The envelope system saved me $400 in one month (not kidding)

4 comments

4 Comments

@mia700 yes!! The separate envelopes for bills is key. I started putting my subscriptions in their own envelopes too and it stopped me from treating them like an extra $20 in my pocket. For me the biggest win was writing the weekly grocery limit on the front of the envelope in big sharpie. Seeing it shrink every time I pulled cash out made me actually put back the expensive snacks. Ended up with $50 extra my first month just from not impulse buying at checkout.

mia7001mo ago

Wait, wouldn't writing the limit in sharpie make it harder to reuse the envelopes next month?

mia7001mo ago

I started with $300 in cash for groceries and gas and was shocked how much I had left at week 3. The trick for me was labeling each envelope with the exact bill due date so I didn't accidentally spend rent money on takeout. I even put my Netflix and phone bill in separate envelopes so I couldn't cheat by pulling from one to cover another. Once the envelope is empty, that's it - no more spending in that category until next month. It forced me to actually plan my meals around what was on sale instead of just buying whatever.

linda1143d ago

Oh I tried that once but I realized the fridge needed milk at week two and the envelope was already empty. The thing about planning meals around what's on sale is great until you forget that Tuesday is national pancake day at the diner and suddenly you're standing in front of the freezer section with zero cash.