I created these envelopes to get myself back on track and following my cash only budget plan. The first photo shows a bank envelope and two that I made. I like the envelopes that I get at my bank but they are boring. I took apart a bank envelope and traced it onto thick scrapbook paper. I cut it out and folded it. The only glue needed for these envelopes is the tab across the bottom. You can see the flaps a little easier in the close up shot of my Christmas gift envelope. There is a slot for cash and also an extra flap that you can tuck your receipts into. I do not record all of my spending but I like to keep track of my receipts so I can see what I am spending my money on and see where I can cut back when I need to save more.
This is the budget that I try to stick too every two weeks. I get paid on the 1st and the 15th of the month. Each time I get paid I withdraw $400 and divide it up as follows:
week #1 gas and groceries $100
week #1 flexible spending $100
week #2 gas and groceries $100
week #2 flexible spending $100
Christmas: anything extra
I don’t like to carry around a lot of cash so I only carry the current week’s envelopes with me.
Ideally when I’m out of cash, Im done. If I am careful this usually works. The past three times I got paid I did not pull out the cash and I thought I could follow my budget using my debit card, how wrong I was! I ended up getting charged three different times from my bank for overdrawing my account. I had to pay a total of $90. The sad thing is that I had the money, just in a different account. So I am back to the cash system. It has worked for me since July (5 months). I am obviously not ready for a debit card.
I will make a few more of my own envelopes and just change them out when they wear out or I get tired of them.
Please share any of your budgeting tips. We can all use new ideas. ❤