Appreciation post: the old envelope budget system my grandpa showed me in 2012

I was drowning in credit card debt back then (about $8k, yikes) and all the apps felt too complicated. He sat me down in his kitchen in Tampa and made me label envelopes with things like 'groceries' and 'gas' and put cash in them each payday. It sounds simple, but seeing the physical money run out stopped my overspending cold. Anyone still use a physical system like that, or is it all digital now?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_taylor2d ago

Seeing the physical money run out" is such a powerful, simple trick.

violar352d ago

Remember when we all thought cash was going extinct? Now I'm over here digging for exact change in the grocery line because my "fun money" envelope is down to three wrinkled singles and some lint. Swiping a card feels like fake money, but handing over that last twenty for gas? That pain is real, man.

sean_cooper582d ago

That physical limit is the only thing that stops me from swiping my card into oblivion.