Yesterday, I left my wallet in my parents’ car as I was dropped off at the BART station. As a result, I had to come up with all the loose change and bills in my bag to get a BART ticket. And convince myself to only spend 39 cents on cilantro rather than splurging on tomatoes.

Because in reality, I had less than $20 in my apartment and would be unable to get my wallet until Thursday. And fortunately my slight disorganization of money (with my bills and coins in stashed in different bags) and the recent Chinese New Year (many red envelopes with floating cash). I survived more than 24 hours without a source of money.

Too bad most places don’t accept checks anymore.