Cash is the new Black Card.

Financial security is partly measured by your liquidity. In other words how much cash (and stuff you can quickly turn into cash) you’ve got sitting around. Now, before you can have said stash of cash you must save. And the best way to save cash is to, well, use cash.

Bare with me.

It’s no coincidence that folks who’ve gone from zero to a million bucks will be the first to tell you that cash is king. And for everyone else, sticking to cash can make you 20% richer, according to sources at Credit.com and The National Foundation of Credit Counseling.

When a Real Housewife of Atlanta bought a new $60,000 SUV in Season 1 with a check, (I was doing research!) it wasn’t just for dramatic effect, but also a show of something traditionally rich-esque. Sticking to the cash in your wallet (or your checkbook or debit card) is not just for folks living paycheck to paycheck or those digging themselves out of debt. It’s for the wealthy, too. It’s not because they have more cash to burn, but because, for many, it’s been a life-long habit that’s helped build their wealth.  Ryan D’Agostino, author of Rich Like Them – a terrific new book I encourage you to read - will go so far as to say that paying with cash is “in their DNA.” After researching hundreds of the country’s millionaires, Ryan discovered using cash is partly how the wealthy made their fortunes.

So here’s to cash! Who’d have guessed?