Compared envelope system vs a budgeting app for 3 months straight

I tried using a budgeting app on my phone for three months but kept forgetting to log things and the notifications annoyed me. Switched to a cash envelope system last month where I put $200 for groceries in one envelope and $150 for eating out in another, and I actually stuck to it somehow. Has anyone else found that physical cash just feels more real and makes you stop spending?

2 comments

2 Comments

seth_martinez213d ago

Wait, didn't you say you actually stuck to the envelope system though? That's kinda the whole point, right? What good is seeing where every dollar went if you can't stop yourself from spending it in the first place?

nora_chen3d ago

Hang on though, if you had $200 for groceries and you spent it all by the middle of the month, that envelope system doesn't teach you where your money went. The app would have let you see you spent $50 on snacks and $30 on cleaning supplies, but that envelope just shows you ran out. Both ways have their downsides, but the envelope hides the details instead of showing them.