Comments on: Tell Us Tuesday: The Envelope System

By: Weekly Round-Up: It’s Hot — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog

Weekly Round-Up: It’s Hot — Almost Frugal- a frugal blog — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 11:27:31 +0000

[...] The Carnival of Debt Reduction, with my post (your post, really) on the envelope method of budgeting. [...]

By: ellen

ellen — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 05:05:18 +0000

I struggle to pay all our bills which are mostly medical. The costs keep going up as we are dealing with a lifetime medical need. Right now I am paying $15 to each medical bill. Last month one hospital sent us to collections and another Dr. is threatening to with only about $33 left on that bill. Some weeks we are left with $45 for groceries and life after the mortgage,gasoline for my husband’s commute, car payment on a car that does not run; we owe about $350. more on it) and approximately $ 2,000 on a debit bill which added up several years ago while we were struggling before our larger home was sold. I ride my bike which was a gift to me, but I wonder if anyone has suggestions how to get through as I don’t see medical bills listed on the topics above. thanks for any ideas

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:14:10 +0000

And she sent me some more info in an email:

I think each person has their own reasons for devising their own envelope system. My household expenses are pretty much the same each month…mortgage, utilities, phone, groceries for myself and my pets, &c. So, I rely on my regular sources of income to pay for these…my paycheck from the bindery where I work, my roommates’ rent, money from teaching and taking commissions and/or selling my work. When I say these are regular sources of income I mean they come in each month, but not always in the same amounts.To cover the fluctuations in income, I keep a very healthy reserve in both my personal and business checking accounts.

I am old fashioned and out of date because I pay for everything with either cash or by check. I use my credit cards only for travel purposes or buying books on-line.

Where does the envelope system fit? It pays for the extras I don’t have in my budget. For example, I have someone who cleans my house every other week. And I have a gardener who comes every few months. And, I want to make a major purchase of a new laptop and inkjet printer. Each of these gets their own envelope and the envelopes get fatter as time goes by.

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 20:12:20 +0000

It’s only money- too true, and something I need to learn. I’m just paranoid about losing my wallet, even though I never have. (Shouldn’t have said that, should I?)

By: Heather

Heather — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:40:43 +0000

I am wondering what you pay for out of household ? I want to do the envelope system , but , I don’t know what categories I really need to fit our life on a daily basis

By: autumnesf

autumnesf — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 00:16:46 +0000

We have been using the envelope system for 8 months and its perfect for our family. We have our categories of envelopes, but we only carry our spending money on us at all times. And that money is meant to be what we allow our selves to use however so its not important. You do have to be disciplined in that you don't make unexpected stops or trips...because you have to plan to leave the house with that certain money...and the left overs go back in the envie when you get home. If we forget the money...we are out of luck. Trust me...it will only happen once or twice and the inconvience of forgetting will help you double check yourself. And not just having the cash on you stops all kinds of little trips where you end up spending uselessly. autumnesf´s last blog post..Argentina!

By: Nancy

Nancy — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 14:07:55 +0000

Lots of excellent information in the comments. Thanks Kelly for providing the means for such a worthy discussion. I've thought many times about utilizing the envelope system but never have. Hubby and I each get 'weekly allowance' money to spend as we wish, regular bills, groceries and gas are paid with the checkbook. I've gotten good at sticking w/in limits for groceries so I don't feel like I need to have cash to keep me on track in that dept. Our oldest daughter, now 16, has a part-time job and also does baby-sitting. She started using the envelope system about 5 months ago and has stuck with it consistently. I'm so proud of her. I have a tin in my kitchen where I set aside money each month for some future purpose; right now it's collecting for back-to-school expenses in August. Nancy´s last blog post..Birthday | Add One More