm going on a coffee run and I'm going to use an app to pay.
03:03Wish me luck.
03:05This challenge is halfway over. Thank God.
03:08I'm just kind of, I'm kind of up in the air about whether or not this is working out for
03:12me.
03:12I think maybe the snow really tainted my view of apps.
03:16So we'll see. I'm very excited that we're halfway done.
03:21It's all coming together and it is day four.
03:23I'm still alive and I have not used any money, real money.
03:27I'm definitely more cognizant of what I spent than I think I would have been if I was just like
03:32putting it all on a credit card or even paying with cash.
03:35So apps are working for me so far.
03:38Tonight I'm going to dinner with some of my best friends.
03:41So it's going to be interesting to see how I spend money with them.
03:45And whether or not they pay for me or if the place that we're going to takes apps.
03:50I'm excited to meet up with the girls.
03:52And we're going to have a cab.
03:54And I'm going to pay with my phone.
03:57Cab, cab, cab.
03:59Hey! Can you stop? No? Okay. Good looks. You?
04:07I just got back from dinner with some of my best friends.
04:10I did not pay for anything with my card.
04:12I ended up splitting the cost with them via an app.
04:16So they put their cards down and then I just paid my portion in an app.
04:19I think I was making a big deal about having to do this for no reason.
04:23It was like very easy and seamless.
04:24So success all around.
04:26The end of the week is near and I haven't cheated once.
04:30So this is working out.
04:33We made it to the end of the Try This Challenge.
04:35And I'm alive and I'm not poor.
04:38This challenge has allowed me to kind of take a step back and slow down in my spending
04:41and really think about what I'm going to spend on because I had to think about how I was going
04:45to spend.
04:46The major benefits of using apps was basically that I had more planning in my life.
04:51So I had to order my groceries ahead of time.
04:54I ordered lunch ahead of time.
04:55I had my visible app set to auto-pay.
04:58So I was just more planned in my movements throughout my week.
05:03Visible was the perfect partner for this challenge because it allowed me to have phone service,
05:08which is really important when you're using apps.
05:11I didn't even have to think about making sure that my phone was going to work in every place that
05:14I went because of visible.
05:16While this was a very nice kind of break from my everyday and to try something different,
05:21I'm excited to swipe.
05:24I am going into the weekend with just a little bit more cash that I will likely spend.
05:29So, yay!
