


Here’s the key to making the cash envelope system actually work: During the month, no money-and I mean zero money-comes out of that groceries envelope except to pay for food at the grocery store. But it’s better than constantly overspending.Īnd on the flip side, if you get really thrifty all month by meal planning, shopping sales and couponing-and you don’t spend all of the money from the groceries envelope that month-that’s awesome! Put that extra money to work on your current Baby Step (aka the proven way to save money, pay off debt, and build wealth). And remember, if you shop every week and you spend $300 that first week, well, you’ve just got $50 left until your next paycheck. Take the envelope with you when you go to the grocery store. That’s your $700 food budget for the month.

On that envelope, write out “Groceries.” When you get your second paycheck, do the same thing again and put that $350 in the envelope. When you get your first paycheck of the month, take out $350 from your bank account and put the cash in an envelope. Let’s say you’ve budgeted $700 a month for groceries and you get paid twice a month. Create and fill cash envelopes for those budget lines. Here are a few I find most helpful to make envelopes for:ģ. These are the perfect spots to use the envelope system. You know, the ones you tend to overspend in month after month. When you’re making your budget, think hard about those lines that tend to become budget busters. Think of the budget lines that need a cash envelope. If you want to keep up with this part in an on-the-go budgeting app, check out EveryDollar. meaning you’re giving every dollar a job to do. You’re aiming for a zero-based budget-meaning income minus expenses equals zero. List out your income (everything coming in for the month), and then list out all your expenses.
#Cash budget binder how to#
Here’s how to use them:įirst things first, you need to make a budget. They’re a great tool that’ll help you stick to your budget. That’s where your cash envelopes come in. One of the reasons we overspend is because there’s nothing telling us when to stop.

Once the money is gone, it’s gone-so this will force you to stop overspending and help you achieve your money goals faster. When you shop, use what’s in your cash envelope. If you’re constantly going overboard in a certain area of your budget (hello, food!), then take out the exact amount of cash you’ve budgeted for that category and stick it in an envelope. Throughout the month, you can just peek inside an envelope to see what’s left to spend-because you’ll see the literal amount in cash. The cash envelope system is a way to track exactly how much money you have in each budget line for the month by keeping your cash tucked away in labeled envelopes. Let me show you! (And if you hang with me until the end, I’ll tell you how to make using cash envelopes more fashionable than ever.) But some people still don’t know exactly how or why it works. Ramsey's cash envelope system is nothing new-it’s been around for decades. Want to keep more of your hard-earned money each month? Try budgeting with cash envelopes!
