Unpopular opinion: my cash envelope system failed and the boring spreadsheet won

Amy Anderson · 2026-09-24T04:10:03.587986+00:00

Everyone in this group swears by cash envelopes but I tried it for 3 months in Denver and kept losing track of the bills, plus I spent $40 on fancy labeled envelopes from Etsy. I switched back to a plain Google Sheet last week and suddenly I know exactly where every dollar goes, down to the $12.50 I spent on tacos on Tuesday. Turns out I need a search bar and a running total more than I need the feeling of handing over physical cash. The envelopes felt good but the spreadsheet actually works for me. Has anyone else ditched a trendy budgeting method for something dead simple?

💡Thought Shares

Loading…

Unpopular opinion: my cash envelope system failed and the boring spreadsheet won | Budgeting Wins - Thought Shares