The envelope system felt stupid until I ran out of gas money last Tuesday

I always thought cash envelopes were some boomer nonsense, but after I blew my budget on takeout three weeks in a row and couldn't fill my truck to get to a job site, I figured why not try it. Took $400 cash for groceries and gas, split it into two envelopes, and somehow I still had $40 left at the end of the month when I normally would've been scrambling. Anyone else find that physically handing over cash makes you think twice before buying stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly615d ago

Oh man, I feel this so hard... I started doing the same thing after I kept overspending on little stuff and wound up with nothing for actual bills at the end of the month. Seeing the cash actually leave my hand made me stop and think way more than swiping a card ever did.

davis.dakota5d ago

... except what happens when you lose an envelope or it gets stolen? I had a buddy do the cash thing for about six months, then his wallet got lifted at a gas station with his whole grocery budget for the week. No way to get that money back like you can with a card charge. Plus carrying that much cash around makes me nervous, especially if you're going to job sites or different parts of town where you don't want to flash a wad of twenties. And honestly, the discipline from cash shouldn't be the only thing keeping you from buying dumb stuff, that's just avoiding the real problem of not tracking your spending in general.