Old school paper budget vs. tracking every cent in an app, which one actually sticks for you?

I tracked everything in a spreadsheet for 4 years in Toronto and never lasted past February, but since switching to a simple envelope system in June I've actually kept to my grocery budget of $400 a month, so is it the method or just the change that makes people stay consistent?

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michaeltorres21d agoTop Commenter

The "just the change" part is what gets me, because I heard this behavioral economist on a podcast talk about how we all have a "novelty bias" that makes new systems work for about 3 months. That lines up with my own history, I've bounced between YNAB, Mint, and a handwritten ledger every year like clockwork. But your point about the envelope system is interesting, I think it works because it's physical, you can't just tap a button and move money around in your head. When I used spreadsheets I'd fudge numbers to make them fit, but cash in an envelope forces you to see the actual empty space when you're out. So maybe it's not the method, it's that envelopes give you a hard stop that apps don't, and that's what makes the habit stick.